How Would You Feel If Your Grandma Got Plastic Surgery?

How would you feel if your mom or grandma said they were going to get breast augmentation or a facelift?  Would you be shocked, disturbed or supportive? Whether you like it or not, the older generations like the Baby Boomers are having plastic surgery to maintain or revamp their appearance. They’ve thought about it long and hard, they have disposable income and they’re sure about their decisions.

While a lot of media attention has been on teenagers and plastic surgery lately, we can’t overlook that older generations make up a large chunk of those who get plastic surgery. In 2014, people between the ages of 51-64 made up 24% of the total surgical procedures performed in the U.S. That’s 433,517 procedures performed on this age group. People who were age 65 and up accounted for 7.9% of total surgical procedures. That’s 138,612 procedures.

Why Baby Boomers Want Plastic Surgery In The First Place

Dr. Mulholland, a Toronto plastic surgeon, says that Baby Boomers (those who were born in 1946-1964) are an interesting generation. “Their mothers and grandmothers were the descendants of a religious work ethic. They were more accepting of life and aging. It was a matter of what God had dealt them in life,” he says. The Baby Boomers are totally different from their mothers in terms of attitudes. He says these women want a certain quality of life and will achieve it on their own if they have to.

Dr. Mulholland sees many female clients in their 40s at SpaMedica. “They’re far less likely to be manipulated by the media—and the media’s idea of beauty—than women who are a generation younger,” he says. They’re not coming in for treatments because they want to look like a certain celebrity. It stems from their dissatisfaction of their looks compared to the rest of their lives. Simply put, they want the whole package. They have an active life, family and fulfilling career; they want their appearance to reflect how they feel inside.

Dr. Mulholland appeared on Global news to talk about women in their 60s getting breast augmentation.

Which Plastic Surgery Procedures Are These Women Having?

Some of the most popular procedures amongst this group are breast augmentation and liposuction. After having children, a lot of women deal with stubborn fat or a loss of volume in their breasts. For these reasons, they seek procedures that can enhance their bodies. For non-surgical procedures, the Pan G lift is another common treatment that’s performed. The Pan G Lift provides similar results that a facelift would give without surgery.

After seeing so many career-oriented women at SpaMedica, Dr. Mulholland knows the main reason why these women are making appointments. It’s not about trying to look good for their partner. “They want it for themselves. They want to look the way they feel.”

10 Ways to Cut Your Chances of Getting Wrinkles

Though we can’t stop wrinkles from ever forming for good, there are plenty of ways to slow down the process of getting wrinkles. As we get older, our skin loses elasticity and tautness since our levels of collagen reduce. Once a woman is in her late 20s, she breaks down collagen faster than she makes it. This happens even faster once she reaches her 30s.

Sometimes wrinkles creep up on people without them even expecting it. To temporarily banish these lines, some people get Botox injections to soften their appearance. To avoid getting them in the first place, others prefer to limit (or ban) unhealthy habits like smoking and drinking excessively. Here are a few more simple ways you can stall the signs of wrinkles:

1. Don’t stretch your skin when applying makeup. This habit can lead to wrinkles, so avoid pulling your eyes when you apply eyeliner.
   
   
2. Don’t soak up the sun too much: overexposure to the sun accelerates the aging process. When the skin has signs of wrinkles, blotches, roughness, and loss of skin tone, it’s mostly from severe sun damage. UV rays are known to dry out skin and damage its underlying structure (elastin and collagen) which causes premature sagging, bags and wrinkles.
   
   
3. Use sunscreen year-round. This is key to prevent your skin from additional damage. Apply it on all exposed areas, even behind your ears and neck.
   

   

   Drinking too much alcohol can speed up the ageing process.

4. Don’t drink too much alcohol. Consuming too much of it negatively impacts vitamin A levels, an important antioxidant for the skin. Vitamin A is also important in the production of collagen, so when there are lower levels of collagen, the skin loses elasticity. Limit your drinking to avoid speeding up the ageing process.
   
   
5. Get enough sleep. When you deprive your body from sleep, it starts to produce excess cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that breaks down skin cells. When you squeeze in enough sleep, you’ll produce more human growth hormone (HGH) which helps cell growth and regeneration.
   
   
6. Always remove make-up before bed. The dirt, pollutants and makeup builds up throughout the day and seep into pores, which breaks down collagen and elastin. Skipping out on cleansing your face before bed leads to wrinkles.
   
   
7. Eat more fish. Not only does it taste good, fish helps out your skin in big ways. Salmon is high in protein and fatty acids such as omega-3. These fatty acids help your skin stay plump and nourished.
   
   
8. Wear sunglasses. They’ll protect the skin around your eyes from UV radiation. The skin around the eyes is very thin, sensitive and prone to wrinkle formation (also known as crows’ feet).
   
   
9. Sleep on your back. Sleeping on your side and pressing your face against your pillow can cause sleep lines. Overtime, you can develop wrinkles by sleeping this way. Try to make it a habit to sleep on your back.
   
   
10. Get facials. Squeezing in some relaxing facials once a month or bi-monthly can help keep your skin healthy and supple. Facials stimulate and increase the circulation in your face.

Keeping these tips (or at least some of them) in mind will pay off as the years go by. Your skin will definitely appreciate it.

Skin Cancer: The Signs You Should Watch Out For

Getting outside and soaking up the sun is what many of us tend to do when summer hits. While the heat and sunshine feels good on the skin, sometimes there are consequences to spending lots of time outside in the sun. Too much sun exposure can result in skin cancer. Although it’s one of the most preventable diseases, skin cancer is one of the fastest rising cancers in Canada. Last year, Canadian Cancer Society released a report that estimated 6,500 cases of malignant melanoma would be diagnosed that year. They estimated that 1,050 people would die from the disease.  

There are three different types of skin cancer: basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma. The basal cell is the most common form of skin cancer in Canada. It might be easy to shrug off or overlook spots on your skin because you’d assume it would go away—but skin cancer doesn’t fade away like a pimple or blemish. Pay attention if the lesion is crusty, bleeds, gets bigger or itches. These are signs that should alert you to see your doctor to have your skin looked at.

If You Have a Family History of Skin Cancer, Get Yourself Checked

If you there’s a history of skin cancer in your family or you have a lot of moles, it’s best to see a dermatologist or physician to perform mole checks. This involves taking photos of different areas of the skin and comparing the photos to a new set a year later.  By doing this, your physician can see if moles or lesions are getting bigger or look suspicious. Some areas that will be looked at include the bottom of the feet, nail plates and back. Even mucosal surfaces like the eye and tongue will be checked.   

Source: http://commonskindiseases.blogspot.ca. These are how the different skin cancer cells look like.

Don’t Buy Into the Skin Cancer Myths

Some myths about skin cancer tend to stick around and are confused as reality. There’s a widespread belief that if a person has darker skin, their chance of getting skin cancer is lower. But that’s not the truth. People of colour are less susceptible to UV damage because they have more melanin in their skin. That doesn’t make them immune to developing skin cancer from UV damage though. The rule still applies where if you see lesions or moles getting darker or expanding, you should have your skin looked at by a physician.

How to Protect Your Skin From the Sun

• The sun’s rays are typically the strongest between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Duck into the shade or avoid spending too much time outside during these hours.
• People who use tanning beds increase their chances of developing skin cancer. It’s best to refrain from visiting tanning beds and salons.
• Getting sunburns is annoying and painful, and they also increase your chances of developing melanoma. Having five or more sunburns will double your lifetime risk.
• Wear long sleeved shirts and long pants. Covering up your skin acts as another line of defense from the sun.
• Apply a broad spectrum (UVA/UVB) sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher daily.
• Spend 10-15 minutes examining your skin once a month. Ask a family member or partner to check for unusual marks or lesions on difficult-to-see areas like your back.

Anyone can get skin cancer, but there are many preventative measures you can take to lower your chances. Enjoy the sun, but be smart about it.