In a recent article on the Huffington Post, NYC plastic surgeon and author Dr. Robert Tornambe discusses some of the ways that you can plan your procedure around the seasons.

Winter is a great time for undergoing cosmetic surgeries. You can wear bulkier clothing to conceal scars and swelling, more easily avoid direct sunlight, and combine your recovery period with winter vacations. It’s the season for just about everything, like liposuction, and breast surgeries.

Spring is the lead-up to bikini season and has some of the same advantages of winter. Body contouring and facial surgeries are excellent options during this time of year. If you’re considering breast augmentation or liposuction, be sure that your body has lots of time to recover before you hit the beaches!

Summer is usually the best time for minor procedures, such as Botox and facial fillers. Heat and sun are usually bad for post-operative swelling and can often produce discomfort. Immature or new scars should never be exposed to direct sunlight, since they will stay tanned and be more noticeable. However, some people may still wish to pursue surgeries during this time of year, especially if they have summer vacations. They should be prepared to stay indoors for 1-2 weeks.

Autumn is the time to consider your appearance for the holidays. Surgeries targeting the breasts and body can improve your look in time for winter festivities and New Year’s parties.

For more information about the best season for plastic surgery in Vancouver, WA, please email Dr. Workman.

Though the term “best cosmetic surgery procedures” may seem subjective, hundreds, if not thousands, of research studies and trials are conducted each year on procedures and non-surgical treatments. Researchers are often on the lookout for treatments that provide optimal results, with minimal side effects for the patient. The better the results of the study, the more likely the product or treatment may be included among the best cosmetic surgery procedures.

In his review of 98 studies, Dr. Murad Alam of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and surgeon at Northwestern Memorial Hospital found the best cosmetic surgery procedures, based on his research.

Botox and other botulinum toxin-based injectables:

Dr. Alam said that based on the two decades of research and findings on Botox-like treatments, they are safe and effective for patients to use.

Tumescent Liposuction:

When tumescent liposuction is performed, special fluids that are used help the surgeon to safely remove fat cells. Dr. Alam added that tumescent liposuction minimizes the chance for excessive bleeding, improving the patient’s comfort and overall health and safety.

Dr. Alam looked into additional treatments, some of which are relatively new on the market. While he found that treatments that freeze fat or shrink it with laser light, and treatments that tighten skin are safe for use, he was not able to confirm the long-term benefits of each treatment.

To find the best cosmetic surgery procedures for you, Alam suggests talking it over with your surgeon and confirming what will best meet your needs.

For more about the best cosmetic surgery procedures in Vancouver, please email Dr. Workman.

These key winter dry skin tips can be applied throughout the day—from the moment you wake up to the time you head to bed.

Winter Dry Skin Tips for Your Morning

Though a hot morning shower may feel good on cold skin and feet that have hopped across a cool floor, dermatologists say it can be detrimental to your skin. The hot water can zap your skin of its hydration.

Rather, you might take a cooler shower and place a space heater in the bathroom for your comfort.

When buying shower products in the winter, it’s important to avoid harsh soaps that will dry your skin. Also, the use of conditioner more frequently may help maintain your hair’s health.

Daily Skin Care Tips

After a tepid shower, the next winter dry skin tips center around protecting your skin. It is important to shield your skin from ultraviolet rays, even in winter, by wearing long sleeves. Using a moisturizer with SPF is also important year-round.

If skin has already become damaged or even cracked, try applying Vaseline to it, which will work to restore and seal in moisture.

Nighttime Winter Dry Skin Tips

When you head to bed in the evening, the use of a humidifier can help heal dry skin as you sleep. If you suffer from dry hands and nails, oral Vitamin B and the application of a sealant with cotton gloves while you sleep can curb these ill effects of dry and cold winter air.

To learn more about winter dry skin tips and our options for skin care products, please email Vancouver plastic surgeon Dr. Workman.

The study, which was published in the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, compared two common types of botulinumtoxin—abobotulinumtoxinA and onabotulinumtoxinA. Specifically, researchers at the University of California San Francisco, wanted to determine which of the formulations of the botulinumtoxin provided maximum smoothing of crow’s feet around near the eyes during the botulinumtoxin study.

To complete the botulinumtoxin study, researchers chose 90 participants and treated opposite sides of their faces with abobotulinumtoxinA (30 units) and onabotulinumtoxinA (10 units).  Because of their different compositions, researchers were not able to use the same treatment amounts of each injectable for the botulinumtoxin study.

In intervals of two days after the treatment, both the participant and an investigator examined both treatment sites on the face and evaluated smoothing of the crow’s feet on a 5-point scale. The crow’s feet were assessed both when at rest and when the participant contracted the muscles.

Though no adverse reactions were found to either injectable used in the botulinumtoxin study and both treatments diminished the facial lines, abobotulinumtoxinA was found to have a greater effect in smoothing crow’s feet. Dysport is comprised of abobotulinumtoxinA. The researchers determined that both treatments achieved a “statistically significant” improvement after two days.

To learn more about treatments for crow’s feet with botulinumtoxin, like Dysport in Vancouver, please email plastic surgeon Dr. Workman.

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Two sisters, who note that they usually give clothing or personal items for presents, may be exchanging different items this year. Sister Tina’s #1 wish for a gift? Botox.

Though her sister feels she may not need the injectable, Tina is sure about her request for a plastic surgery gift. She says she began getting Botox treatments after a recent break-up and continues to see improvement in the appearance of crow’s feet.

While the 2011 Christmas season may see an uptick in the number of plastic surgery gifts, it’s nothing new for many consumers. In 2010 alone, patients spent more than $10 billion on cosmetic surgeries and treatments.

With the continued acceptance of injection treatments like Botox and Juvederm it may be increasingly common for people to give plastic surgery gifts, which one woman called “injectable youth.”

Though non-surgical options are the most cost-effective way of giving plastic surgery gifts this year, some gift givers may choose to help out with cosmetic surgeries, too. Popular procedures include facial rejuvenation, body contouring and breast surgeries.

To learn more about plastic surgery gifts and specials on Botox in Vancouver, please email plastic surgeon Dr. Workman.

In the first clip for the plastic surgery film, which is to be released on HBO this summer, several noted models and actresses talk briefly about their views on plastic surgery and aging, both good and bad.

American model Carmen Dell’Orifice seems to have a “why not?” perspective on plastic surgery.

“If you had the ceiling falling down in your living room, would you not go and have a repair,” Dell’Orifice asks in the plastic surgery film.

On the other hand, Italian actress and model Isabella Rossellini may have not chosen plastic surgery as Dell’Orifice has as she ages, but she has seen how growing older in Hollywood has changed her life.

Rossellini shares in the plastic surgery film that while her daughter receives invites to Hollywood A-list parties, she herself no longer does. While Rossellini may feel somewhat shunned by young Hollywood, she is still able to laugh about aging in About Face, adding, “As you grow old, you don’t count any more!”

Other actresses and models are profiled in the plastic surgery film and give their wide-ranging views on getting older and trying to stay youthful and healthy in today’s society.

To find out more about plastic surgery in Vancouver, WA, please email plastic surgeon Dr. Workman.

Around the globe, and especially in Spain, the beauty industry is actually growing. While some industries, like construction, are seeing decreases in demand, salon and beauty shop owners are seeing an influx of returning and new customers.

Many people credit a need to feel good about oneself as the reason for a boom in the beauty industry.

Salon manager Patricia Marquez knows the importance of personal care to her clients, saying, “A person needs to feel handsome, to feel comfortable with themselves. If they don’t look good it doesn’t matter what they do.”

Perhaps it is this desire, or even need, for personal upkeep that is causing the beauty industry in Spain to grow by 3% this year.

Even in times when other industries may be struggling, the “Lipstick index” still applies. The “Lipstick index,” as described by Estee Lauder founder Leonard Lauder, shows that even during an economic crisis, his customers bought more lipstick.

It’s safe to assume the “Lipstick index” applies to non-invasive plastic surgery stateside, as well. In an effort to look and feel their best, even if money may be tight, patients often choose non-invasive plastic surgery as a means of beauty upkeep.

Popular Options for Non-invasive Plastic Surgery

Injectable fillers like Restylane and Juvederm can fill lines around the mouth, while Botox treatments can diminish crow’s feet near the eyes.

To learn more about non-invasive plastic surgery and treatments to fit your needs, please email Vancouver plastic surgeon Dr. Workman for our specials.

A team at Oslo University Hospital compiled the research, which was released in November 2011. The team set out to determine how the thoughts and feelings of women who visited a breast augmentation forum might affect other visitors also interested in the surgery. The findings were largely positive.

The team discovered that the culture of the breast augmentation forum is often one that provides emotional support. By sharing one’s own experiences on a breast augmentation forum, patients are able to support each other on many levels.

Also of note were the relationships women discussed on the forums. Researchers found that women often discussed not only how they felt about themselves, but also their environment and their surgeon. The relationship a patient has with her surgeon is key, as it helps to build trust.

The idea of the breast augmentation forum was found to be integral to the women’s lives since it allowed them to open up and to learn in a way not readily available. By finding an online community who were not only interested in breast augmentation, but many who had experienced it, patients were able to more easily traverse the emotional aspects of plastic surgery.

To learn more about breast augmentation, as well as its emotional benefits, please contact Vancouver plastic surgeon Dr. Workman by emailing us.

The new hyaluronic acid dermal filler, which is called Belotero Balance, has been approved to treat moderate to severe facial wrinkles and folds. This includes nasolabial folds, the lines that run from your nose to the edges of your mouth.

Belotero Balance joins Merz Aesthetics family of non-surgical injectables, including Radiesse. Radiesse is a popular filler comprised of calcium-based microspheres in a water gel that works to restore lost volume in the face. Though its uses are similar to Belotero Balance, the new hyaluronic acid dermal filler works differently.

Like similar hyaluronic acid dermal fillers, Restylane and Juvederm, Belotero Balance works to restore lost volume to your skin by increasing its hydration. Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring hydrating component in your skin and these dermal fillers work to mimic it. When injected into the skin beneath the site of a wrinkle, a hyaluronic acid dermal filler provides a sort of scaffolding for depressed areas of skin, supporting them and improving the appearance of youth on the face.

To test the effectiveness of Belotero Balance, it was compared in a split-face study with a collagen-based filler. Using a scale that rates wrinkle severity, Belotero Balance was shown to provide a greater reduction in the appearance of nasolabial folds over 24 weeks. In fact, at the six-month mark, Belotero Balance still showed a greater correction of the wrinkles than its counterpart.

To learn more about your hyaluronic acid dermal filler options in Vancouver, WA, please email plastic surgeon Dr. Workman.