Cosmetic Comeback

Procedures on the Rise

BY ANNETTE BROOKS

We saw a surge in cosmetic procedures during the pandemic, and the demand remains as we continue to embrace and value self-care. Home-office and hybrid work arrangements also help, giving us greater flexibility for longer recovery times.

The American Society for Plastic Surgeons reported that facial plastic surgery outpaced breast augmentation and liposuction for the first time in years during the pandemic’s “zoom boom.” Interest in facial plastic surgery continues today, although body contouring is poised to reclaim the top spots as we lose the extra pandemic weight and seek to regain a smoother, sculpted silhouette.

Facelifts

A facelift might be ideal if you’re looking for a solution that turns back the clock a decade or more yet offers natural-looking results. Some skin laxity and sagging can be addressed with nonsurgical solutions, but facelift results are typically far more dramatic and longer lasting.

We’re seeing a national trend where facelifts are becoming more popular with people in their 40s. Highly customizable, they typically involve elevating the skin and tightening the underlying tissues and muscles. Fat in the face and neck may be sculpted, removed, or redistributed. Surgeons can also reposition fat pads in the cheeks, creating the appearance of a more lifted mid-face area. Procedures range from mini facelifts with minimal downtime to deep plane facelifts, an advanced facelift procedure.

Nose Reshaping

It’s difficult not to dwell on a less than flattering view of your nose up close on a video call or in a selfie once you see it. Fortunately, plastic surgeons offer a time-tested solution — rhinoplasty — and not surprisingly, nose reshaping surgeries have been on the uptick lately. Interestingly, more people in their 40s and 50s are getting nasal rejuvenation surgery. The goal is to restore their nose to a more refined shape and appearance like when they were younger.

Even if you are dissatisfied with your nose, you may not need as drastic a change as you think. The goal of nose reshaping is to bring your nose into balance with your face to create a natural-looking result. Conservative rhinoplasty procedures often bring remarkable changes that make you look great without looking “done.”

Liposuction

This surgical procedure uses a suction technique to permanently remove fat cells from specific areas of the body. Liposuction can remove more fat and provide more dramatic results since it’s a more aggressive fat reduction method than noninvasive procedures. It also requires a more extended downtime than noninvasive body sculpting services. Since liposuction doesn’t tighten the skin, providers may package skin tightening treatments with liposuction for optimal results.

Ear Reshaping and Pinning

Otoplasty has traditionally been performed on children once their ears are fully formed. Today, with our heads featured front and center in video calls and selfies, more adults seek to improve their appearance with ear pinning and reshaping than ever before. Ear pinning addresses protruding ears while reshaping enhances the ears’ shape, position, and proportion to give them a natural and balanced appearance.

Three Nonsurgical All-Stars

If you’re not ready to undergo surgery or want to improve your appearance with less downtime, non-, and minimally invasive aesthetic services may be right for you. Some require regular maintenance procedures one or more times a year to maintain results.

• Neurotoxins like Botox, Dysport, and Xeomin reduce fine lines and wrinkles between the eyebrows (the “11s”), in the forehead, and around the eyes. Providers also use these injectables during a lip flip procedure that subtly enhances the upper lip without fillers.

• Dermal fillers are injected to help diminish facial lines, restore facial volume and fullness, and augment the lips. They’re also used increasingly on the backs of the hands to restore a plumper, more youthful, and less veiny appearance and to plump up deflated, wrinkled earlobes often associated with aging.

• Nonsurgical fat reduction technologies are all the rage because they require little to no downtime and produce noticeable results. Cold treatments like CoolSculpting employ temperatures cold enough to kill fat cells without damaging your skin. Other treatments use heat, ultrasound, or radiofrequency energy to melt fat away. Talk with your licensed provider about which nonsurgical body contouring solution is right for you.