Some plastic surgeons have a message for their wrinkle-conscious patients: stop chewing gum. Chewing gum leads to wrinkles.
It freshens our breath and helps us quit smoking, but some cosmetic surgeons believe chewing gum does one more thing: It gives us wrinkles.
"Many of my patients who are gum chewers have a certain pattern of wrinkles around their mouth," says Dr. Joel Schlessinger, a board certified dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon from Omaha, Neb. "And I think the gum is responsible to some degree for it."
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Experts attribute the gum-wrinkle connection to two things. First, there's the repetitive motion of chewing, which causes lines and folds around the mouth due to muscle overuse, says Dr. Hema Sundaram, a Washington, D.C.-area cosmetic surgeon and laser expert.
"I believe chewing gum promotes muscle over-activity and potentially breaks down support tissue within the skin, contributing to volume loss and perhaps loss of skin elasticity," she says.
What's more, chewing gum can dislodge dermal fillers that people have injected into their faces to plump up their wrinkles.
"It makes your Restylane and other fillers last less long," says Sundaram.
Your dentist will tell you that chewing sugar free gum will help reduce cavities and will reduce stains from drinking coffee and tea. But he or she will also tell you that chewing gum can dislodge expensive dental work. Plastic surgeons will tell you that using a straw all the time will make more wrinkles around the mouth, similar to those of smokers.
So, to sum up: to prevent wrinkles and keep your teeth white, don't eat, chew gum, drink coffee, tea or red wine, use a straw or go outside without vampire-level sunblock. Oh, and don't smile -- or frown. That really causes wrinkles.
Heidi Montag speaks out about the horrors of having to pay for plastic surgery with a credit card in this Funny or Die clip directed by Ron Howard. Heidi is interrupted once to learn that Lauren Conrad is calling to apologize. Heidi says, "I'm not here." Heidi also needs the camera man's help to know if she really is smiling. Take a look:
We all know that Botox injections limit your ability to frown, and thereby show your anger or sadness. But a new study reveals that the inability to show anger actually helps interrupt the brain's signaling system for anger. People who use Botox are slower at recognizing anger and depression -- and are less likely to experience the emotions overall.
It's a version of the classic finding in psychology that facial expressions can produce the very emotion they usually reflect. Called the facial feedback hypothesis, it implies that forcing your lips and cheeks into a smile can make you feel happy and scowling can make you feel annoyed, at least a little. Building on that research, graduate student David Havas of the University of Wisconsin-Madison decided to study people who had received Botox treatments that paralyzed one pair of their corrugator muscles, which cause the forehead to constrict into a frown. The idea was to see whether the treatment affected their ability to feel certain emotions. We already know that Botox affects the ability to convey emotions such as anger, and a 2006 study found that it might even alleviate depression, as Newsweek reported, presumably by the same mechanism: block the facial expression of sadness, prevent the related emotion.
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This is the first study suggesting that Botox affects the ability to understand the emotional content of language. "Normally, the brain would be sending signals to the periphery to frown, and the extent of the frown would be sent back to the brain," UW-Madison professor emeritus of psychology Arthur Glenberg (and Havas's adviser) said in a statement. "But here, that loop is disrupted, and the intensity of the emotion and of our ability to understand it when embodied in language is disrupted."
Botox: it's the neurotoxin that just keeps giving.
The New York Postreports
that Jersey Shore's Jwoww is scheduling plastic surgery to increase the size of her implants.
Jenni "JWoww" Farley is planning another boob job to enhance her already enormous assets. She was spotted Friday visiting the Long Island offices of plastic surgeon Dr. Stephen Greenberg, a breast specialist who also has offices on Park Avenue. A source told us, "She wants to get it done as soon as possible to be ready for the new season." A rep for JWoww refused to comment, and calls to Greenberg's office were not returned.
We're thinking that somehow this is all related to Heidi Montag. She's set the standard for ridiculously large breast implants on reality show stars. We predict that Jwoww will get bigger implants than Heidi's in order to upstage Snooki, who seems to be getting more attention in the media than Jwoww. It's not going to work though. Snooki has the better nickname, by far.
Heidi Montag talks to Billy Bush about her plastic surgeries. She tells Billy that she nearly died afterward because she was given too much Demerol. Billy tells he to try to move her face and she can't really. Apparently her plastic surgeon is horrified at her going public, because she's still swollen and this is not an accurate representation of how she will look. Take a look:
Dr. Frank Ryan denies that she almost died. He says the incident never happened.
In a new interview with Access Hollywood's Shaun Robinson, Dr. Frank Ryan said Heidi's comments to Access' Billy Bush -- that she almost died in recovery -- aren't correct.
"I almost died after my procedure," Heidi told Billy on Monday. 'I had too much Demerol like Michael Jackson did and my breathing was five breaths per minute which is like almost dead. [I was] in an aftercare center, there were nurses that were supposed to be tending to me at all times."
But that isn't how her doctor remembers it.
"That didn't happen as far as I know," he told Shaun on Tuesday.
"Where would she get that information from?" Shaun asked.
"I don't know," Dr. Ryan said.
Heidi also claimed in her interview with Billy that medical personnel, "had to put oxygen on my face and call my plastic surgeon to come in for an emergency."
"So Heidi got that information wrong?" Shaun asked the doctor.
"Yeah," Dr. Ryan replies.
Dr. Ryan says that he won't be performing any more surgeries on Heidi. He says she is beautiful and doesn't need any more work. He also said she is not addicted to plastic surgery. He says Heidi's mom wants some surgery and he may operate on her soon.
The Heidi Montag plastic surgery story just took a weirder twist. Now Heidi says that she nearly died after the plastic surgery and her story clearly implies that the doctor was negligent.
"I almost died after my procedure," Montag told Access Hollywood's Billy Bush on Monday. "I had too much Demerol like Michael Jackson did and my breathing was five breaths per minute which is like almost dead. (I was) in an aftercare center, there were nurses that were supposed to be tending to me at all times."
"So thank God, Charles, one of my security guys used to be an EMT, and he was timing my breath on his watch and he called the nurses and they had to put oxygen on my face and called my plastic surgeon to come in for an emergency. So, it was a very traumatic experience for me," she continued.
Two months after the surgery, Montag said she is now starting to regain all of the movement in her face.
"I'm starting to move my face more and more," Montag said. '(But,) I feel very plastic .. especially when I first came out, it was so hard for me even to smile and it's still hard for me to chew sometimes. But it's feeling more and more natural everyday because the swelling is going down."
Heidi has surgery on November 20th. She underwent 10 procedures, including another nose job, mini brow lift, Botox, fat injections in cheeks and lips, chin reduction, neck lip, breast implants, lip on her waist and thighs and a butt augmentation.
So, now that she's apparently waived confidentiality is her surgeon allowed to respond to these allegations? He's already under fire for putting her under anesthetic for so long and for performing so many procedures at once.
Heidi Montag, 23, recently had a number of plastic surgeries including 10 plastic surgery procedures in a single day. People has a feature on Heidi where she admits her plastic surgery obsession. Heidi told People, "For the past three years, I've thought about what to have done. I'm beyond obsessed."
Here is a list the plastic surgery procedures that Heidi underwent.
Buttocks augmentation
Boob job touch-up
Nose job touch-up
Chin reduction
Liposuction in her neck
Liposuction in her waist and thighs
Mini brow lift
Botox in the forehead
Fat injections in her cheeks and lips
Pinning back her ears
The Sun-Timesreports that Heidi's surgeries cost about $30,000 and required a week of recovery.
Dr. Jennifer Ashton appears on The Early Show to talk about a new study that revealed that female skin tends to wrinkle faster than male skin. Dr. Ashton focused on the periorbital part of the face, which is around the mouth. Women have a different muscular structure in this area of the face, as well as fewer sweat glands. This all adds up to more wrinkles. Take a look:
Former Miss Argentina Solange Magnano has died as a result of complications from plastic surgery to give her a firmer rear end.
Solange Magnano, 38, died of a pulmonary embolism after undergoing a gluteoplasty in Buenos Aires, a normally routine procedure which involves placing implants in the buttocks to give them a firmer outline.
The mother of eight-year-old twins, who won the beauty crown in 1994, died on Sunday after three days in a critical condition. Roberto Piazza, a close friend, claimed that the procedure also involved injections and the liquid "went to her lungs and brain".
"This woman who had everything is dead because she wanted to have a slightly firmer behind," said Mr Piazza, a fashion designer.
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Ms Magnano underwent the procedure at a plastic surgery clinic on Thursday. The following day she was rushed to hospital with an acute respiratory deficiency. Her condition deteriorated until she suffered the embolism and died on Sunday.
"She only underwent the procedure because she thought it was no big deal," said Guillermo Azar, another close friend of Ms Magnano's.
Juan Carlos Seiler, former president of the Buenos Aires Association of plastic surgeons, suggested the doctor who performed the procedure might not have been "a real professional" from an approved cosmetic surgery centre.
It's shocking that there are suggestions that it wasn't even a real medical doctor that performed the operation. If that's true then a crime was committed against this woman.
There are no discounts or bargains in plastic surgery. Surgeries are very serious and there can be complications even with a top doctor and hospital involved. There have been many cases in the U.S. where patients were injured or died because they did not go to a reputable, licensed, board-certified plastic surgeon.
What a tragedy for her two children.
Here is a news report in Spanish about her death, which has photos and film clips of the former beauty queen.
We cannot believe that this stupid provision is back again
in the Senate version of the health bill. Senate majority leader Harry Reid stuck in the Botax again: he wants a 5% tax on all plastic surgery and procedures, including Botox, Restalyne and facials. This got killed in the House version, but like the zombie that just won't die in the horror movie -- it's back.
Say hello to the nose job tax.
To raise money for the health overhaul, Democrats are proposing a new 5% tax on elective cosmetic procedures. The tax was a surprise addition to the sweeping 2,074-page bill that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid unveiled late Wednesday. It generates $5 billion over a decade for the plan, which is expected to cost $849 billion over a decade.
The tax would fall on the individuals who undergo the procedures. If they don’t pay it when they’re billed for their surgery, then it falls to the provider who performed the procedure.
Not all cosmetic surgeries would get taxed. According to the bill, the tax would only apply if the surgery “is not necessary to ameliorate a deformity arising from, or directly related to, a congenital abnormality, a personal injury resulting from an accident or trauma, or disfiguring disease.” It would take effect Jan. 1.
The majority of people who get cosmetic surgery are not wealthy, according to the most recent data. Most people save up to have a nose job or erase some wrinkles so they can compete in a youth-obsessed job market that actively discriminates against older workers. It's also anti-woman, since the majority of plastic surgery and procedure patients are women. As for the doctors, well, many say that between the recession and the high cost of malpractice insurance that this extra tax will be the last straw.
New Jersey recently enacted such a tax and guess what the result has been? The patients get their procedures done in New York or Philadelphia. Just say no to the Botax.
Normally your frequent flyer miles can be redeemed for air travel, car rental, hotel stays or merchandise. But Finnair Oyj, Finland's biggest airline, has gone a step beyond with it's frequent flyer program. Members can cash in their points for plastic surgery. The phrase "racking up frequent flyer miles" takes on a whole new dimension in Finland.
Breast implants, hair replacement surgery or a face-lift performed by the Nordstroem Hospital in Helsinki are among the newest offerings in the carrier’s Finnair Plus loyalty service, according to the program's Web site.
"Finnair contacted the hospital," Mikko Tuomainen, the airline's director of loyalty programs, said in a telephone interview. "The idea was to incorporate partners and services from all walks of life."
About 1.3 million flyers are enrolled in Finnair's loyalty program, Tuomainen said. Earning the 3.18 million points for breast augmentation surgery requires 120 round-trip, business-class flights between Helsinki and New York, according to a points table on Finnair's Web site. Miles earned with the airline are valid for five years.
Finnair, which added the cosmetic surgery service about a month ago, is in talks with medical practices to offer other health care services, Tuomainen said. Points can also be combined with cash and used for services ranging from restaurants and clubs to car rentals and hotels. Frequent flyers use three-fourths of all points for flights, Tuomainen said.
Once you've accumulated enough points, you go have a consultation at the hospital. After that, you turn in your miles for a voucher that can be used to pay for the surgery. So far, no one has redeemed their miles for surgery.
Finnair is having major financial troubles; the hospital said it is participating in the program to help out the airline. The government of Finland owns 55.8% of Finnair.
Botox is one of the most popular nonsurgical wrinkle treatments. But some consumers are not thrilled about having needles stuck in their faces. Up until now, there really was no alternative. But clinical trials are going on right now which could eventually see a topical form of Botox on the market. One of the issues the researchers are looking into is if the topical version will migrate to sites other than where it is needed. Take a look:
Dermatologist to the stars Dr. Patricia Wexler talks to Kathie Lee and Hoda about the best skin regimen to keep your skin looking youthful and healthy. She demonstrates some of her favorite products for exfoliation, rejuvenation and prevention of damage. Her picks are all under $25, except for the LED light.
She doesn't mention it, but Kathie Lee reminds viewers that Dr. Wexler has her own line of products available at Bath and Body
Works. Take a look:
All the contestants in this beauty contest have had plastic surgery. The contestants for Miss Plastic Hungary 2009 look good because they have had breast implants, nose jobs, face lifts or other types of work done. This video is from Friday night's competition in Budapest. Take a look:
Kathy Griffin talks to Time magazine about
her plastic surgery procedures.
The second time I had plastic surgery I got it done for free. People was covering it and I met a team of doctors that had a publicist who kept adding procedures. The guy who did my LASIK surgery wanted to do a "tune-up" and now I've had five surgeries on my eye. I have partial blindness in one of my eyes, actually. It was very much like Nip/Tuck where they'd be like, "Tell me what you don't like about yourself," and then they'd draw all over you with markers to highlight your "problem" areas. One of the doctors was like, "We can do a little teeny lipo on your upper arms." I said, "Are you sure?" He said yes, so I went along with it.
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Paparazzi get photos of celebrities doing pretty much everything, but they never seem to get pictures of stars after surgery. Why is that?
Oh, there's a whole system you need to know about. First of all, the plastic surgeons in Beverly Hills all have secret celebrity doors. After the surgery, you leave the plastic surgeon's office covered in a sheet that's not unlike a burqa. Your assistant takes you to an upscale hotel where you hide in a dark room of shame until you're better. There are bandaged rich ladies walking around the hallways of the Four Seasons and the Peninsula in Beverly Hills right now. It's not unlike being a war criminal or a terrorist.
We love Kathy, with or without plastic surgery. Her new book, Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin is available in bookstores everywhere and at Amazon.com at a discount.
Normally your frequent flyer miles can be redeemed for air travel, car rental, hotel stays or merchandise. But Finnair Oyj, Finland's biggest airline, has gone a step beyond with it's frequent flyer program. Members can 
