Cellulite happens to a lot of women and some men, but its causes aren’t that well understood just yet. Even if it isn’t that well understood though, cellulite can still be a big bother.

For one thing; no matter how hard a person might work out to finally fit into that size 4 high-leg bathing suit, a little cellulite on the thighs can really dampen the effect. This is why there are so many different treatments for cellulite available. One such treatment is mesotherapy.

What is It?

Mesotherapy is a cosmetic treatment that doesn’t involve surgery.
Like Botox injections, this particular form of cosmetic treatment involves injecting substances into the person rather than slicing them open.

In mesotherapy, the layer of fat beneath the skin, known as the subcutaneous layer is targeted, and a particular blend of vitamins, nutrients, amino acids, and homeopathic remedies can be used.
These injections are supposed to target the adipose fat cells in the body so that lipolysis, or the breakdown of fat cells occurs. Aside from cellulite reduction, this particular treatment can also be used for fat reduction in general.

How Does Mesotherapy Work on Cellulite?

Many experts believe that cellulite is linked to the way women’s fat cells and connective tissues work; that the connective tissue holding the adipose bodies on the skin together tends to be inflexible. This means that when a person gains weight; especially with fat in the area of the thighs and lower abdomen, the inflexible connective tissue will cause the fat cells to bulge outwards unevenly, creating the cottage cheese skin or orange peel appearance that characterizes cellulite.

Mesotherapy’s fat-targeting treatment gets to the fat cells in these specific areas; breaking them down so that they will no longer stretch the skin and cause it to bulge outward unevenly. The substances in a mesotherapy injection may vary from practitioner to practitioner, which can probably account for the mixed reviews that mesotherapy for cellulite has been receiving.

It gets rid of cellulite and extra fat not just by breaking down the adipose fat cells though; mesotherapy for cellulite is also said to be able to increase the blood circulation in the regions where cellulite is, repair weakened and hardened connective tissue, and improve lymphatic drainage.

What does this mean? In a nutshell, this essentially means that mesotherapy “cleans up” the area; letting blood flow more freely through it, draining out excess lymphatic fluid, and improving the flexibility of women’s inflexible connective tissues.

There are a lot of detractors and skeptics for this particular form of treatment. Nonetheless, the most part, this treatment tends to work fairly well. Not only does mesotherapy for cellulite smooth out skin by getting rid of the excess fat in this area, but it can often also get rid of the fine lines and wrinkles that may naturally occur in such areas, as a result of aging.

It’s important to remember that even though mesotherapy is a relatively new procedure, it should still be performed by a licensed doctor with good credentials and knowledge of the procedure. Sometimes, swelling and soreness can occur on the injection site, and the costs reach an average of five thousand dollars, but it can really be worth it.

Tags: Cosmetic Procedures, Skin by admin
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In chemistry, “electrolysis” is when an electric current is passed through a chemically bonded compound; separating it into its component elements. One example is the way through which hydrogen fuel is created with the electrolysis of water (water is a chemical compound of hydrogen and oxygen); separating the hydrogen molecules from the oxygen molecules so that the hydrogen molecules can be harvested.

If you aren’t a scientist or into fuel cell technology though, this kind of electrolysis probably wasn’t the kind you were thinking about when you typed “what is electrolysis” on your search bar. The permanent hair removal method referred to as electrolysis might be the answer to your query.

Be careful of too-good-to-be-true claims though. Home electrolysis, for example, claims to be an easy and relatively painless way to get rid of hair “forever!”

What is Electrolysis, Anyway?

Electrolysis, the kind that gets rid of hair so that it doesn’t grow back, involves applying an electrical current to the follicles of every individual hair, so that the hair’s roots are destroyed. An electrode shaped like a very fine needle, is placed on the hair follicle for about a minute, allowing the electrical current passing through the electrode to do its work.

What’s so Special About Electrolysis?

Electrolysis is the only hair removal method that the FDA defines as permanent. Treatments like laser hair removal can sometimes get rid of hair permanently too, but out of all the permanent hair removal methods out there, electrolysis is the most reliable.

Does it Work?

Most of the time, yes. It can sting around as much as tweezing or waxing, but if it’s done correctly, most people don’t have to worry about having to deal with that discomfort anymore. It doesn’t work on everyone though.

Even though electrolysis does get rid of hair, and even if the treatment is administered correctly, some people might still see hair growing back. Often, the hair will be finer and there will be fewer strands, which indicates how much the hair follicle has been damaged.

In those cases, all that might be needed is a touch-up session.
There isn’t any way to absolutely guarantee one hundred percent permanent hair removal, but out of all the different methods out there, electrolysis has the best track record. On top of that, unlike laser hair removal, which focuses on the pigment of the hair and can sometimes give you an uneven skin tone, electrolysis goes for the hair itself, which means that most skin and hair types can be good candidates for electrolysis.

How Long does it Take?

Since each individual hair follicle has to be subjected to a minute’s worth of electricity, electrolysis can take a really, really, really long time, especially if you’re trying to cover a large area like your legs or back. To clean up unwanted facial hair over a person’s entire face, for example, it can take up to four years to do.

Most of the time, people will have to come back for multiple sessions, not just because a few hours’ worth of treatment might not be enough to cover the whole area, but because hair has a “resting” stage where it may not grow for a while, and hair in the body can be in different stages of growth at any one point in time.

To permanently get rid of hair over one area then, even if it might look like you’ve finally zapped all of those hairs after one session, you’ll have to come back once the hair that had been in its resting stage at the time gets to its growth stage and comes out.

How Much Does it Cost?

What is electrolysis going to cost? On average, a half-hour session can cost about sixty US Dollars. Given the fact that a session can sometimes last longer than thirty minutes and that you’ll most likely have to come back for multiple sessions, the cost of electrolysis can be pretty steep. Considering the fact that it’s the most reliable way to permanently get rid of hair though, it’s well worth it.

How About Home Electrolysis? What is the Difference Between Electrolysis and Home Electrolysis?

Electrolysis actually requires a lot of training, and in the United States, in order for a person to administer electrolysis treatments, they need a license. This is because sticking an electronically charged electrolysis probe against an individual hair follicle takes a lot of precision, and if you get it wrong, the hair removal might not take, and skin could get infected or discolored.

Home electrolysis, on the other hand, doesn’t involve having to get to the hair follicle, doesn’t hurt as much, and requires much less precision. Instead of using a needle-like probe to get to your hair though, home electrolysis uses a pair of electric tweezers on individual hairs, which sends a current of electricity down the hair shaft and supposedly destroys the root from there; supposedly offering the same kind of results as electrolysis, without the inconvenience and discomfort, and at a fraction of the cost.

Sounds too good to be true? Well, keep in mind that there hasn’t been any clinical or scientific proof to the claims to permanent hair removal that most home electrolysis kits –often also referred to as electric tweezers- make. Some websites that answer the question of what is electrolysis, will even go as far as to warn consumers to stay well away from these products. They do have a point; home electrolysis claims are dubious, and the kits can cost a lot of money.

Tags: Body Hair, Cosmetic Procedures by admin
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It’s pretty hard to find a celebrity over twenty-five who hasn’t had a Botox injection these days. Considering how easy and effective Botox is, it’s pretty easy to see why.

A Botox injection is a procedure that gets rid of wrinkles instantly, without having to go through the bother and recovery time of getting sliced open or having to sit through a long and uncomfortable recovery period.

If you’re looking for a slightly cheaper way to free yourself from your frown lines, Botox might just be the way to go for you. The cost of Botox injections might be cheaper than a face lift or other forms of plastic surgery, but it can still set you back anywhere between three hundred and fifty U.S. dollars, and five hundred and twenty dollars.

If you have the cash to spare and are raring to go though, be aware that even though they’re generally a lot less trouble than invasive surgery, but the side effects of Botox do exist.

What is Botox, Anyway?

Botox is actually a brand name for a substance known as Botulinum Toxin Type A, or simply, botulism. This stuff is actually the most toxic known protein today. Before you start running off in the opposite direction though, take note that even though this stuff is really toxic, it has a lot of medical uses outside of keeping Hollywood’s Hottest from looking their age.

What Does Botox Do?

In tiny doses, Botulinum Toxin Type A actually paralyzes the muscles it’s applied to. It was originally used to treat the muscle spasms caused by diseases and conditions like Parkinson’s disease and cerebral palsy.

Later on though, this protein, diluted and packaged as Botox and applied through injections, became the treatment du jour for people who wanted to make their faces smooth and wrinkle-free again. Botox injections basically cause the facial muscles in the area where the substance was applied, to tense up and stop moving for three to four months.

Is it Safe?

Botulism is toxic. There’s no way around that. It’s part of its charm though. After all, it’s precisely that toxic effect that paralyzes the muscles in a person’s face and gives them that line-free look that lets them look like they’ve beaten the clock.

Before you start jamming that needle into your face though, take note that the side effects of Botox can be pretty irritating. Administered correctly though, that’s about as harmful as Botox gets.

You should make sure that you take all of the necessary precautions so that your Botox injections will be the genuine article though –a lot of botulism-related deaths have actually been linked to people using fake Botox.

If you’re using the genuine article, the possibility of side effects of Botox should still be looked out for.

If things go wrong, for example, you can end up with the wrong muscle group paralyzed (like the muscles controlling your eyelids getting paralyzed instead of the ones that cause those frown lines), bruising –although that doesn’t come from the toxin, but from how it was injected- and the possibility of your face becoming stuck in an odd rictus of a facial expression for six or more weeks because the Botox was incorrectly administered.

You could temporarily end up with a droopy smile or eyelid, or even the loss of the ability to close an eye. Additionally, if the Botox is injected into the jaw muscles –which may or may not reduce turkey neck and other really annoying signs of aging- you might have trouble chewing solid food.

Aside from the potential muck-ups that can happen while injections are being put in place, the other possible side effects of Botox include headaches, partial facial paralysis, difficulty swallowing, muscular weakness, allergic reactions, and flu-like symptoms.

Also, Botox will usually leave the parts of your face where it was applied difficult –if not impossible -to move, and feeling numb. This means that you might end up not being able to display normal-looking facial expressions.

Check with your doctor to see if you’re a good candidate for Botox injections; if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant, or susceptible to allergies for example, it’s better to stay away from the needle.

What is the Cost of Botox Injections?

If you’re willing to brave the possibility of looking like the product of the crypt keeper having a wild night with the bride of Frankenstein after a botched-up Botox job, then it should be a real relief to know that you’re very likely to spend a lot less on Botox injections than on any other form of age-arresting plastic surgery.

Botox injections will eventually wear out and can be reapplied every four months, although since the muscles that’ll get injected will start thinning over the course of repeated treatments, which means that you could eventually get longer lasting results.

With each treatment normally costing between three hundred and five hundred dollars though, it might feel like the cost of Botox injections are easier to stomach than other kinds of cosmetic procedures meant to dramatically get rid of wrinkles. The side effects of Botox can be pretty annoying, but at least they aren’t permanent, like most botched cosmetic surgery effects can be.

It’s no wonder a lot of people jump straight for the needle at the first hint of a wrinkle.

Tags: Anti-Aging, Cosmetic Procedures by admin
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I’m the kind of person who likes to look good, but dreads having to roll out of bed in the mornings because I’ll have to go through all of the elaborate minutiae of makeup application.

Every morning is a personal war for me; and it sometimes got to the point where I would lie in bed with the covers tucked over my head until two in the afternoon, simply because I didn’t want to bother with my exceedingly tedious morning routine.

The thought has occasionally occurred to me to skip putting on makeup altogether, but I haven’t left my house without makeup on since before I was in high school, and I don’t intend on changing that now. A

fter another completely wasted Saturday morning spent lying in bed and trying to pretend that I was still asleep though, I finally decided that I had had enough. I searched the internet for permanent makeup options. I wanted to start out slowly; with a little permanent eyeliner or permanent lip liner or semi permanent lip liner maybe.

What is permanent makeup?

If you’re wondering what permanent makeup is; it’s essentially makeup that’s been tattooed directly onto a person’s face. The difference between permanent lip liner, for example, and the butterfly tattoo a person might have had inked onto their lower back, is that whereas tattoos are mostly meant to make a statement of some sort about somebody’s personality, permanent makeup is simply meant to enhance (or slightly alter) whatever’s already there.

How is permanent makeup applied?

As mentioned in the last paragraph, permanent makeup is basically a bunch of tattoos. This means that it is usually applied the same way tattoos are; except that they’re almost always applied by a plastic surgeon, since facial skin is much more delicate than the skin in most of the rest of the body, and since the tattoos are usually placed really close to important parts of the body, like the eyes.

Does applying permanent makeup hurt?

The short answer to that one is “yes.” Getting a tattoo is essentially getting punctured a lot of times with an ink-filled needle. A permanent makeup job will be essentially the same thing. A permanent makeup machine; a device used specifically for the application of permanent makeup will often be used; although it pretty much does the same thing a tattoo needle does: deposit pigment into deep layers of skin.

With permanent makeup though, it isn’t applied as deeply, and since it’s applied to the face, most plastic surgeons will apply topical or local anesthetic to whatever you want to put permanent makeup on.

The most you will probably feel will be some minor discomfort, and there may be a bit of swelling and stinging afterwards as well. You might want to ask your doctor about what you can do to deal with the after-effects.

What are the pros and cons of permanent makeup?

The first con is fairly obvious. It’s permanent. You’ll have it for the rest of your life. Or, since it’s really likely that the ink will fade over time, you’ll have it for at least a few years. This means that if you opted to have blue permanent eyeliner, you’re going to have to live with that particular permanent eyeliner color for a while, unless you’re willing to undergo costly and painful (usually more painful than the permanent makeup application process) tattoo removal to get rid of it.

Of course, this is probably the reason why people get permanent makeup in the first place, so it counts as a pro as well: the fact that it stays. It’s really a double-edged sword.

This is why if you want to get permanent makeup, you have to think long and hard before making your decision; there aren’t any morning after take backsides once you have this kind of makeup on your face. A lot of clinics and beauty centers where permanent makeup services are being offered will also have specialists to help you with your color and design choices.

To get the look you want and avoid infections, make sure that you get a cosmetologist or permanent makeup specialist you trust, who uses sterilized equipment.

Another con to permanent makeup is the cost; something as simple as permanent eyeliner can set you back anywhere from three hundred dollars, to a thousand. It does help you cut back on the need to buy eyeliner every few weeks or months though, which does save you some money. If you think about it, this isn’t that much of a con, really.

What about semi permanent makeup, like semi permanent lip liner? Is there a difference?

That depends on who you’re talking to. Permanent makeup is often also called semi permanent makeup; so you can opt to refer to your new lip liner job as semi permanent lip liner or permanent lip liner. Sometimes though, there can be a small difference between semi permanent and permanent makeup. Some brands or cosmetic lines will tout their products or services as semi permanent makeup, but will actually refer to ordinary cosmetics formulated to be especially long wearing.

Whether you’re planning on giving permanent makeup a try and going under the cosmetologist’s needle with permanent eyeliner or semi permanent lip liner, or simply finding some reeeeeeaaally long-wearing semi permanent lip liner though, getting the colors and services that suit your needs can be easy, if you know what you’re looking for.

Tags: Cosmetic Procedures, Makeup by admin
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If you’ve just lost a lot of weight or have just had a baby, it’s likely that your stomach isn’t as firm as it used to be anymore. Usually, in cases like these, a tummy tuck can be a good way to firm it back up. A tummy tuck, which is also known as a complete abdominoplasty, is a cosmetic surgical procedure, where some of the extra skin and fat around your midsection –what some might refer to as a “spare tire”- is removed.

A tummy tuck can do wonders for getting you to slip back into pre-baby weight jeans, but if you want to look good in a bikini or a pair of speedos, the scarring that can come with it can often be a bit of a problem.

Fortunately, there are certain kinds of tummy tucks that reduce this little surgical issue significantly. With a partial tummy tuck, or a mini tummy tuck, a much smaller incision is made, and the subsequent scarring is much less evident. This kind of tummy tuck is sometimes also referred to as a scarless tummy tuck, but if truth be told, it’s more of a “really tiny scar” tuck.

One of the reasons why mini/partial tummy tucks are referred to as “scarless” is because the smaller size of this kind of abdominoplasty’s scar tends to make it much easier to conceal, even if you opt to try on an outfit that’s more than just a little risqué.

There are a number of differences between complete and partial tummy tucks, but general procedure is still mostly the same: excess skin and fat around the lower abdominal area are removed.

With a complete tummy tuck though, instead of a small cut, the incision made is normally from hip to hip, above the pubic area.
There are a lot of ways for a surgeon to make the scar less visible, even with a complete abdominoplasty. Nonetheless, a partial tummy tuck is still much easier to conceal.

Whether you choose to get a complete or a partial one, you will first have to consult your doctor, to make sure that you are a good candidate for the kind of tummy tuck you want to get. For a partial tummy tuck, it’s usually great for people who don’t have as much extra skin or fat to remove. A complete tummy tuck, on the other hand, is a slightly more dramatic procedure, and it’s best for those with a lot of extra belly flab to get rid of.

Because a complete tummy tuck is a procedure that’s considerably more invasive than the scarless kind of tummy tuck, the recovery period tends to be longer, and the risks of complications are higher. However, if you really have a lot of excess skin and fat, this kind of tummy tuck may be your only option.

On the other hand, a partial tummy tuck can be a lot simpler, but may not cover as much area as the complete procedure. Among the benefits of the mini tummy tuck though, is the fact that usually, a patient doesn’t have to go completely under for the procedure. Most of the time, a local anesthetic and a sedative are used together, and the procedure can normally be done in about two hours or less.

If a mini tummy tuck goes well, a patient can usually be released to recover in their own homes a few hours after the procedure is completed. For both complete and partial tummy tucks, it really isn’t a good idea to do anything too strenuous or physically taxing for a few days or even weeks after the procedure. However, for the scarless tummy tuck, a patient can usually go back to work or whatever normal activities they might have, within a few days.

In any surgical procedure where a person with a knife and a mask slices you open and cuts out bits of you and gets rid of them, there will be a bit of pain involved. There are drugs for that. One of the great things about partial tummy tucks is that over-the-counter pain medications are usually enough to help you deal with whatever postoperative pain you might experience.

For both kinds of procedures, it can take three to six months before your body recovers completely, and even though you won’t be able to avoid the scarring that can occur, those scars usually fade over time.

Regardless of the kind of tummy tuck you opt to get though, whether it be the complete abdominoplasty, or the scarless tummy tuck/mini tummy tuck/partial tummy tuck, success isn’t always guaranteed, and sometimes, touch-ups or additional procedures might be necessary before you get the sculpted look you want. Whether or not that happens though, you should never forget to schedule follow-up consultations with your doctor so that they can detect any possible problems and help you manage your recovery.

Tags: Body, Cosmetic Procedures, Weight Issues by admin
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