Straight Talk about Cosmetic Surgery

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Rounding out the top five procedures are eyelid lifts, a perennial favorite, and another aging baby boomer procedure, the breast lift. With pregnancy, your breast tissue enlarges and actually squeezes out some of the breast fat. After pregnancy, breast tissue returns to normal but because most women lose fat in their breasts, usually the overall size is decreased. That, combined with the overstretched skin, is a recipe for droop.

COLUMN: All About Breast Procedures

A breast lift alters the skin “envelope” like a seamstress takes in a bra to make a B cup out of a C cup. Breast lifts don’t actually change the cup size, but the smaller “container” holds your volume tighter. And so you get a “push-up” bra appearance, even without a bra.  This one’s a pretty easy procedure to go through, with minimal pain afterwards, but you will have sizeable scars as a trade-off. 

These operations, while commonly performed, are dwarfed in popularity by the new noninvasive facial rejuvenation procedures.  Botulinum toxin, commonly known as Botox, is eight times more popular than breast augmentations. The reason is obvious—it’s an office procedure with minimal risks and relatively low cost…and it works! The other top five noninvasive procedures are hyaluronic acid injection, most commonly with Restylane and Juvederm, and laser hair removal, microdermabrasion, and intense pulsed light treatments.

I suppose it’s hard to describe a procedure as “noninvasive” when your body is being invaded by dozens of needles, but these procedures are certainly less invasive than ones that slice through your body with a scalpel. 

So these are the popular procedures. How about the ones that were popular a decade ago—where are they now? While the media has focused on the rising popularity of those chin implants, almost three times as many were performed 15 years ago. And browlifts are half as popular, maybe because so many were not needed in the first place.

But the biggest losers of them all?  Hair transplants are facing extinction, and collagen injections actually have gone extinct—the product was taken off the market earlier this year.

QUIZ: Personal Plan For Your Best Body Skin