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.”

20 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About SpaMedica and Dr. Mulholland

Ever wondered who visits SpaMedica and what kind of treatments they get? What's the average age of SpaMedica clients? What was life like for Dr. Mulholland before he became a doctor? All these questions are answered below!

1. SpaMedica has been in operation in Yorkville, Toronto since 1997.

2. About 70% of Dr. Mulholland’s patients are women

3. Most of these women are between ages 35-55

4. Dr. Mulholland says these women are not privileged housewives. They’re usually very outgoing or hardworking professionals.

5. 90% of Dr. Mulholland’s breast augmentation patients are over 35. They usually have a few kids and want to recapture their breast shape.

Source: SpaMedica. Before and after photo of a facelift patient.

6. Women over age 35 tend to seek non-surgical procedures like Botox Injectable, FotoFacials, Restylane, laser hair removal and leg vein treatments. The top 5 surgical procedures are brow and eyelid surgery, facelifts, breast augmentation, liposuction and tummy tucks.

7. Male clients want to look more youthful. They come in for facial changes such as jowl removal, facelifts, eyelid lifts and rhinoplasty. They seek liposuction to remove unwanted fat too.

8. Dr. Mulholland never operates on teenagers. “Generally the closer women are to age 20—before they’ve had some life experience—the less confident they are about body image. It’s hard to figure out who you are then, let alone confuse it with surgery,” he says.

Source: SpaMedica. Before and after photo of a Botox Injectable patient.

9. At SpaMedica, the average Botox Injectable patient is age 40.

10. Injections of Voluma fillers have become almost 25% of Dr. Mulholland’s job.

11. When it comes to older women, Dr. Mulholland says any insecurity is usually related to professional advancement. “Ageism is rampant in the workplace,” he says.

12. These patients usually want to increase their breasts to a small to mid-sized C cup.

13. According to Dr. Mulholland, Canadian women are at least a cup size smaller than U.S women.

14. Women under 30 usually see him to change their breasts, nose or get rid of unwanted fat.

Source: SpaMedica. Dr. Mulholland played professional hockey with Rogle BK in the Swedish first division. After his year in Sweden, he signed a professional contract with the Calgary Flames.

15. Before becoming a plastic surgeon, Dr. Mulholland was a professional hockey player.

16. Dr. Mulholland studied and completed his core general surgery and plastic surgery training at the University of Toronto.

17. Dr. Mulholland travels around the world several weekends of the year to teach physicians different non-surgical and surgical treatments.

18. He invented the Pan G Lift, a non-surgical treatment that provides results similar to facelifts.

19. He and his team have over 30 years of experience in hairtransplantation and have successfully placed millions of grafts. 

20. The original FotoFacial procedure was co-developed by Dr. Patrick Bitter, Jr. and Dr. Mulholland. This popular procedure is one of the most commonly performed cosmetic procedures in North America.

FotoFacial treatments use radiofrequency, intense pulsed light and infrared energy. They’re pulsed gently on the skin to target facial spider veins, fine lines, blemishes and brown spots on the face, neck, chest and hands.

New Year, New You: Look Even Better With These Skin Treatments

Everyone always says it every year, but 2014 has really gone by so fast. In a matter of hours, we’ll be ringing in a new year. Have you accomplished some of your resolutions? That’s great if you did, and it’s still fine if you didn’t. New Year resolutions are always about improving yourself or your circumstances. It’s a good time to try to set goals to live and look better than the year before.

Why not start with making beauty resolutions to have even better skin for 2015? Whether that means getting rid of wrinkles, hair or tattoos you don’t want, we have a list of treatments you should try out. Below are non-surgical treatments that can firm and clear up your skin so you look awesome all year round.

Botox

Source: SpaMedica. Before and after photo of a patient who had Botox

When Botox first emerged a few decades ago, many people were skeptical of the treatment. “Is it safe?” “Won’t it just make my face look frozen?” Patients and the media frequently asked these questions. There’s no doubt that some people are still reserved about Botox, but the attitude towards it is much more relaxed today with so much information available now. And plus, it’s the most popular non-surgical treatment year after year.

Botox, a purified protein named botulinum toxin A, relaxes muscle areas by blocking nerves impulses which trigger contractions. This helps to soften wrinkles on your face. Results usually last up to 6 months.

It’s like maintenance—a few injections of Botox here and there will keep unwanted wrinkles and lines away. It’s pretty common for people in their 20s to get Botox to prevent wrinkles from showing up in the first place. These treatments have been called “pre-juvenation”.

Laser Hair Removal

Source: SpaMedica. Before and after photo of a patient who had laser hair removal

Who doesn’t like smooth skin? It’s a hassle to constantly shave and wax every couple of days and weeks. Maybe you’re frustrated with always busting out the razors to scrape away hair during the summer. Laser hair removal is a way to quit that routine for good. 

With faster and better lasers, men can get the hair on their backs removed within 20 minutes. Hair on a woman’s whole body could be removed within that same amount of time. To permanently remove 80% of the hair, patients should expect to have 4-5 laser hair removal sessions. Different lasers and wavelengths are used depending on your skin and hair type.

Skin Tightening For Your Body and Face

With age and genetics comes droopy skin. Maybe you’ve noticed that your neck or cheeks don’t look as firm and tight as they did before. SpaMedica is equipped with several non-surgical treatments that combat loose skin. These treatments can treat your face or different areas on your body.

Source: SpaMedica. Before and after photo of a patient who had non-surgical liposuction

Body

Exilis is one of the available non-surgical fat reduction and skin tightening treatments to firm up your body. It’s a device that uses radiofrequency to contour your body and reduce fat without surgical intervention. Drop in the clinic once a week for 4-6 weeks and after that, you’ll see improvement in your figure and skin. These treatments are great alternative options for people who don’t want to deal with recovery time or surgery like liposuction and tummy tucks.

Face

If a facelift is out of the question for you, then be happy that the Pan G Lift is an amazing non-surgical alternative to firm up your skin. It’s a series of treatments that uses radiofrequency energy, ultrasound and more to lift your face and neck without any need for cuts. 

The Pan G Lift lifts up droopy brows, cheeks, jowls and neck—it also targets other skin concerns such as wrinkles and spider veins. Each treatment lasts for one hour. Right after your appointment, you can go back to work or normal activities. It’s that simple.  

Laser Tattoo Removal

Source: SpaMedica. Before and after photo of a patient who had laser tattoo removal.

So what if wrinkles or droopiness isn’t even your concern? Maybe getting rid of a tattoo is on your mind. Starting off the New Year by erasing an embarrassing or poorly designed tattoo is a pretty good way to renew yourself in 2015. Long gone is the idea that tattoos are forever; that’s far from the case now with the booming laser tattoo removal industry. 

The PicoSure laser is the latest laser in the industry that’s annihilating tattoos better and faster than before. With the PicoSure, the amount of treatments you’ll need is cut dramatically compared to other lasers. After 4 treatments, you can see 90% of your tattoo cleared. Compare that number to older lasers that require up to 16 treatments for tattoo clearance.

Start The Year With Enhanced Skin

If enhancing your skin and appearance is on your mind as beauty resolutions for the New Year, we hope we’ve provided some good options and insight for you to look into. Leave a comment or book an appointment online if you have any questions!

Happy New Year and best wishes for all you lovely people.