Why does nobody want to feel like a natural woman anymore?

We now have a new aesthetic of femininity where everything is meant to be as fake as possible.

Article by Suzanne Moore,The Guardian, Saturday 19 February 2011

Falsies have become my preoccupation. But clearly not just mine. I could buy a mascara called Falsies to give myself "the ultimate false lash glam look". But why do that when I could just wear enormous false eyelashes? Or, better still, spend a small fortune on lash extensions, which hopefully wouldn't fall off for a few weeks if tended lovingly. It all seems a lot of time and energy, really.

On the train or at the supermarket I see many young girls with long, spidery, glittery lashes, even when in their uniforms. I quite like this overalls-and-drag-queen look. I like the lack of pretence that this is real. But how did we get here, I wonder – to this new aesthetic of femininity where everything is meant to look as fake as possible? Hair, nails, tan, teeth, tits. Sure, I know the rules: that we are born naked, and "the rest is just drag". Sure, I get the hyper-femininity of the big queens and the game old birds such as Dolly Parton and Cher. What is strange is that a parody of femininity is now what many ordinary women are aspiring to.

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Backlash Against The Botox Backlash!

Posted on 15/02/2011 at 09:20:08 | by Dr. Tracy Mountford

Some of you may have read in the national press recently about the ‘Botox® Backlash’ from ’A’ list celebrities that supposedly have given up Botox® for the natural look?

We suspect that in most cases this is probably not the case. In reality celebrities are opting for the more subtle treatments, which is good news.

It's a shame that Botox® has been associated with overdone immovable foreheads and mouths that cannot smile properly. In reality correctly administered Botox® (just a little but not too much) still allows movement that is natural but smooths harsh lines and achieves an airbrushed effect.

These days its more about natural enhancement; the key is not to look done, its more about the ‘make under’ rather than the ‘make over’. You can have movement and still look wrinkle free. Our patients just look softer and more rejuvenated, just a better fresher version of their natural selves!

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Do you Need 'Blackberry Botox'? How squinting at smartphones causes premature wrinkles

Women heading into middle-age may find themselves self-consciously checking their faces for signs of frown lines and crows feet.

But now younger women may have reason to worry according to one top cosmetic doctor, who found many are developing premature wrinkles from staring at their smartphones.

Dr Jean-Louis Sebagh said peering at a small screen causes your face to scrunch up, creating an area of tension around and between the brows. The London-based anti-ageing expert said women were then resorting to Botox to smooth out the fine facial lines.

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Have scientists finally found the facelift in a jar? Cream claims to get to the root of wrinkles

It's hailed as the magic beauty ingredient that can take years off your face.

And collagen, the skin-plumping protein said to smooth out laugh lines and crow’s feet, seems to be in most anti-wrinkle creams on the market these days.

But what if it were possible to target your skin’s own ‘collagen factory’ and coax it to pump out more of its own?

That’s the claim, at least, of a cream which is being touted as the first to get to the root of wrinkles.

Its makers say it will be the first anti-ageing cream to pinpoint the collagen-making cells which are vital to youthful skin.

Rubbed into the skin once a day for eight weeks, it tricks ageing skin cells into pumping out levels of collagen normally seen in a much younger body. This plumps up the skin, reducing the depth of wrinkles, according to its makers L’Oreal.

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Facelift Makes You Look 12 Years Younger

New Study Helps Set Expectations for Recovery and Results after Facelift Surgery.

Patients who have undergone a facelift rate themselves as looking an average of 12 years younger after surgery, according to a study in the February issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

After a "significant" recovery period, the vast majority of patients undergoing facelift surgery are satisfied with their results, according to the study by Eric Swanson, MD, an ASPS Member Surgeon in private practice in Leawood, Kansas. "These findings support the recommendation of surgical facial rejuvenation to patients who wish to look younger," Dr. Swanson writes.

For Most Patients, Facelift Improves Appearance and Quality of Life:
Dr. Swanson performed a detailed analysis of the outcomes in 122 patients who had a facelift between 2002 and 2007. The patients were 82 women and 11 men, average age 57 years. The patients were interviewed an average of seven months after their operation. Most had other cosmetic plastic surgery procedures, such as forehead lift and/or eyelid surgery, at the same time as their facelift.

The patients were highly satisfied with their results. The "average subjective reduction in apparent age" was 11.9 years, with a range of 0 to 27½ years. Ninety-seven percent of patients said the results met their expectations. Forty percent rated the results even better than expected.

Nearly 90 percent of patients said they had received positive reactions from other people regarding their new appearance, while only seven percent reported negative reactions. More than 80 percent of patients reported improved self-esteem, and 70 percent reported improved quality of life.

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Is 36 the new age of the cosmetic face?

Lindsay Lohan now looks older than her 24 years. Photo: Getty Images

One-face-fits-all surgery gives both younger and older women the same plumped look, says Anna Coogan

It's not the first time that Lindsay Lohan's unnatural appearance has raised serious speculation regarding the amount of cosmetic procedures that the 24-year-old Hollywood star may be having done.

Eva Wiseman in The Observer doesn't directly accuse the star of overdoing it with Botox and facial fillers, yet she doesn't hold back when she describes the sight of the Hollywood star at Paris Fashion Week with the following damning words: "She had a forehead so taut and shiny it looked like an iPhone 4. Her lips were inflated to the size of a melting Twix, and her cheekbones looked as if they were climbing her jaw in order to dive to their death."

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Treatment of facial veins with laser and light based treatments

Facial redness and spider veins are a common cosmetic and medical complaint. These are particularly common in rosacea suffers. Common associations are seen with sun damage, a fair complexion, stress, spicy foods and fluctuations in temperature which exacerbate rosacea symptoms. As with many conditions, genetics plays a role too.

Numerous treatments are available but laser and light based treatments are the gold-standard treatment options. Commonly used lasers are ktp and pulse dye lasers for red veins and nd-yag lasers for blue veins. The smaller wavelength lasers work well on superficial spider veins whereas, the longer wavelength lasers are effective for the ablation of slightly deeper and larger veins. Pulse duration must also be matched to vessel size; the larger the vessel diameter, the longer is the pulse duration required to treat the vessel.

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Cheap Botox - How low can it go?

The following advertisement was recently spotted on the well known special offer site Groupon. It features a dentist led clinic in Wales offering Botox® for £40!

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