Smart Beauty Guide Blog

• Botox: The Simple Solution for a Gummy Smile 

  • By Nancy Weinberg Simon

  

  An ear-to-ear grin can light up a room, but when it exposes too much pink gum when you're doing it -- even if you have white, straight, healthy-looking teeth -- chances are you're not smiling about it. A gummy smile is caused by the relationship of the gums to the lip, and the underlying maxilla, also known as the facial bones according to Dr. Brent Moelleken, a Plastic and Reconstructive Cosmetic Surgeon with offices in Beverly Hills and Santa Barbara. 

• Time is on Your Side for Aesthetic Surgery 

  • By Mary Cunningham

  

  One of the advantages of aesthetic plastic surgery is that it is an elective procedure. Unlike surgical emergencies of the ER, you have time to prepare.  

  If you’ve been considering a procedure, here are a few ways to get started: 

• What is Microneedling and Why is it a Great Tool for Restoring Aging Skin? 

  • By Jay H. Lucas MD

  

  What is microneedling? 

• We’ve Got Your Back with The Bra Line Back lift 

  • By Amber Katz

  

  Who among us hasn’t experienced the very real and deep dressing room torture that ensues when stripping to skivvies in a three-way mirror? Not to mention the frustration with checking out one’s rear view in an especially form-fitting dress or top. If working out and eating clean isn’t doing the job and baby’s still got back, (but not exactly where it’s wanted) – then a bra line back lift may help. We caught up with Dr. Joseph P. 

• How Your Breasts Change Through the Decades 

  • By Aly Walansky

  

  Our “girls” have quite a journey in life. Starting with our preteen years, we’re begging them to grow, eager to get that first bra – and then, we’re eager to have a bra bigger than our friends. (Never happened for me, alas.) Then, as we have babies, our breasts become more than just bra filler and man magnet – they become a source of sustenance to a tiny person! And we watch them inflate – only to later deflate, followed by sagging, much to our utter dismay. 

• Extravagant Spa Treatments That People Pay for and I Kinda Want to Try? 

  • By Jenny Isenman

  

  Sure, I’ve spent hours imagining myself in a bath of diamonds — dunking under and coming up for air like a Chuck E. Cheese patron in a ball pit — who hasn’t? But would I spend thousands to rub ground diamonds on my face? Would that be a thing? Apparently we’re not far off. It seems that there’s a trend in spa services a la lifestyles of the rich and famous which says if you put something ‘chi chi’ on a spa menu, people will pay to be slathered in it. 

  What’s hot, what it does and … would you try it? 

• Breaking Down the Subliminal Beauty Theory 

  • By Amber Katz

  

  Isn’t the best compliment we could give a Hollywood starlet, a friend or a relative, “I think she’s had work done, but I’m just not sure?” That’s the crux of the ‘subliminal beauty theory’, and what’s difficult about it is that it completely contradicts what plastic surgeons are taught. Board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Steven Dayan says that defining beauty with preconceived dimensions and measurements thrives in the face of the formula for successful cosmetic surgery outcomes.  

• Is There Such a Thing as Seasonal Surgery? 

  • By Nancy Weinberg Simon

  

  Last summer, a good friend of mine underwent a medium chemical peel, also known as TCA (trichloroacetic acid) chemical peel, and spent the majority of the season indoors. While the rest of us were enjoying the beach, swim club and tennis courts she was following her doctor's orders of strict sun avoidance and ended up spending too much time on her computer and catching up on Netflix's latest offerings. Seems like it was poor planning to me. 

• Here’s One Way to Literally Freeze Your ‘Muffin Top’ Off  

  • By Amber Katz

  

  Under the heading of “Things That Sound Too Good to Be True,” CoolSculpting, at first glance, might top the list. It’s a non-invasive treatment that uses a vacuum applicator (essentially a suction device) along with intense cooling to target the area of excess fat. We scored the scoop from board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Law on why this procedure is the real deal. 

• Are Virtual Consultations The Next Big Thing in Plastic Surgery?  

  • By Mary Cunningham

  

  Not long ago, traveling for aesthetic plastic surgery looked something like heading to Guatemala for a cheaper facelift, or, on the other extreme, traveling to New York from a small town because you had the means, but not a qualified local surgeon in close proximity to your home base.  

  Nowadays, seeking the counsel of a plastic surgeon beyond your zip code is not relegated to the rich or financially strapped. The Internet has opened up exposure to businesses in a way that the local Yellow Pages never could. We can use all things digital to seek out world-renowned experts.