The lips are a central physical feature on the face and one that has always been indicative of youthful beauty. This is advantageous for those who are born with full, well-defined lips, at least for a time. But what do you do if you weren’t born with lips that command attention? What happens when aging affects the shape of the lips? All hope is not lost. Today, we have several ways to change our lips if we so choose. Here, we discuss what those are.
We attribute thinning lips to the aging process. However, it’s more complex than that. Research shows that thinning lips may be caused by a combination of factors, such as:
Whether your lips have thinned over time or Mother Nature did not bestow voluptuous lips to you at birth, you have options to enhance your appearance. Lip augmentation may include one of several techniques. Some people have gone so far as to have silicone implants inserted to achieve a more dramatic transformation. This technique may not be right for everyone and does carry risks so it should only be conducted by a board-certified plastic surgeon with specific experience performing lip implant surgery. More conservative but still effective techniques include fat transfer and dermal fillers.
Fat transfer, often simply called fat injections, is a technique that has two steps. The first is to harvest fat cells from a part of the body using a minor liposuction procedure. After obtaining fatty tissue, the doctor processes it to separate fluid from pure fat cells. This purified material is then injected beneath the skin of the lips to permanently enhance volume and shape. Over time, fat cells may deflate somewhat, just as they naturally do on all parts of the face. However, fat transfer is considered a long-term procedure.
Dermal filler injections account for the majority of lip enhancement treatments. This technique works similarly to fat injections in that the goal is to increase volume and define the shape of the lips. Dermal fillers achieve this with tiny particles of hyaluronic acid, a chemical that binds to water molecules. The results of dermal filler treatment can last several months, treatment is convenient and has few side effects, and there is little risk of adverse reaction when injections are performed by a trained, experienced professional.
Are you ready for your lips to stand out in the most beautiful way? Contact our Hazelton or Pottsville office to schedule your consultation.
Me Time. Is this a term you’ve heard or read about in recent years? It is one aspect of the acclaimed self-care everyone’s been talking about. Self-care is largely misunderstood. Many people perceive self-care as bubble baths and massages only. From this perspective, there is a strong chance that self-care will seem selfish. This is what family therapists and psychologists see all the time: people who need a breakthrough but cannot take a break from their busy lives to achieve that.
Self-care is something we all need and it’s often the very thing we avoid. This can be especially true when we hit bumps in the road of life, as we’ve done in the first half of 2020. In just a matter of months, many parents have gone from working full time away from home to working at home while also overseeing children who are doing schoolwork at home. All of this coincides with the general nervousness that uncertainty brings. To think of Me Time at a time like this may sound counterintuitive. Here’s why it’s not.
It’s easy to think of Me Time as selfish when we only look at the word “me.” We invite you to see how investing in your own relaxation can serve everyone in your life. When we Me Time, we can:
If you’ve not developed a practice of self-care, you may not know where to start. Many people find that they have no ideas at first. A few suggestions include:
If a professional facial or body treatment sounds like the perfect investment into You, we’d love to serve you. Call our Hazleton or Pottsville office today to schedule a visit.
Hundreds of thousands of breast augmentation procedures are performed each year. This trend has remained consistent for well over a decade. Throughout those years, though, we’ve seen varying trends that have affected women’s choices in the size of breast implants they find appealing. For several years, the trend involved larger implants; larger to the extent of looking like breast implants rather than naturally-large breasts. From that end of the spectrum, we swung to the other side, where we say many women choosing to enlarge breasts by one cup size. As trends go, they are now changing again. This time, though women are choosing larger implants once again, few are going overboard. Many, in fact, ask how to avoid choosing breast implants that are too large for them. We discuss that here.
There are several factors that contribute to women’s choices in breast implants. Some may surprise you.
There is nothing wrong with considering outside input when planning breast augmentation surgery. However, a woman’s choice is ultimately her choice and hers alone. Using sizers and a lot of self-reflection, a woman can feel very confident choosing the breast size that is right for her.
Consider body shape, the width of the chest and shoulders, the level of lifestyle activity as you decide what will look and feel best for you. Then, schedule your consultation in our Pottsville or Hazleton office to discuss what you would like to achieve with breast augmentation.
Men with breasts. This sounds like the title of a bad Sci-Fi movie, doesn’t it? In truth, gynecomastia is a very real, very troubling problem. Comedians and many people in our society joke about this condition that we call gynecomastia, referring to enlarged male breasts as man boobs. For the man with this condition, such as description is demeaning and embarrassing. Until recently, very few men realized that there was a name for what they were experiencing. Even fewer have realized that their problem could be corrected. It can. Here’s what patients need to know about returning to their normal workouts after gynecomastia treatment.
Because we’ve only recently begun talking about gynecomastia, there are still misconceptions about what causes this condition and how to correct it. Many men spend months or years trying to contour their chest with exercise. While fatty tissue does play a small role in some cases of gynecomastia, it is not the only issue to contend with. Male breast enlargement is a result of excessive breast tissue. Where fatty tissue is soft and related to weight, breast tissue is glandular. It is dense. It does not change much with weight. This is why men who are otherwise fit may still have puffiness in their chest area.
Even knowing that exercise cannot eliminate gynecomastia, many of our patients feel a sense of urgency to resume their normal workouts after treatment. We understand, and also advise patients not to rush back to the gym. Doing so can create more problems and hold up the progress of healing.
After gynecomastia surgery, rest is the primary action that a man needs to take. This can be difficult when so much effort has previously gone into correcting shape. For the first two weeks of recovery, though, the extent of physical activity is light walking. Patients can walk for up to 30 minutes and can do this a few times a day. It is imperative to maintain a casual pace. Even brisk walking that increases heart rate can disrupt tissue healing and create a risk of complications.
While it may be possible to return to work two weeks after treatment for gynecomastia, physical activity remains limited until about 4 weeks post-op. At that time, the patient may begin walking briskly, hiking, and doing light cardio exercise that primarily uses the lower body. Chest and arm exercises may need to wait until 6 weeks post-op and, when they do resume, should be done slowly and carefully.
Living with gynecomastia is difficult. Treatment can successfully correct this problem and, even with a short recovery period, the outcome of surgery is well worth the wait to get back to a normal exercise routine. Learn more about male breast reduction. Call our Hazleton or Pottsville office to schedule a consultation.
Liposuction is one of the leading cosmetic procedures performed by plastic surgeons. This minimally-invasive body contouring technique has been performed millions of times over the years and has sculpted arms, abdomens, hips, thighs, and more. Over time, we’ve seen several new developments in the area of liposuction, such as the use of innovative technologies to aid in fat reduction. What we do not yet have is a way to prevent loose skin from occurring after liposuction using any particular technique. Here, we discuss why loose skin may be noticed after liposuction and what can be done about it.
Loose skin may look more prominent after liposuction. Does that mean that liposuction is the cause? No. At least not directly. The reason why skin may look looser after liposuction is because, when fat is removed, there is less volume beneath the skin to make it look plump and relatively smooth. Laxity develops when the skin ages or is significantly stretched. Aging affects the skin everywhere on the body. This happens because certain cells stop producing chemicals like collagen, hyaluronic acid, and elastin, which are vital to firm, smooth, elastic skin. Laxity means that the skin cannot bounce back after being stretched. It means that, when the volume of fat is decreased through liposuction, the skin has nothing to push it outward.
It is possible to undergo body contouring treatment that meets all of your needs. An experienced plastic surgeon may have numerous tools to help you achieve the results you want after liposuction. First, it is necessary to observe the skin during the initial consultation for liposuction. Knowing that the skin may look loose and puckered if it is too loose, a plastic surgeon will recommend additional techniques to address this issue. Laxity is not a “wait and see” issue for many people. We know when it may occur and we know what to do about it.
In our practice, solutions to loose skin after liposuction include surgical lift techniques and nonsurgical skin tightening. Which option is best depends on the extent of laxity identified during the consultation. If you have mildly loose skin, treatment like Triniti RF microneedling may be sufficient to promote natural tightening over time. If your tissue laxity is more severe, a surgical lift such as a tummy tuck, thigh lift, or arm lift may be better suited to your needs. There is also the matter of how long results will last to consider.
We can help you get the results you want from liposuction and body contouring. Contact our Hazleton or Pottsville office to schedule your consultation.
It is a well-known fact that good food choices coupled with exercise can do a lot for overall health. It is also common knowledge that, despite our best efforts, the degree of body contouring we wish to achieve may elude us. Some areas of the body are incredibly resistant to dropping fat cells. The submental area under the chin is one of them. The fat that accumulates here is often referred to as a double chin. Thanks to our digital lifestyle, it may also be referred to as “tech neck,” a problem caused by frequently looking down to view smartphones and other small electronic devices.
While modern technology has added to our cosmetic woes, it has also provided a way out. Double chin fat can be resistant to healthy lifestyle habits but it is no match for professional fat-reduction treatments. Two options include Kybella and Liposuction. Here, we discuss how each works so you can determine which might be better suited to your needs.
Kybella is an FDA-approved injectable drug that was years in the making. Before its use here in the U.S., the ingredient in Kybella, deoxycholic acid, had been widely used in Europe and other countries. Deoxycholic acid is an integral part of the digestive process, helping the body break down dietary fat. In the form of Kybella, this acid is inserted directly into an area where subcutaneous fat cells have expanded. The acid is absorbed by many of the fat cells in the submental area, leading to their destruction and elimination.
Details to know: There is no downtime associated with Kybella. However, patients should expect 4 to 5 days of significant swelling after treatment. Multiple sessions may be necessary to achieve optimal fat reduction. Once the fat is gone, it will not come back.
Neck liposuction is a minor surgical procedure that can be performed in the submental area to permanently eliminate fat. When conducted independently, this procedure may not require general anesthesia. A local anesthetic and mild sedative can sufficiently maintain comfort. The liposuction procedure involves small incisions and the insertion of a hollow tube that suctions out unwanted fat cells. The incisions are placed as discreetly as possible to hide post-surgical scars.
Details to know: Two to three days of downtime may be needed to allow bruising and swelling to fully resolve after neck liposuction. A dressing or compression strap may also need to be worn for those few days. The results of one liposuction procedure can last indefinitely.
Are you ready for a more sculpted chin? Contact our Hazleton or Pottsville office to schedule a consultation to learn more about Kybella and liposuction.
Rhinoplasty is the surgical procedure that reshapes the nose to fit more harmoniously on the face. The objective of a nose job is to make the nose blend in better with surrounding facial features. Sometimes, there is a need for structural modifications to enable the patient to breathe more easily. The aesthetic and functional results achieved in this procedure are the hallmarks of its success.
Rhinoplasty surgery can dramatically improve:
Rhinoplasty procedures may be performed using an open or closed technique. This should be determined based on the structure of the nose and the desired changes, not based on the idea that closed rhinoplasty offers an easier recovery. Both forms of rhinoplasty heal nicely with only short-term discomfort. Rather than focus on incision placement, patients should look at the signs of successful rhinoplasty as:
We respect the individuality of each of our patients and reflect this in our personalized approach to rhinoplasty and other procedures. To schedule a consultation, call our Pottsville or Hazleton office.
The field of aesthetic medicine has expanded so quickly that many people may misunderstand the seriousness of various procedures. The term cosmetic surgery doesn’t help. It gives the false impression that there is such a thing as a cosmetic surgeon. To be clear, cosmetic surgery such as breast augmentation or rhinoplasty is a big deal and should only be performed by a board-certified plastic surgeon. In less reputable circles, there may be providers who offer convenient procedures that seem to offer less downtime and risk. Lunchtime plastic surgery is not a thing, at least not if you want to avoid unnecessary trauma. Here’s why.
It has become incredibly common for people to pop into a medspa or other clinic to receive injectable treatments. Because injectables like Botox and dermal fillers are used so frequently, it is easy to assume that side effects may not occur. It is also easy to trust that an injector, A, is using the right product and, B, knows how to use that product appropriately. A general rule of thumb is that, if you are new to fillers, as for a hyaluronic acid product that can be reversed if you don’t like your results. Also, play it safe and receive injections from a reputable plastic surgeon’s office that has numerous good reviews.
It’s hard to believe that any physician would offer procedures like breast augmentation without extensive consultation and consideration for patient safety. News stories tell us otherwise. Patients put their trust in surgeons who promote their expertise and should not be misled that a surgical procedure can be conducted and recovered-from within a matter of hours. Breast surgeries, which are offered as lunchtime procedures by some doctors, require meticulous performance to ensure the proper positioning of the breast implant. Without proper insertion, the implant can pucker, wrinkle, or even protrude through the skin.
Cosmetic procedures are common, yes, but that does not mean they are standardized. All faces and bodies are different. Successful surgery, and even injectable treatment, relies on the provider’s attention to detail and understanding of individual objectives.
Get cosmetic treatment from a professional team with high standards for patient care. Call our Pottsville or Hazleton office to schedule your consultation.
We frequently express ourselves using facial movements. More than we may think, our face is sending messages even when we’re not purposefully smiling or frowning. This can be problematic when the signs of aging affect the appearance of highly-emotive facial features such as the mouth or the eyes. Patients that visit our Hazleton and Pottsville offices often express the desire not to look younger, necessarily, but to look more awake and friendly. Blepharoplasty can help. Here, we share some of the questions we hear from patients interested in refreshing their facial appearance.
Blepharoplasty is an eyelid lift. It removes skin that has become loose and heavy. The procedure also adjusts the fat pads beneath the skin of the upper or lower eyelids to reduce hooding or puffiness that is aging the eyes. After upper blepharoplasty, the natural crease should be reinstated and the skin should lie smoothly. After lower blepharoplasty, the eyes should look bright and youthful, without hollowness or bags. Because an eyelid lift corrects age-related concerns, people often wonder if they are too young for this procedure. Our objective in observing a patient is not their biological age but the age of their skin and the appearance of the eyes. Blepharoplasty is often performed on people in their forties, as well as people in their sixties and beyond.
Surgery on the eyes must leave visible scars, right? Scars, yes. Visible, not so much. Scars are a natural outcome of incisions. However, the thickness of scars relates to the thickness of the skin. The thin skin on the eyelids pays off in this matter because the resulting scars are so minor that you’d have to show someone where they are for them to notice. Meaning, they won’t notice on their own.
Blepharoplasty rejuvenates the eyes by trimming excess tissue from the eyelids. However, upper eyelid heaviness may not be caused by eyelid skin at all; it may be caused by a falling brow line. In that case, a brow or forehead lift may be performed independently or in combination with blepharoplasty to achieve the best results.
The signs of aging can bring focus on the eyes for all the wrong reasons. Make your eyes stand out for their friendliness and youthfulness. Learn more about blepharoplasty by scheduling a consultation in our Hazleton or Pottsville office.
Hundreds of patients come through our offices each month seeking to address cosmetic concerns. Often, they relate to the signs of aging, such as sagging jowls, hooded eyelids, and lines and wrinkles. When addressing these concerns, it is important that patients understand the nature of aging. Not only how it affects appearance by why. When we start at the root cause of cosmetic aging, we can better understand why no singular treatment, even surgery, can correct all problems.
Historically, the signs of aging have been topical solutions. Ancients used milk baths to promote beautiful skin. More recently, science has developed more powerful topicals such as medical-grade retinoids, hyaluronic acid, lasers, and other high-tech energies. In every one of these instances, the skin can look a little better and become a little stronger. However, long-term beauty is only possible with maintenance. This is why.
Aging does not happen on the surface of the skin. It happens in the dermis, where cells called fibroblasts live. Fibroblasts make collagen and elastin, proteins that then form the skin’s foundation. Collagen is a firming protein, whereas elastin is flexible and allows the skin to stretch and contract. These are vital characteristics that, when lost, lead to sagging, rough, deflated skin. Up until about age 30, our fibroblasts are humming right along, making all the collagen and elastin we need and then some. After that age, these cells go into relative dormancy. When they do, the body’s use of 1 to 2% of existing proteins each year sends us into depletion, where we begin to see the signs of aging.
To truly meet the skin’s needs over time, our job is to keep those fibroblasts stimulated. This means maintenance because no treatment can wake up fibroblasts for good. Each treatment that is performed can stimulate fibroblast activity that lasts up to six months. However, depending on how severe the signs of aging are when treatment begins, several sessions may be needed just to restore an optimal baseline.
If you’ve ever wondered why beauty treatments are “sold” in packages, this is the reason. Beauty isn’t once-and-done, so your treatments can’t be, either. To learn more about the services we offer, contact our Pottsville or Hazleton office.
Professional skincare treatments provide teens and adults the assistance they need to maximize the health of their skin. Today, we’ve got numerous technologies and devices that help us remove dead and damaged cells, unwanted veins, unwanted hair, and the many signs of sun damage. There is an old saying that applies to skin treatments, though. It goes, “the right thing at the wrong time becomes the wrong thing.” To make sure you get the maximum benefit from your chosen skin treatment, consider these pointers.
Generally, professionals recommend scheduling deeper treatments and those that create photosensitivity for the winter months. These include but are not limited to:
Fortunately, the list of Wintertime-only treatments is quite short. The following treatments can be obtained any time of year.
Our experienced staff is here to help you find the best treatments for your skin. Call our Hazleton or Pottsville office to schedule a consultation.
The appearance of the skin changes as we age; most people realize this. What we don’t often see is just how many factors influence the skin. Our genetics play some part in how we age, but there is much more contribution made by our lifestyle habits and how much time we spend in the sun without sunscreen. Even our facial expressions affect the elasticity and firmness of tissue. Those who know the skin needs help often look for it in the form of products. This is a good start that should be a part of a bigger plan that includes laser skin resurfacing.
Laser skin resurfacing delivers controlled energy into the skin to remove the uppermost layer of cells. These cells no longer provide value to appearance and are just stuck in place. The dead and damaged cells that sit on the epidermis dull the complexion and make it much more difficult for skincare products to achieve their intended effects. These cells need to go, and laser is a great method of removing them.
It isn’t enough to undergo a single treatment and expect the skin to age more gracefully. After you have laser skin resurfacing, we recommend that you:
Give your skin a leg up on the aging process. Call our Hazleton or Pottsville office to learn more about laser resurfacing.
For years, it has been said that the eyes are the windows to the soul. What this really means is that we tend to perceive a person’s character based on the appearance of their eyes. If the eyes are heavy and hooded, the face may look tired or angry. If this is not truly how you feel, then your eyes aren’t true windows to your soul at all. To bring your truest self to light, you may have to address the age-related changes that have affected your eyes. We can do that with blepharoplasty.
Blepharoplasty is the cosmetic procedure that rejuvenates the eyes by correcting undesirable changes in the eyelids and superficial tissue. This surgery does what Botox and fillers alone cannot. It achieves permanent improvements with minimal downtime. Here are a few of the ways blepharoplasty can restore a more youthful look.
There are several reasons to consider eyelid rejuvenation surgery in comparison to injectable treatments. To learn more about the value of blepharoplasty, schedule a consultation in our Pottsville or Hazleton office.
There are so many cosmetic treatments available today that it’s not surprising we may miss the immense value of one or two of them. For example, microneedling is a minimally invasive beauty treatment that licensed professionals have been performing for years. Even celebs tout the benefits of microneedling. And yet, this is one of several skin treatments that many people never realized they needed. We’d like to discuss this.
Anything that mentions the word needle may sound unpleasant. Microneedling is anything but unpleasant. The treatment does involve the insertion of micro-fine needles up to 3.0 mm into the dermis, yes. However, the needles aren’t much denser than a strand of hair. To improve patient experience, providers apply a topical numbing cream to the skin before commencing with treatment. Finally, the ultra-fine needles are inserted in a strictly vertical pattern utilizing an automated hand-piece that moves quickly over the skin.
What could possibly be the intent of poking tiny channels into the skin with needles? This may sound somewhat absurd, right? Well, when microneedles are passed over the skin, the channels that they leave behind are only there momentarily. The body closes off the micro-injuries within an hour or two. In that time, though, the body perceives injury that requires healing. To heal the channels that have been purposefully created, the body sends new collagen into the skin. New collagen, along with its sister healing chemical elastin, plumps and softens the skin right away.
Seeing collagen as a healing protein, we can observe the extended benefits of enhanced collagen production. This protein floods wounds like scraped knees or paper cuts. Similarly, collagen can infuse the scar tissue that forms after acne. For individuals with either chronic acne or acne scarring, microneedling can be the catalyst for dermatologic change.
As a living organ, the skin is continually regenerating itself. Old, dead skin cells should naturally fall away from the epidermis. They don’t always cooperate. Microneedling stimulates cellular renewal through which these damaged, dull cells slough off. The new cells that come up to the surface are those that have received an influx of collagen and elastin. The results of this regeneration are fewer obvious lines and wrinkles, smaller pores, and a brighter complexion.
Are you ready for a quick refresher for your skin? Contact us in Hazleton or Pottsville to learn more about microneedling.
Medical terms have a way of sounding complicated. Gynecomastia is one of many examples. While doctors and other healthcare providers may find this jargon helpful, you may not. We must build a bridge between everyday language and clinical verbiage so more people can be helped. You may not know what gynecomastia is (why would you?). That is unless you’ve ever googled the words “man boobs” or “male breasts.” These are the everyday terms used to describe the enlargement of a man’s breast tissue. And they are the topic of discussion here.
Based on everyday language like “man boobs,” we see that gynecomastia is the noticeable enlargement of a man’s breasts. All men have breasts, to be honest, but most are more muscle than fat. This is what differentiates male from female physique, muscle tissue. For some men, this balance of muscle to fatty tissue doesn’t fully develop or it gets disrupted.
There are several contributing factors to gynecomastia. Genetics may play a role, as can weight and medication or drug use. It would seem that genetics are more influential because not all men who gain weight see an increase in breast size. Conversely, some men with gynecomastia are at a stable weight and may even work out frequently to correct their breast shape. From what we know at this time, the only way to correct enlarged male breasts is with plastic surgery.
Male breast reduction is a procedure that is consistently growing in popularity. This isn’t because the number of men developing enlarged breasts is increasing but that more men are learning that this effective treatment exists. Gynecomastia has to do with fat. It may be influenced by the breast gland. And it may affect the skin. Therefore, male breast reduction may address all three. Some of the techniques that are considered for gynecomastia treatment include:
Whatever we call it, the enlargement of the male breast is not a condition that a man needs to live with. If you would like to learn more about male breast reduction, schedule a consultation in our Pottsville or Hazleton office.
THE OFFICE
