Saturday, July 14, 2007

Stopping Aging Before it Begins


20s and 30s are the New Face of Cosmetic Surgery
With almost everyone intent on slowing the aging process, increasing numbers of young people, both male and female, are opting for treatment. The idea is to actually stop aging before it even begins, therefore the trend is one of preventive plastic surgery. Julius W. Few, M.D. an assistant professor of plastic surgery at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine located in Chicago believes this trend is sure to continue.

Young people in their 20s and 30s are opting for Botox injections to slow or stop wrinkles, choosing to get these injections at the first sign of wrinkles. Botox stops the muscles from contracting by blocking the transmissions of signals from the nerves to muscles.

Some cosmetic surgeons believe that by starting this early will result in less work being needed later on. Dr. Few believes that using Botox or other similar anti-aging treatment to control wrinkles early on may prevent the development of deeper creases as the person ages.

In addition to Botox and other dermal fillers, the younger generation is also big on microdermasion and laser skin resurfacing so as to remove the outer signs of aging caused from environmental factors. It is a well known fact that sun exposure causes the skin to age, so by resurfacing, it is hoped that this effect is minimized.

The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) statistics for 2006 had 102,068 persons aged 19-34 opting for laser skin resurfacing and 9,156 of those 18 and younger also getting this procedure done.

Statistics from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery for 2006, shows that the number of Botox injections for persons aged 19 to 34 was 505,363 and 7,915 for persons aged 18 and younger. For other soft tissue fillers such as Restylane the numbers were 260,988 for the 19 to 34 age group and 5,423 for those aged 18 and under.

Another top anti-aging procedure for the 19 – 34 age group was microdermabrasion with 249,877.

Vice president of The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) believes in starting patients young, guiding them towards proper skin maintenance as a first step. Others in the industry also believe that proper protection from the sun and caring for the skin is the best way to help minimize the amount of work that may be needed as persons reach their 50s and 60s.
by carefair.com