If you’ve often thought that your buttocks was too flat, unshapely or sagging, then this procedure is something you should consider. Many people believe that it is designed just to create larger, rounder buttocks, but that is not necessarily so – while it can do that, it can also provide a more balanced figure that has an attractive side profile. The buttocks is the most noticeable part of your rear and side profile, so it’s something worth augmenting if you feel the need to add some perkiness to your behind.

The procedure itself should not be confused with buttocks implants. Implants are made of the same substance as breast implants, and are surgically placed above the muscle. These are designed more for enlarging the buttocks and making it round. The Brazilian butt-lift is more about proportions and adding a youthful appearance.

Often, this procedure is done not using implants but rather an injection. Fat transfer from other parts of your body is one of the most popular methods of a Brazilian butt-lift. Fat is removed from certain parts of your body, purified, and then injected into the upper portion of your buttocks. Depending on the look you are trying to achieve, more or less fat might be necessary. The fat injection may be combined with some targeted liposuction around the buttocks areas to make the contours stand out more. The result of these injections is a more lifted look, a more youthful buttocks and an overall more sensual profile.

Fat injections from your own body are long-lasting, so you can expect to enjoy a firmer, more voluptuous figure for a long time after a Brazilian Butt-Lift. This is becoming a popular procedure for people of all ethnicities, shapes and sizes, as it can be tailored to the specific look you want. If you have ever thought about improving your rear profile, discuss the possibilities that a Brazilian butt-lift could hold for you.

Our appearance is tied to how we feel about ourselves. If we are happy with how we look, it will show in many areas of our lives. We will be confident, poised, more sociable, and have an overall higher quality of life. Even if you like the way you look, however, aging can put dents and holes in your self-confidence. If you’re looking for a boost, whether in the form of a dramatic change or a subtle nuance, you can turn to cosmetic surgery for some help.

One thing that many people do to stay looking younger is visit their doctor for regular Botox injections. Botox paralyzes the muscles on the face so that they cannot constrict and cause wrinkles. As our skin ages, it loses elasticity and wrinkles become deeper and more prominent. In places like between the eyes and around the mouth, where our muscles are constantly contracting, these wrinkles can make us appear older than we really are. Botox can be used to smooth out the skin in these areas, and make our faces look much more youthful. Botox injections must be done regularly, about once every six months, in order to remain effective.

A more dramatic approach to an aging face is to get a facelift. This is a surgical procedure that tightens the skin by pulling it back at the base of the hairline around the face. The entire face will appear rejuvenated, and wrinkles will be smoothed out. This is a more expensive and time-consuming procedure than Botox, and many people wait until they are older for a facelift. After the healing time, you can expect results that are long-lasting.

Targeting specific areas of the face can shave years off of your appearance as well. For instance, eyelid surgery can take drooping eyes and make them more alert and youthful. Or lip injections can be used to add fullness to lips that have thinned out over the years. It is also possible to target other parts of the body, such as sagging arms, visible veins or thinning hair.

The aging process affects us all, but there are many ways you can prevent wrinkles, sagging skin and other signs of aging from taking over your appearance. There are a plethora of cosmetic procedures designed to combat the signs of aging, so if you want to look and feel younger, talk to your doctor about your options today.

Am I a good candidate for rhinoplasty?

In order to be considering rhinoplasty, you should be sure that you want to change something about your facial appearance. Because the nose is central to the face, it will alter your appearance greatly. If you feel self-conscious about the size or shape of your nose, you might want to consider this procedure. Your doctor will discuss the realistic outcomes and the risks involved with this surgery with you, so be sure you understand these elements before deciding that it’s right for you. The ideal candidate will also not desire the “perfect” nose, as this is an impossible goal.

What can rhinoplasty do for my nose?

Rhinoplasty targets one or several aspects of your nose shape and size. It can be used to reduce the curve in the bridge of the nose, reshape the tip, resize overly large nostrils, provide balance in the overall symmetry of the nose, decrease the width of the bridge, and many other things. If you suffer from an aging nose with a tip that droops, rhinoplasty can tighten and lift. If your nose is too wide, rhinoplasty can make it more narrow and streamlined. Whatever problem you have with your nose, your surgeon will likely be able to correct it with specifically targeted surgery.

What results can I expect?

Rhinoplasty can not get your that celebrity nose you crave – but it can improve your appearance dramatically. The results of this surgery will be long-lasting, and, although your nose will change along with your face as you age, are near permanent. So be sure that you are prepared to appear different. Most rhinoplasty ends with a successful reshaping and resizing of the patient’s nose. You will be pleased with the results after your nose has healed, and you can expect to feel more self-confidence and satisfaction with your appearance after the surgery.

What else should I know about rhinoplasty?

This procedure is not a quick, outpatient surgery. It requires careful work by your surgeon, and quite a lot of healing time. You can expect to have some bruising and discomfort while your nose is healing post-surgery, and you will have to wear a compression garment for some time. However, because the results are long-lasting most patients feel that these costs are well worth the results. DIscuss all safety concerns, expected outcomes and procedural steps with your doctor before deciding that a rhinoplasty is right for you.

What is a clinical trial?

A clinical trial is a supervised research study on the effectiveness and safety of different drugs, therapies, treatments and procedures. It is useful in determining the level of dosage of a drug required for it to work, the safety of a particular treatment, who is and is not right for a certain procedure among many other things.

What types of clinical trials are there?

Different therapies require different clinical trials to test their effectiveness. It is important to remember that any clinical trial should be supervised by a medical professional the entire time, and that it should involve checkups at a later date. Types of clinical trials include quality of life trials, which determine the best approaches to offering comfort to those with chronic illness; diagnostic trials, where the purpose of the study is to determine how best to diagnose an illness; prevention trials, which are aimed at discovering the best methods for preventing illness or a worsening of a current condition; and treatment trials, which test different methods of approaching a certain medical need.

What are cosmetic surgery clinical trials like?

Clinical trials in cosmetic surgery are often based on a treatment. For instance, they may involve long-term observations about a new type of breast implant material to compare it to current saline and silicone, or they may be more concerned with using already known substances like Botox for new purposes.

Who participates in clinical trials?

Once a procedure, therapy or drug is safe for use in humans, it will begin its clinical trials. Every trial has a set of criteria that outlines who can and cannot participate. In some cases, there will be gender or age restrictions, while in others they will have stricter guideline that may include lifestyle habits, previous medical history and other factors.

Are clinical trials safe?

If you are considering signing up for a clinical trial, be sure to assess how safe the study is. In the US, the FDA must approve every clinical trial before it is applied to participants, but there are still risks involved. Because it is a new procedure or a new way of applying a therapy, there may be some chance of illness, ineffectiveness, costliness or even life-threatening complications. Be sure to do thorough research into the safety, the history and the aim of the study and its therapy before you sign up.

This is why some people turn to an arm lift to correct their sagging arm skin. An arm lift is a cosmetic procedure that targets the part of the arm from under the armpit to the elbow. Sometimes called “batwing” skin, this is the area that suffers from excess fat and sagging skin the most along the arm.

Some people only suffer from excess fat on their upper arm, not excess or sagging skin. In these cases, liposuction might be enough to correct the problem. Be sure to talk to your doctor about your particular arm issues, and see whether an arm lift or liposuction is right for you.

If you do have aging or sagging skin that hangs off of your arm, then an arm lift will correct the problem. The procedure is straightforward: your surgeon will administer anesthesia, and then make an incision from your upper arm to your elbow. He or she will cut away the excess skin, and suture the wound.

One important caveat when considering an arm lift is the scar – it is a large scar that runs down the back of your entire upper arm, from underarm to elbow. This will heal over time and the red color will fade, but the scar itself will always be there. Do not consider this surgery if you are not willing to trade sagging arm skin for this scar.

Your doctor will give you a compression garment to wrap around your arm while it heals. This garment will help your skin to heal into a new shape that is tight, firm and attractive. The healing process might involve some bruising, swelling and other discomfort. This is normal, and lasts up to several weeks in some patients. Your doctor can prescribe medication to alleviate the discomfort, and reduce the swelling during this period.

The results of an arm lift will be visible right away, but the full effect won’t hit until the healing has finished. After two or three weeks, you should notice that your arms are more shapely and toned-looking. Your youthful appearance will be greatly enhanced by trim upper arms, so if you want to rejuvenate your look, this procedure might be for you.

Sclerotherapy, as spider vein treatment is known in the medical world, is a procedure designed to rid your legs of those bulging, discolored veins that begin to protrude as we age.

Spider veins are thin veins that usually form in clusters of spider-web-like sections along the thighs, calves, ankles, feet and sometime the face. There is no sure cause of spider veins, but genetics likely plays a big role in increasing your chances of having spider veins later in life. It is important that you discuss your spider veins with a board certified doctor before you get treatment, because they are very different from varicose veins. These are larger, more bulging veins that are often darker in color. Spider veins rarely go away with just time – they only increase in number, size and area as we age.

If you do decide to get sclerotherapy, be sure you understand all of the details of the procedure first. It involves an injection of a sclerosing agent into the affected area. This will make the walls of the veins harden and scar, and their appearance will become much less noticeable.

You must understand that sclerotherapy will not make the veins disappear, only become less visible. The purplish, reddish hue will usually go away, and will be replaced by a more natural color.

This is the most common way to use cosmetic surgery to fight spider veins. Because these veins grow with time, you may need repeat treatments as you age. If more veins appear, they will not have had the injection and they will look just as purple or red as your previous veins.

There is little down time with this surgery. As it is an injection of a foreign substance, some patients have noted that they experience slight discomfort or sharp pains during the injection and shortly after, but this usually fades quickly. You will likely be asked to refrain from strenuous physical activity for about 24-hours immediately after your procedure, but following that, you can result regular activity.

Spider veins can be a source of great embarrassment, when you’re wearing a cute skirt or a pair of shorts. Sclerotherapy is a time-tested and long-lasting procedure designed to alleviate your discomfort and give you a more smooth, natural pigmentation on your legs and face.

If you only have a few wrinkles around the corners of your eyes, commonly known as crow’s feet, you can ask your doctor about Botox. This substance will paralyze the muscles around your eyes and prevent them from squinting or frowning, which can cause wrinkles to form. Botox is a non-surgical cosmetic procedure. It is simply a matter of a few injections into the areas that have wrinkles, and you will notice the results over time. Repeat injections are required for a long-term wrinkle-free face.

For more serious problems, you might have to discuss surgical options. Many men and women notice that their eyelids become droopy with age, or that they have sagging lines under their eye sockets. Eyelid surgery, known as blepharoplasty, will rejuvenate your eye’s overall appearance. It requires that you go in for a surgical consultation and then a procedure. You can target the upper eyelid, the lower eyelid or both with eyelid surgery.

This procedure makes your entire face look younger. It targets loose, sagging skin and fat deposits, and tightens your whole appearance. However, it carries with it more risks than Botox. For instance, because your surgeon is working in such a sensitive area of the body, you may find that your eyes are irritated or dry following the procedure. Or, the scars might not heal correctly, and you are left with an appearance that is no better than before.

These risks are necessary to consider, but most who have had Botox injections or eyelid surgery have had positive results. Their whole face is given a renewed look, often shaving off 5 to 10 years from their appearance. Botox is long-lasting with repeated treatments and eyelid surgery is long-lasting immediately after treatment, so it is something that will change your life for years to come. If you struggle with tired, aging, or just plain unattractive eyes, you might want to consider one of these options to get you a more youthful appearance.

However, a new warning has been issued recently by the Physicians Coalition for Injectable Safety regarding certain injectables that are being used without FDA-approval.

The two offending injectables are carboxytherapy And mesotherapy. Neither of these chemicals has been proven to be safe or effective in proving the claims that they make.

Carboxytherapy involves injecting carbon dioxide just under the skin. The makers claim that it reduces the signs of cellulite, and that it can smooth out under-eye bags. These claims are not proven, and they are also potentially dangerous. Experts say that the carbon dioxide injected into the skin is dangerous, especially around the eyes, where it could seep into the blood vessels and potentially cause blindness.

Mesotherapy is even more of an unknown that carboxytherapy. It is a cocktail of sorts, a jumble of nutrients and drugs that is injected into the body, supposedly to stimulate weight loss. The claim that this injection causes patients to lose weight is not proven through any clinical trial or study.

Neither of these drugs have been tested for safety. Anyone looking for cosmetic procedures must be aware of the dangers associated with chemicals and substances that are not FDA approved. Because no conclusive trials have been recorded, the reaction that your body may have to these or other non-approved substances could be damaging and potentially fatal.

The Coalition reminds potential cosmetic surgery patients to keep three things in mind when researching any procedure: doctor, brand and safety. These three things will keep you healthy and will ensure that your procedure is safe and effective. Your doctor should be board certified, and you should ask questions to determine qualifications, education, the number of times that he or she has performed the procedure and other things. The brand of substance should be well-known, and it must be FDA-approved for your safety. And finally, the setting itself should be clean, sterile and safe.

All of these considerations should be covered for any procedure, but especially for non-invasive ones like injectables. Because these are seen as “lighter” procedures, people often think that they do not require the same level of safety-checks as other surgeries. However, keep these specific warnings in mind when looking for your next cosmetic procedure, and remember that even if it is a non-invasive procedure, you can never be too careful.

In the past, laser therapies on the face were extremely effective, but at a cost: they required a prolonged period of healing for the patient. The skin would be red and sometimes swollen and painful after laser treatment for days and even weeks. Many patients thought that this was worth the wonderful results, but now they might not have to deal with the healing period at all.

Lasers can be used to reduce minor to moderate blemishes on the face. This includes everything from acne scars to sun spots, wrinkles and age spots. It is effective because it is an ablative procedure, meaning that it has to wound the skin in order to allow the new, healthy skin below to grow.

There is a new way that lasers are being used now on the face, that involves significantly less down time and less wounding of the skin. Researchers have modified the traditional carbon dioxide lasers to give them a fractional property. What this means is that thin, small columns of light are sent deep into the skin, and burn away thin columns of dead skin and damaged skin. As your face heals, the areas where the damage skin was wounded tighten, and your skin produces more collagen. This results in smoother skin, fewer wrinkles and fewer blemishes.

The new fractional carbon dioxide laser does not cover as much surface area as traditional lasers, so the healing time is significantly reduced. Rather than a week or two of redness, swelling and other discomforts, patients undergoing the new procedure experience only three or four days before they are healed and seeing their new results.

This particular type of laser is also good for long-term results. Patients report several months of continued improvement, because of the stimulated collagen growth.

All lasers carry some risk, so be sure to talk to your doctor about the benefits and safety concerns of laser treatment on the face or other parts of your body. And because this is a new, cutting-edge procedure, be sure to fully research its implications before you decide that it is right for you.

People sweat in different ways. If you sweat after a workout or after being in the sun for a prolonged period of time, that’s normal. You don’t need any treatment, except possibly some anitperspirant. However, those with an abundance of sweat, or those who sweat even when there are no environmental factors to cause sweating, usually have a problem that needs to be addressed.

You might find yourself sweating from under your arms, through the palms of your hands, or from the soles of your feet. This can lead to embarrassing situations involving sweat stains on your shirt, awkward handshakes or smelly feet. And ultimately, excessive sweating can cause your self-esteem to plummet, leaving you without confidence in public places.

You have several options to combat excessive sweating, known in the medical world as hyperhidrosis. The first step that you should take to address hyperhidrosis is to ensure that it isn’t being caused by an underlying condition. Discuss with your doctor the possibility that you are suffering from menopause, obesity or other conditions that can cause sweating.

If you find that your sweating is cause and symptom, then you can ask your surgeon about all of the options to correct this embarrassing condition. In all likelihood, your surgeon will begin by suggesting a strong antiperspirant. This can be effective, and if it is recommended by your doctor, you should try this option before you ask for surgery. For many sufferers of hyperhidrosis, all it takes is daily (or more frequent) applications of a strong, medicated antiperspirant in order to solve the problem.

For others, however, this simply does not work. Those with sensitive skin might find it irritating, and those with severe hyperhidrosis might find it too weak. In these cases, you have two general options involving plastic surgery.

Your first option is Botox. This has been used in many clinical trials and it is shown to be very effective at combating sweating, especially when injected under the arms. The Botox toxin blocks the creation of the substance which causes sweating. This is a safe and effective treatment, but it must be repeated once every few months in order to remain effective.

If Botox and antiperspirant are unsuccessful, you can always turn to invasive surgery. You can opt to remove the skin at the source, the sweaty skin under your arms, or your surgeon might suggest removing the nerves at your spine that cause sweating. This option is highly effective, but carries with it the most risk.

Cosmetic surgery can help you overcome your problems with excessive sweating. Just start with the non-invasive procedures first, and work your way up if they prove to be unsuccessful. And above all, listen to the recommendations of your doctor.