Month: March 2014

Summer Skin Care – The Basics of Looking Good!

Well here in Denver, Winter is about to be over!  Signs of Spring are all over the place.  I’ll be going up into the mountains for one last hurrah on the slopes with the family.  Summer is the next hurdle for patients of Shah Aesthetic Surgery.  Being a mile up in the air makes for some brutal skin aging.  The air is thinner, colder, and dryer.  The sun is definitely more intense.

People age much faster in my opinion in this alpine desert environment.  There are things you can do about it, so don’t fret!

Here is a list of simple options for great Summer Skin Care:

1. Water – drinking water keeps your skin cells plump and protected.  Summer in Denver means more outdoor activity.  This means more sweating, so keep your water intake high to protect your skin.

2. Sunblock – I am a big advocate for high SPF sunblock.  I personally use a 55 SPF sunblock with UVA/UVB blocking capabilities.  While sunblock in makeup is a good idea, it just really isn’t enough protection up here in Denver since we really get intense sun exposure more than 275 days per year.

3. Vitamin C – this vitamin is really the most important vitamin for making new collagen.  Since is it water soluble 1000-2000mg daily is a safe dose.

4. Exfoliant usage – I am a fan of topical exfoliant serum usage.  Retinols and Vit C/E serums top my list.  I personally prefer Vit C/E because it more gently treats my skin and is safer in sun exposed populations. That being said, Retinols are the superior serum.  Just remember to wear good sunblock and protect your face with a big hat.

5.  Chemical peels – Winter’s cold, dry air has done a number on your skin.  You can recapture some of the ground lost in the war on facial aging by getting a chemical peel.  A chemical peel uses different safe organic acids to gently loosen skin and have it peel off.  This is a more immediate result than the use of exfoliant serums alone.  Depending on the strength of the chemical peel, you can have one as often as on a monthly basis.  Skin looks brighter with a more even texture when you get a chemical peel.  Heck, I even gently peel my own face.  If you see me in person, you’ll realize why I am such a fan.  They are easy to do, easy to recover from, are low risk, and give results!

6.  Eat cleanly – this is a no brainer!  What you put in your body shows in your skin.  Here in Denver, there is no shortage of good food.  I eat both natural and organic as much as I can.  It is expensive, yes, but well worth it when done carefully.  But, even if you shop at a conventional grocery store, you can make healthy choices that will benefit your overall health.  And, everyone knows that Healthy is a lot sexier than Unhealthy!

Now get to it!

Celebrity Plastic Surgery Gone Wrong at the Oscars 2014

I’m sure that anyone who saw Kim Novak or Goldie Hawn at the recent Academy Awards telecast was able to tell that they were the victims of Celebrity Plastic Surgery Gone Wrong!  As a fan of the natural look after plastic surgery, it is obvious that these two beautiful ladies do not share my viewpoint.  I understand the need to maintain a look that made you famous, but the reality is that the human body changes too much to try and mask aging.  If you have the genetics to age well, then you probably will age well.  If you don’t, you are going to need a lot of help.

When much of the plastic surgery world agrees that less is more, Hollywood continues to buck the trend and go for more is more.  The result, more often than not, is bad plastic surgery.  I’m sure it is very difficult for an A-list plastic surgeon to say no to their famous clientele, but they should start saying NO!  The Hippocratic Oath’s first pledge is to “Do No Harm.”  I think that there is incredible harm done to the reputations of these actors and actresses when their unreasonable quest for youth makes them ask for harmful or unreasonable things.

What is most difficult is the request by the everyday patient to look like a celebrity.  With their extreme visibility, especially in the age of social media, celebrities wield incredible influence on the style choices of the regular joe.  I have to talk patients out of things all the time because expecting to look like a certain celebrity leads to having severely unrealistic expectations.

Even in laid back Denver, Colorado, patients will ask to have the lips of Megan Fox, the nose of Jennifer Aniston, and the rump of J. Lo!  It’s tough to watch their dejected faces when I have to bring them back to reality.

Sometimes I wonder why they just can’t leave well enough alone! Aging gracefully is an art form that sometimes does benefit from the eyes and hands of a talented plastic surgeon…