Psychologist Jürgen Margraf and his coauthors looked at 506 people who had plastic surgery, and 163 who wanted it but had not yet had it done. They measured both groups’ life satisfaction, feelings of attractiveness, and levels of mental health problems at regular intervals, up to a year after those in the surgery group were operated on.  The group who had surgery also scored significantly better than the group who didn’t on measures of self-esteem, positive attitude, life satisfaction, and general feelings of attractiveness.

Results appear in the journal Clinical Psychological Science.

Minimally-invasive procedures has been the driving force behind this rise.  However, the cosmetic surgical procedures remained unchanged.  ”It is no surprise that people are seeking less invasive treatments. The jittery economy and need for less time off work drives patients to opt for less expensive and quicker recovery options”, explains Dr. Payman Simoni, a Beverly Hills facial plastic surgeon.

The interesting part of the report was that breast augmentation has seen a decline of 7 percent.  While facial rejuvenation surgeries like eyelid lift,  and facelift have seen a rise of 4 to 6 percent respectively.  Rhinoplasty (nose job) showed no change compared to the year prior.

Botox and Lasers

Minimally-invasive procedures such as botox,  soft tissue fillers, and laser skin resurfacing have seen the most growth in 2012, up 9 percent.  2012 marked the highest number of  Botox injections performed to date.

Other facial rejuvenation procedures like soft tissue fillers, laser skin resurfacing and microdermabrasion also saw sizable increases with 509,000 more procedures completed in 2012, which is up 9 percent over 2011.

Plastic Surgery in Hollywood has always been under scrutiny and 2012 was no exception. The Stir has published the 5 worst celebrity plastic surgeries of 2012.  Dr Payman Simoni, an internationally known Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, has given his own evaluation of what was done and if it  went wrong.

Alexis Bellino of the Housewives of Orange County underwent a Rhinoplasty (nose Job).  She has originally claimed to have only had a septoplasty, and finally admitted to plastic surgery.  Dr Simoni has reviewed the before and after pictures and believes that the rhinoplasty was a success.  Her nose looks very natural and soft without the stigma of plastic surgery.

     Lisa Rinna underwent silicone lip injections in the 1980’s.  As it is common with silicone injections,  Lisa Rinna started with  big, luscious lips, but as the years went by, her lips started appearing lumpy. The actress had them removed in 2010, and is on the road to plastic surgery recovery. The new pictures have showed that her lips are coming along fine.  Once silicone injection are done and have gone wrong it is almost impossible to reverse.  That is why Dr Simoni is strongly against silicone injections.  However, Dr Simoni does not agree that her lips look any worse in 2012 than they did in 2010.

JWoww of Jersey Shore went on The Wendy Williams Show to deny reports that she’s has plastic surgery done to her face. When asked about the rumors, Jwoww became a bit defensive. She tried to explain that the changes on her nose are due to her  weight loss.  However, Dr Simoni, who reviewed her before and after pictures does not believe weight loss can explain the changes.  She had a prominent hump on her nose and it seems it has been reduced, Dr Simoni explains.  The new nose is still not straight and could be better.  Dr Simoni agrees that Jwoww’s rhinoplasty has not been a success story.

Kris Jenner of the Kardashians has not been shy about having plastic surgery.  She seemed to undergone a breast augmentation and face lift.  Dr Simoni reviewed her before and after pictures and believes that her face lift looks very natural and appropriate.  Kris Jenner’s face lift is definitely a success.

Farrah Abraham, the Teen Mom star, paid $16,000 for a nose job and chin implant, and she doesn’t care what others say about it.  So Dr Simoni hopes that she does not mind him critiquing her final result. Farrah’s chin implant is too big and she did not seem to need it in the first place, believes Dr. Simoni.  Her nose is less defined than before which could be due to swelling.  Maybe it is too early to call the nose a loss, but the chin definitely gets thumbs down.

Deals being offered:

• Botox $7/unit (reg. $14)
• Restylane or Juvederm $399/syringe (reg. $650)*
• Radiesse $450/syringe (reg. $850)*
• Artefill $600/syringe (reg $1200)*
• 30% off all surgical procedure **
• 40% off all cosmetic products (latisse, Obagi, Vivite,….)
• 50% of all Laser procedures (Ipl, Refirm, matrix RF, Laser hair removal, Laser vein removal,…)
• Free Microdermabrasions (x4 $600 value) or Filler facials (x2 $600 value) with all new Ulthera non surgical facelift.

With the success of last years’ plastic surgery Black Friday event, Dr. Payman Simoni is offering the same unusual deals. “People want to look their best during the holiday season,” said Dr. Simoni. “With all the money people will be spending on gifts, parties, and traveling it becomes a bit harder to spend time and money on themselves. With our Black Friday Sale we will be making it easier for our patients to look fabulous during this holiday season.”

In addition, with the economy still in a struggle, the Black Friday sale makes plastic surgery procedures more affordable again, if only for one day of the year.

*Non surgical nose job or eyelid lift is not included.

**All procedures will need to be booked on Friday, November 23, 2012 with a 30% down payment required at the time of booking.

Review of hundreds of studies there were no evidence of nutritional differences,however, they did state that non-organic products are more likely to carry more pesticide residue. Even so, there was no evidence that people who eat organic diets are healthier than people who do not.

However, a recent British study concluded that organic produce does have more nutrients than conventionally grown.

Two Los Angeles women have put a controversial qusestion to the experiment that which is better: A facelift that uses local anesthetic or one done under full anesthesia.

Miki Keller, 49, was fully alert and able to have a conversation as she underwent one hour facelift conducted by a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, Dr Payman Simoni.

Her twin sister Donna underwent a 6 hour long traditional facelift, that used full anesthesia, on the same day. The results, two months later, were remarkably similar despite the significant difference in recovery.

WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT

 

Before and after: Miki Keller, a 49-year-old woman, has undergone one hour Simoni facelift that involves just local anesthetic rather than full anesthesia. She is seen before the surgery (left) and then once it has healed (right)

Wide awake: She was able to have a conversation while she underwent Simoni Lift, seen above

Dr Payman Simoni, who has been performing this type of surgery succesfully for six years, told Good Morning America: ‘Within an hour after they get their facelift, they get up and walk out on their own’.

 Dr Simoni also beleives that patients heal faster with the new technique and that results are more natural due to the fact that patients are performed upon as they sit up, rather than lie down. 

Miki, who is delighted with the work, was able to see resultsjust a week after she had undergone the procedure.

 

Results: Donna Keller seen prior to her traditional, full anesthesia facelift (left) and then afterwards (right)

Support: Miki (right) is the twin sister of Donna (left), who underwent a traditional facelift at the same time 

 She said that using local anesthetic is ‘the only way to do it’.

‘I would do it again,’ she said. ‘I wish I would have done it sooner.’

Miki’s twin sister, Donna, also underwent a facelift of her own however her six-hour procedure was done under full anesthesia.

Including the cost of general anesthesia, Donna’s facelift costs $25,000 in total.  On the other hand, Miki’s Simoni Lift costs around $12,000, which is about half of what a traditional facelift costs.

Donna admitted that her recovery process was ‘brutal’ but said she was happy with her results also.

Standing by: Donna (left) watched on as Miki (right) prepared for her face lift surgery in Beverly Hills

 

Expert: Dr Simoni (right) begins to prep Miki for surgery. His proposed surgical lines are seen on her face

Pleased: The sisters claim that they get compliments on their new looks, which are seen in the above image

Miki said: ‘We get compliments from our friends. They say we haven’t changed the way we look, we just look better.’

Dr payman Simoni, the man behind Miki’s surgery, received his undergraduate degree from Yeshiva University in New York.

He received his M.D. degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and worked as a general surgical resident at University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital where he underwent facial plastic surgery and head and neck surgery training.

With the help of Beverly Hills plastic surgeon , she got rhinoplasty and chin implant.

Lavey, as a 37-year-old television producer in Los Angeles, spends a lot of time on Facebook. She started not liking the way her face looked on her Facebook pictures.

“I have been self-conscious about my chin, and it’s all stemming from these Facebook photos,” she told ABC News correspondent Cecilia Vega.

“I think that social media has really changed so much about how we look at ourselves and judge ourselves,” Lavey said. “Ten years ago, I don’t think I even noticed that I had a weak chin.”

Changing the camera angle did very little to get her more acceptable pictures.

“Here is a weak-chin photo that I didn’t untag myself in … because I was working out really hard that summer, and I am pleased with everything else in the photo,” Lavey said. “But it’s my darn chin that bugs the living daylights out of me in this photo. … You keep looking and looking, and now it’s the first thing I look for in a photo. It all started with Facebook.”

It is an irony given that social media are supposed to make life easier it can drive people to do something extreme.

“Plastic surgery should be a last-ditch effort,” she said. “It should be after you work out, after you diet.”

“I am blessed; I can afford it,” she said. “I feel really lucky. I have worked my butt off, and I feel like if I can afford it, if it’s something I can do to feel good and feel confident, why not? It’s 2012.”

The surgery Lavey got costs between $12,000 and $15,000.  It is very possible that social media creating a culture of Internet narcissism like Keep wanting  to get likes on our status and pictures.

More than a month after her surgery, Lavey was ready to show her 692 Facebook friends her new face.  She said she felt more confident.

“It extends all the way from Skyping with people [to] having people tag me in a Facebook photo,” she said. “If the camera comes out at a party … I am fine with it. I am excited to see them. Before, I used to want to hold my chin, but now I want to show my face.”

Just to start and to be clear, a Vampire Facelift is not a  face lift because it is not a surgical procedure.  The word “facelift” is just acting as a marketing term to lure people in who are seeking a real face lift.  A true face lift tightens and smooths out the lower face, neck and jaw.

The name ”Vampire Face Lift” comes from the use of the patient’s own blood to create a mixture that is injected under the skin, which fills of the tissue under the skin.  The idea is that plumping the skin softens some of the signs of aging . The final result is not any different than the current crop of fillers that has been used until now.

As for the result, The VF has gotten a lot of media attention because of its name, not because of the spectacular results. So far, I haven’t seen any good photographs or scientifically valid studies to support the advantage of this technique over the existing and time-tested fillers such as Restylane, Juvederm, Radiesse, Sculptra, and Artefill.

Is the Vampire facelift safe? Since it utilizes the patient’s own blood,  there probably isn’t much of a problem when it comes to safety.

How long the Vampire facelift lasts? There is not much evidence out there to answer this question. Long term studies of the results is needed before we pronounce VF a successful long term and mainstream treatment.