Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Articles

Brides, with any luck, you’re reading this in a calm, confident state-of-mind. Months (and months) of planning are behind you, and now you’re down to the last handful of details, the icing on the proverbial cake. Included among them should be a bit of self-care.

A massage is great for alleviating stress, but is it going to have an appreciable effect on your appearance? Not really. You know what will? Microdermabrasion. It can help reduce the appearance of sun damage, age spots, acne scarring, wrinkles and fine lines, and other skin imperfections, all within a single treatment, ensuring your face is glowing all day long. How does it work, you ask? Read on.

Buffing and polishing

While you’ve probably heard of microdermabrasion before now—it was the fourth-most popular minimally-invasive cosmetic procedure performed last year—it’s one of those treatments that everyone other than the truly skin-obsessed don’t know much about.

It works by exfoliating the skin with microscopic crystal free diamond-tips that remove the superficial outer layer of dry, dead skin cells to reveal a fresh, rejuvenated face. Several diamond-tip hand-pieces will gently exfoliate and simultaneously suction up the dead skin cells. Essentially, they’re buffing and polishing your face. It’s done as an in-office procedure without any downtime or a numbing agent, and it usually takes about an hour.

Those with fine lines, uneven pigmentation, or clogged pores stand to benefit the most from microdermabrasion, but it’s considered a safe and effective treatment for almost every kind of skin type and color.

You should also have an aesthetician approved home care system to further compliment your microdermabrasion treatment and for long lasting results.  It will help you with your wedding glow, long after you say ‘I do!’

Immediate results and no downtime

The best part about microdermabrasion is that you’ll see the results right after your treatment. Even more, there’s little to no downtime. You should be able to get right back to your day as soon as you leave the doctor’s office.  You can even apply makeup if necessary for those last minute errands.

You’ll want to keep your skin hydrated and stay out of the sun—your face can be more sensitive to it for a few weeks after the treatment—but you won’t miss a step. Which means you can schedule a treatment while you’re checking off the other assorted loose ends over the last few days before your big day.

Just imagine yourself: As beautiful as you’ve ever looked, and not even a hint of the stress that wreaked havoc on your life for the last several months. All of it gone in less than an hour.

Who among us doesn’t envy or want a pair of plumper lips?

Angelina Jolie. Scarlett Johansson. Rhianna. All stunning by any measure, but what feature of theirs leaves the deepest impression? Their pillow-y lips, of course.

So prized are plumper lips that Kylie Jenner once admitted to spending 40 minutes a day lining her lips. There’s solace to be found in that confession: Voluptuous lips are something that elude most of us—even the stars who appear to be slightly more than human. And aging doesn’t help that cause.

But hope isn’t lost. In fact, there are a number of cosmetic procedures available to enhance your lips. As a not-so-insignificant side benefit, they’re all also an effective means to erase fine lines around the mouth. Too good to be true? Read on.

Dermal fillers

Hyaluronic acid fillers have become a popular option because they’re temporary and they’re affordable. Think of them as the equivalent of dipping a toe in the pool. The procedure is usually performed with a specially formulated topical numbing cream. The filler is then artistically placed in to the lip to help you achieve perfect pout you’ve always wanted.

Depending on the product, the results will last between six and 12 months. Though, the results will last a little longer with each subsequent treatment. And because hyaluronic acid is a natural element, the filler will simply dissolve and leave your lips the same as they were prior to the treatment.

Fat injections

It’s common for patients to progress from a dermal filler to a longer-lasting treatment, like fat injections. Here, fat is removed from one part of the body, usually through liposuction, and used as a lip filler—all without a single incision on the face or lips.

Fat injections create a very natural-looking lip contour that will last for years. Even more, it’s a very safe procedure that can be done in an office setting.

Lip implants

Lip implants have gotten a bad rap through the years because of celebrities who’ve undergone the procedure and come out looking like Daisy Duck. That should serve less as a reason to avoid them, though, and more as an incentive to seek out an experienced, skilled, board-certified plastic surgeon.

The implants are made from a soft, pliable silicone rubber or biodegradable substance. The procedure itself actually takes only about a half-hour. And despite what you’ve seen online, you should only need a couple of days to recover.

Still, I recommend it only for those who are seeking an appreciable increase in their lip volume. Even then, it’s usually a good idea to wade in and try on the look on a more temporary basis first.