With summer just around the corner, most people have the sun, the beach and the warm weather to look forward to however there are several things that we need to do to prevent future damage to our skin.  It doesn’t matter how old you are, protecting your skin during these sunny months are essential to maintain healthy fabulous skin for years to come.

Protect

SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor.  The higher the number of SPF you use, the more protection you will have.  You may also want to look for the words “broad spectrum protection” on the bottle because this protects you from harmful UVA and UVB rays.  Look for ingredients such as zinc oxide, titanium dioxide and octyl-methoxycinnamate because this will mean your sunscreen is actually a “broad spectrum” sunscreen.  Not only does SPF prevent sunburns and damage to your skin, it prevents premature wrinkles from occurring, premature sun spots and skin cancer.  Remember, even if the day isn’t really sunny; wear your SPF because you can still get a sun burn during cloudy days.  To those patients who love having a beautiful glowing tan remember, you can still get tanned when you wear SPF but you just won’t get a yucky burn so lather up, your skin will thank you!

Eat

Believe it or not, antioxidants can actually help fight off free radicals in the air and they can also help provide you with protection from the sun.  You can take antioxidants in the supplement form or simply eat (which is my favorite) these delicious treats!

Foods that are antioxidant rich are:

• Apricots asparagus
• beets
• broccoli
• cantaloupe
• carrots
• corn
• green peppers
• kale
• mangoes
• nectarines
• peaches
• pink grapefruit
• tangerines
• tomatoes
• watermelon

These are just a few of antioxidant rich foods so eat up and enjoy a lovely antioxidant rich fruit salad before your day at the beach and you can ensure that along with your SPF, your skin will have a beautiful glow on the outside but will also be happy and non-damaged on the inside.

Drink

No, I’m not talking about a Pina Coladas or Strawberry Daiquiris….I’m talking about H2O!  Drinking water while you are in the sun is an essential part of preventing dry, sunburned flaky skin.  Actually drinking a cocktail while you’re in the sun will dehydrate your body thus dehydrating your skin of the necessary moisture it needs while in the sun.  So, when you go for that delicious cocktail make sure you’re drinking plenty of water afterwards to prevent dry peeling snake skin days later.

All in all, when you’re headed to the beach, in the garden or simply enjoying a day outside remember to protect your skin with a broad spectrum SPF, eat plenty of antioxidant rich foods and skip the cocktails and instead go for a nice glass of ice water.  Your skin will thank you by staying youthful, fresh and revitalized for years and years to come.

With many changes going on in the world today it seems as though more and more people in the spotlight are choosing to have the courage to live life as they choose. This is great news to those who are still either scared to come out or for those who think they may be condemned for being who they choose to be. These celebrities can inspire many transgender people suffering from gender identity disorder.

As stated on the Huffington post last week:

“Against Me! Singer Tom Gabel has come out as transgender to Rolling Stone. Gabel has plans to start living as a woman and will take the name Laura Jane Grace.

GLAAD’s president, Herndon Graddick, also expressed support for the punk rocker. “Tom’s decision to live life authentically is a not only a personal step forward, but one that will advance the national discussion about treating transgender people with fairness,” he said. “As more and more Americans get to know people who are transgender, they’re coming to embrace and celebrate them.”

It’s great to see someone who lives most of their life in the spotlight to have the courage to make this statement publicly. Hopefully, by seeing more and more famous transgender people in the media, people can finally start to be more compassionate towards those who are not what they would consider “the norm” and instead see us all as a human race verses those who are gay, straight, transgender, lesbian, Caucasian, Hispanic or African American.

For many years, the transgender community has struggled with law makers over the issue of making sex change surgery a legal right.  The “humans right to happiness” issue has been something that American law makes have continuously found secondary to other pending issues in this country however many of our patients find this is an important issue that many struggle with daily.

The Huffington Post states: “BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Adults who want sex-change surgery or hormone therapy in Argentina will be able to get it as part of their public or private health care plans under a gender rights law approved Wednesday. The measure also gives people the right to specify how their gender is listed at the civil registry when their physical characteristics don’t match how they see themselves. Senators approved the Gender Identity law by a vote of 55-0, with one abstention and more than a dozen senators declaring themselves absent – the same margin that approved a “death with dignity” law earlier in the day.

For many, gender rights were the next step. Any adult will now be able to officially change his or her gender, image and birth name without having to get approval from doctors or judges – and without having to undergo physical changes beforehand, as many U.S. jurisdictions require.

“It’s saying you can change your gender legally without having to change your body at all. That’s unheard of,” said Katrina Karkazis, a Stanford University medical anthropologist and bioethicst who wrote a book, “Fixing Sex,” about the medical and legal treatment of people whose physical characteristics don’t fully match their gender identity.

In reading this article many questions come to mind. Could American law makers slowly be opening up their minds to transgender equality? Could this be the first step in having other countries follow Argentina’s lead?  In our opinion, people deserve the change to live their lives happily and free of judgment.  We perceive this change as great news however only time will tell.

For some of our Facial Feminization Surgery patients, traveling out of state to undergo FFS is quite a daunting task.  It can be scary to travel outside of your comfort zone to have surgery!  Thanks to one of our wonderful patients, we now have a great video of her entire experience with us!  This video is great at giving our future patient’s an idea of what to expect when you come to see Dr.Spiegel for surgery.

Below you will see one of our patients’ transformation from start to finish, our beautiful Boston location and our wonderful friendly staff members.  Her results, as they continue to heal, will just keep getting softer and more feminine as time goes by. Congratulations from the whole office and thank you for making this fantastic timeline of your experience.

A recent study was done to identify some of the top plastic surgery treatments for males and the numbers go as follows:

• Hair transplant – 18,062
• Rhinoplasty – 30,174
• Blepharoplasty – 28,678
• Gynecomastia – 19,124
• Lipoplasty – 31,453

Despite the economy and what is occurring in our surroundings many are still finding the way to acquire plastic surgery treatments. MintLife blog, a staple financial organization recently dissected just how people are spending their money on various surgery procedures in the U.S.

Here are some fun facts:

• The northeast most popular surgery is the rhinoplasty
• The western sea board most popular surgery is breast augmentation
• 48% of surgeries occur in between ages 40-54

Have you ever posed for a photo, thinking that it’s going to turn out great only to find out you looked terrible in it?  With a plethora of social media and photo sharing websites available nowadays, those of us who don’t feel comfortable in front of the camera will cringe at the thought of taking a picture.  However, there is a science to getting that perfect photo the first time around and it may be easier than you think!

The Rhinoplasty procedure is one of the most popular cosmetic surgery procedures that Advanced Facial Aesthetics offers to date. There are many patients’ who have considered a Rhinoplasty, went to a consultation but haven’t followed through with surgery.  This can be due to several factors but in this blog post we want to talk about the myths surrounding a Rhinoplasty.  Hopefully in reading this, you will see that Rhinoplasty surgery isn’t as scary as you think!

Your nose has to be broken in order to reshape it

This is a Myth.  The truth is; a broken nose is a nose that suffered “trauma.”  Only in special cases will Dr. Spiegel have to do this.  With technology nowadays Dr. Spiegel is able to contour the cartilage and bone of your nose with tiny instruments that can give you the beautiful result that you’re looking for without the horrible thought of getting your nose broken  *ouch!*

Your surgeon has to make large incisions on the outside of your nose in order to access your bone

This is a Myth. The goal of cosmetic surgery is to leave as little external scars as possible.  This means that Dr. Spiegel is able to access the bridge of your nose by simply making a tiny incision on the inside of your nose; this is called a “closed Rhinoplasty.” However, if you’re looking for your tip to be reshaped, Dr. Spiegel will make a tiny incision across the narrow strip of tissue that separates the nostrils.  This type of Rhinoplasty is called an “open Rhinoplasty.” The incision line can be about 1-2 millimeters in length and heals beautifully so that no one will see your incision.  This incision allows him to fully access the tip of the nose to give you that beautiful symmetrical shape you’ve always wanted.

None dissolving Sutures and packing will have to be used that are painful when removed

This is a Myth. Because your nose is a sensitive area; at Advanced Facial Aesthetics, Dr. Spiegel uses pain free dissolvable sutures for most Rhinoplasty procedures.  These are clear sutures that will dissolve once you’re fully healed.  Patient’s love this type of suture because they simply dissolve away after 1-2 weeks.  Of course, in some rare cases regular sutures will be used but typically not inside the nose which is the most tender area.  Packing is also a common complaint from patients.  Packing is the placement of gauze or cotton in the nasal area and is used for various reasons.  This can sometimes be an uncomfortable part of the post-operative visit.  In most cases, Dr. Spiegel will not use packing.  The only time he will use packing is if the nasal bridge needs to be supported during healing and this is only in a small percentage of patients.

Your nose can take up to one year to fully heal

This is a Fact.  This is probably the hardest aspect postoperatively.  With most cosmetic surgery you see an instant result (of course this is after your initial healing phase of 3-4 weeks) however noses are the slowest healers of any facial feature.  After your first post-op appointment, when your cast is removed, you will see a nice result however since your cast is holding in swelling your nose will almost instantaneously swell.  This swelling can make your bridge look wider and your tip look fatter than you’d like.  This can sometimes be a shock to patients who aren’t aware of this.  Of course don’t let this scare you, you will see a lovely result after 3 months but your nose will continuously change and get better and better for up to one year.

For those of you who are wondering what a “liquid facelift” is, no it is not someone pouring liquid on your face.  It’s just a little more complicated than that.  As we age we lose volume in our face and by simply making an appointment with Dr. Spiegel, you can take years off of your face. This is the perfect adjunt to a facelift for those who aren’t ready for a surgical procedure.  It’s simple, pain free (after you are numbed) and you will see an instant result that just gets better and better over time.