Well, we’ve had our share of gross and downright scary “fake” plastic surgeon stories this year and in the years preceding this. It seems that in times of economic duress, these scam artists tend to drum up even more business as people who are desperate to look good think it’s a bargain and begin to let their guard down.

Here’s the general rule of thumb though when it comes to plastic surgery : if the price is too good to be true RUN.  Do not ever go to a doctor who has impossibly low prices. There is usually a reason for it. Either they are not legit, or they are not good.

A couple weeks ago, we heard one particularly disheartening story that definitely takes the wind out of men’s sails about a guy who got penile injections. The injections were of pure silicone, which is not meant to simply be injected into the body without some sort of contraption keeping it in.

He got the injections in his penis presumably as a way to enlarge it. The woman who administered the injections was not trained and not authorized to do such procedures. The man died shortly thereafter form an embolism that formed from the injections, a complication that often arises in these botched cases done by people who have no medical license to perform these procedures.

The latest story which is actually our title story today is about a California man who was arrested for practicing liposuction without a license. Not only did the guy smoke a cigar during his “surgery”, but he also disposed of the fat he sucked out of patients in the toilet.

Disgusting, unsanitary, and definitely illegal.  The man allegedly was operating a practice (totally illegal of course) under the guise of being someone else who really does exist. He posed as a real doctor, which results in a whole host of indictments.

He would usually quote a lower price for such procedures, and would claim that he was operating his facility under the guidance of a board certified plastic surgeon, none of which was actually true.

So, if you’re in the market for plastic surgery or anything else that involves a tricky procedure, be on the lookout for these scam artists. They are literally killing people with their lack of knowledge and desire to scam people for their hard earned money.

Double chins are really one of those things that can sneak up on you. As you get older, not only does your skin age and sag in the neck and chin area, but you also tend to put on weight in different areas as you age.  It all pretty much sucks, but it’s the unavoidable truth.

Even the thinnest of people can have extra fat under their chin. I’ve seen it on very thin actresses actually, so it’s not completely exclusive to those that are a little on the heavier side.  So how can you effectively get rid of the “double chin” syndrome, or at least make sure that this area is as toned, tight and taut as it can be, even if you don’t technically have a double chin?

Well, the best way to do that, without surgical intervention, is to do neck, face and chin exercises that are designed to tone and lift this critical area that so many women find sagging with age.  Facial and neck exercise help to tone the underlying muscles in the chin area, which helps to pull the sagging skin and fat back up where it should be.

There is even a little neck exercise device that you can use to help do the exercises correctly that retails for just twenty bucks. It’s a small contraption that you put between your chin and your neck, and push down on. It has just enough spring give to make sure you are using the critical muscles beneath the area you are targeting.

A man or woman can use the device, and it comes with several varying lengths and tensions of springs, so you can adjust the device as your muscles get stronger and you can make it harder as you go.

The other option is to get noninvasive cosmetic treatments done. One such treatment is a toning treatment called thermage, which is supposed to help tone, tighten and lift the skin in various areas. It does this by emitting heat and deep pulse technology to nonsurgically lift the skin.

It has mixed reviews on the facial skin, since some people claim to have lost even more facial fat (which makes us look younger), when they have undergone thermage.  However, it may have some great benefits on the neck area.

Smart lipo is another option, but of course this is invasive.

While it seems like everyone and their brother is getting some sort of nip or tuck, especially amongst circles that can afford it (this circle is getting tighter and tighter with this poor economy), there are select groups of people who are opting to go under the knife in order to improve their appearance.

It’s actually MY generation that is getting the most plastic surgery, believe it or not.  My generation, generation X, is the age range from 31 to 45. It is the “me” generation” or at least the tail end of it according to some folks.

It makes sense if you think about it, since this is the age range where we start to make good money and also where we still care enough about our appearance and may still be looking for a mate.  My generation has some disposable income to work with as opposed to the younger generation, and they are still at that age where they think a little nip and tuck might help them age a bit more gracefully.

The generation that is older typically is a little more secure in their appearance or settled in with a partner, and the younger generation is actually just as concerned as generation X, but they don’t have as much disposable income to work with.

Generation X has spent billions in cosmetic surgery. Some of the favorites are Botox and other anti aging treatments, breast augmentation, nose jobs, liposuction and other body sculpting or cellulite reducing treatments or surgeries. Generation X actually accounted for more than 40% of all cosmetics surgeries in 2010, and are expected to be just about as much of the chunk of the pie this year.

Many Generation X’ers tend to think that these surgeries or procedures are just part of their maintenance program for getting older. Noninvasive procedures or minimal downtime procedures are increasingly popular, even if they are not a permanent fix and need to be re-done every so often – many of my generation considers these to be the most natural option for keeping their youthful good looks well into their older years.

In a surprising outcome, tests done on liposuction patients – those that were average healthy weight as well as those who were heavier to begin with – actually showed a large drop in their trygliceride readings. This means they had great cholesterol readings.

When your cholesterol is high, you are at a much higher risk for things like stroke and heart attack, so having low cholesterol levels in your blood is really an excellent thing for your health.  When we are talking great numbers on patients who had lipo, we are talking HUGE numbers.

We are talking close to fifty percent drops, which is no small potatoes. Ok, so it’s in the low forties, but that is still amazing to me that a procedure that sucks the fat off your body can actually have that large of an impact – especially when liposuction is limited in how much fat it can take off of the human body.

It’s quite amazing, and no doubt will be yet another draw for women and men alike to go get the procedure done. Not only is it beneficial to your appearance, but it also may help your health. Now, there are still the downsides that there always were to this fairly serious cosmetic surgery.

You are put under completely for one. You also have to go through a sometimes painful and long recovery.  There are also the risks we talked about a while ago that have to do with the potential for the fat coming back in very odd places.

The fat does redistribute on the body, but many times patients have complained that now they have bigger arms if they got their belly done, or bigger thighs if they got their arms done and so on and so forther. The risks of the surgery itself are not anything to bat an eye at either. There are the inherent risks of anesthesia, which can be serious if one has an adverse side effect.  There are also always the risks of infection.

There is an alarming trend that Doctors are warning women (and men) to stay away from. Apparently, Botox is now available in “Do it yourself” kits online, and women are flocking to these kits as a way to have Botox done without paying almost double the price in a professional’s office.

However, there are terrible things that can happen as a result of a non professional adminstering this product, and I’m kind of surprised that the FDA hasn’t stepped in and made this illegal to sell online.

You can scar yourself, temporarily or permanently paralyze unintended areas of the face or body, or even kill yourself if you do it wrong, so it’s important that a professional administer these types of treatments.  After all, it is a botulism bacteria that you are injecting, and it is deadly if it reaches the wrong areas of the body.

Botox is only meant to go just beneath the surface of the skin – it is not meant to penetrate any further past that. People who are not experienced may go too far in the muscle, or may inject it in to the wrong area.  Also, they may end up getting things like a droopy eye or mouth because they put the needle in too deep.

Of course, the kit comes with a do it yourself video to watch, but is a couple minutes watching a video really any substitute for years of experience. Heck, even Doctors and professionals with experience can screw up the procedure, as has been evidenced by complaints from some clients and notorious horror stories.

I’m all for doing anything you can at home that is safe, but injecting yourself with a needle of Botox seems a bit extreme.  I like doing my own facial peels, microdermabrasion and other self administered treatments at home, but none involve a needle and a highly dangerous strain of bacteria that when used wrong can have devastating consequences.

If you want Botox, I’d advise you to stick with the original plan and go to a doctor.  Then you are in capable, experienced hands.

So I took a chance and tried out the new Revlon Mascara Grow Luscious mascara. I am still bummed that the L’Oreal Lash Out has been discontinued at so many stores, but I figure if I don’t branch out more, I may never find a comparable mascara to my beloved Lash Out.

So, when I was at Target the other day searching for something totally unrelated to mascara, I saw that they were having a promotion on the new Revlon Grow Luscious mascara for $5.99, and I decided to give it a whirl. If it sucked and I hated it, I could just swallow the six bucks, so no biggie.

Revlon Grow Luscious comes in a foil like tube with blue colors on it, so it’s definitely eye catching – good job on attention grabbing packaging Revlon!  It’s a thicker tube that I’m use to, but that’s fine because I’m more concerned about the type of wand it uses for application and the mascara formula itself, since those are the two components that determine how it’s going to plump and separate the lashes, as well as lengthen them.

I like a mascara that easily lengthens my outer lashes, and plumps the inner lashes, because this is how you get the effect of bigger eyes going.  When I first applied it, my heart sank a little (ok, that may be a little dramatic for simply mascara, let’s just say I was a little disappointed) when I first dipped the brush in.

The brush wasn’t as fine as I like it, so I thought it may not separate as well, but it did a fine job of separating the lashes as it applied the mascara. The formula of the mascara is good as well, but it seems to take quite a few dips to get enough on the application wand to get some juicy thickness going.

As with most other mascaras, this one took a few coats to get the desired effect for me.  But I liked the outcome. It’s not thick or clumpy, so it does apply well.

Now, does it apply as well as my treasured L’Oreal Lash Out? Heck no! But it’s a close second, and I guess that has to be good enough for now. L’Oreal, come out with another kick butt mascara again!

Nowadays, plastic surgeon’s offices make it pretty easy for a lot of people from different walks of life to afford plastic surgery. Whether that is a good or bad thing is probably open to debate, but let’s just say it’s fair to assume that each of us has something about ourselves that we would love to change, so plastic surgery has usually entered into everyone’s mind.

However you personally feel about plastic surgery, you can’t deny that it’s everywhere now. For me personally, I believe in moderation plastic surgery is fine, and can even help really boost one’s self esteem as long as they don’t go overboard and as long as they take the minimally invasive route if possible.

The key to being satisfied with your plastic surgery is first off, making sure you do it for yourself and not for someone else or because you think you’ll fit some societal ideal. Secondly, make absolute sure you pick a talented plastic surgeon. That makes all the difference in your results.

For financing, most people cannot afford to just pay all cash for their procedure, so they opt for a variety of financing options. Many of these financing options are offered by the plastic surgery office itself, so they make it pretty easy on the patient to sign up, get the options, and get financing within a matter of days.

Sometimes you can even get approved for plastic surgery financing on the very same day you apply.  One of the most popular options is what is called a plastic surgery medical credit card. This works like your typical credit card, with a few caveats. It has a limit, like most other credit cards first off.

However, you can’t use it on just anything – it has to be a medically approved cosmetic surgery procedure.  Usually, the companies that work in tandem with the offices offer a tantalizing deal, like six months to a year with zero percent interest.

Often times they offer a few years to pay off the procedure, or they will tell you that you can pay it off in the intro phase (no interest) without penalties. The loans may work this way as well, but they have a fixed rate and are not considered to be a revolving debt, so it really depends on the person’s preference and how long they think they’ll pay the thing off.

Regular credit cards may be used as well, however this might not be the best idea as there likely won’t be an incentive to pay it off early.  Plus, you can get into other trouble with a regular credit card because you can use it for anything else, which is too tempting (to me anyways).

Cellulite, with it’s bumpy look, is an appearance that we wish we could just melt away.  Unfortunately, even with dieting and regular exercise, stubborn cellulite just stays on our abdomen, buttocks, thighs and other areas anyway.

Liposuction is one option to reduce cellulite bumps but it is very invasive and does have quite a bit of risk, especially for a cosmetic procedure.  There’s a new procedure to reduce cellulite that has recently been approved by the FDA and it is non-invasive.  

This new procedure is called the VASER Shape MC1 and it is designed to address the problem areas for cellulite.  The VASER Shape utilizes ultrasound and massage therapy through special frequency ultrasound waves. 

The device used has a dual head and it warms the fatty tissue thus creating a space for the fat cells to release their lipids and triglycerides.  The result is a reduction of fat deposits and cellulite and a tightening of the surrounding skin.

Usually, the areas the VASER Shape is used on include the abdomen, hips, arms, love handles, buttocks and thighs.  Treatment with the VASER Shape is done in the office and takes about an hour. 

The beauty of this treatment is that it requires no anasthesia and there is no recovery time.  After a few days, a follow-up visit is done for a twenty minute lymphatic massage to promote the absorption of the released fat.

Most patients can see and feel the effects of the VASER Shape after the first session.  Usually, it takes four to six treatments for the optimal results.  The thing that appeals to many patients is that after an hour of treatment, most people notice that their clothes fit better.  The outcome to this procedure is a smoothing and shaping of the problem areas of your figure.

Instead of damaging the surrounding skin, you have a tightening more desirable result with this procedure.  VASER Shape is now available at cosmetic surgery centers and medical spas throughout the country.  Patients can resume all of their normal activities immediately after treatment with the VASER Shape.

Funny how now odd phrases and kitchy one liners and descriptions are being added to the actual dicitionary these days! I never thought I’d see the day when the catch phrase “muffin top” was added to our beloved English dictionary as an actual, recognized word with a meaning.

The meaning as said in the dicitonary is “a protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers.  You really gotta love how they use  the word trousers too. How properly English of them!

Even though this word is pretty funny when you’re trying to describe how you feel after you ate a large meal, or how you look in that pair of pants that somehow has become tight in the least strategic and attractive of areas, it can be a real source of frustration for a lot of women – and a lot of men, for that matter.

For the muffin top is not limited to only women. Men get muffin tops too, but men are more likely to get the “spare tire” look just because of how their bodies are typically shaped. Women just tend to have more of that squishy type of belly fat that sort of spills out over their “trousers”.

It’s how we were built, because we give birth, so we were made to have a little more body fat than men in certain strategically placed areas.  Now, if you want to get rid of that muffin top, there are some great exercises you can do for it, but there are also some great plastic surgery options to help zap the local fat, and some great less invasive procedures as well.

But they will cost you!  There are always of course cellulite reduction treatments, but those are really more for tightening and toning, than getting rid of localized areas of fat.  Here are some of the other ways you can pay to get rid of that bothersome muffin top through cosmetic surgery and other cosmetic procedures.

You can always get a tummy tuck, but tummy tucks are notoriously painful, and can have mixed results, sometimes making the tummy area look puckered. It’s hard to get a natural look with a tummy tuck.

There is a newer procedure for muffin tops and protruding belly flesh that is supposed to do the job quite nicely. It’s called the “smooth tuck”. It was developed by a plastic surgeon who was seeing lots of patients coming in with hanging belly fat, who were not actually good candidates for a traditional tummy tuck.

The procedures for the smooth tuck actually involves quite a large amount of liposuction and skin tucking, but it hides the scar well through good surgical processes, and it gives  a smoother, more natural look as well.

One of my free sample from my recent purchase as Sephora was a Smashbox product. I actually have never tried any cosmetic products by Smashbox, so I was curious to see if I’d like this product, which certainly sounded promising by it’s name “Photo Finish Luminizing Foundation Primer”.  I like any products that are going to help bend the light and make my skin look better, or make it look smoother and healthier, so this sounded like something I would like.

I thought this was going to be a light, sort of pearlescent type of formula, but boy was I wrong. It came out of the tube like a sort of mousse I guess is the best way to describe it. And it was a lot darker of a tone than I thought it would be for being a “foundation primer”.  What I ended up doing with it was using it like a bronzer. I mixed it with my usual foundation and a little bit of Revlon Skinlights luminizer.

I’m happy to say I really liked it, but I’m not sure that it’s really a “primer” like it’s advertised. It’s defeinitely quite a dark shade to be a primer for some people with more fair skin tones, like myself.  As a bronzer though, to help warm up the makeup, it’s really great, and you don’t need much of it at all. It is supposed to act as a primer because it helps to fill in lines and large pores, acting as a sort of preparer for your foundation, so it’s supposed to be good as an anti aging and wrinkle foundation primer as well.

This products starts at $38 for a generous sized bottle now, and is available at Sephora.