We all now know more cosmetic surgery trends and popular procedures for people who are in their 50s or older.

The ASPS recently published a list of the most popular cosmetic procedures among patients 50 years old and older, based on plastic surgery statistics from 2011. According to the list, Muscle relaxants, chemical peels, dermal fillers, face-makeovers, are popular among people in the mentioned age group.

Muscle relaxants are commonly used for expression lines around the eyes, while chemical peels are great for improving the tone and texture of the skin.

One of the most popular surgical procedures among this age group is a Full Face Makeover, which on average makes individuals look up to ten years younger.

Meanwhile, dermal fillers, also known as “Liquid Facelifts,” offer many of the benefits of a surgical facelift, without extensive surgery. These fillers will not get rid of excessive saggy skin, but can make an newly-aging face appear much younger. “These injectable fillers restore the fullness of the face, and many patients find the results to be appealing and attractive,” says Dr Lanzer.

Dr Lanzer is a world renowned cosmetic surgeon, recognized as a Top Doctor here in Australia and is regularly called upon in the media to  talk on cosmetic surgery and cosmetic procedures.

Although the famous Sophia Loren has long claimed natural products and healthy living keep her looking good, evidence seems to show that cosmetic surgery is a likely part of her beauty plan. 78-year old Sophia Loren recently appeared at a red carpet event. It  has been rumoured to have had a face makeover and blepharoplasty and probably a necklift as well.  “Her jaw-line is unnaturally sharp for a near-octogenarian. This is the possible result of a well-performed facelift or two. I suspect that she’s had injections of a filler as well for her lips. Fat injections to her cheeks may have prevented her from getting the sunken look of many women her age. Laser treatments and chemical peels may also play a part in her smooth skin, in addition to some possible Botox in her forehead.”

Your lower face is a real talking point, literally. It’s your mouth area, lips, chin and jawline which are used for communication. If you think of an attractive face, one of the first things you’ll probably imagine is the lips to be full, smooth and well-defined, and the chin and jawline to have smooth contours. However, over time we lose facial volume from the lower face through a decrease in natural sugars and fat under the skin. The facial soft tissue may start to droop due to the effects of gravity and the loosening of the facial ligaments that ‘hold’ the soft tissue together. This creates an imbalance of volume in the face and a range of lines and wrinkles can appear. Accumulation of the soft tissue in the lower face may also form jowls and give the impression that the chin is widening.

Some effects of changes in skin volume are most apparent around the mouth as it is a very active feature of the face. Some people develop a slight droop in the corners of their mouth (mouth frown), giving their expressions a hint of sadness or disapproval. Marionette lines or wrinkles extend from the outer corners of the mouth down towards the chin and jawline, causing you to appear unhappy, even when you’re not. Or you may develop a ‘mental crease’, the horizontal groove between your lips and chin, formed near the top of the chin (mentalis) muscle.

Discuss your changes in the lower face and the available treatment options with Dr Lanzer.

Due to a variety of factors, including ageing, weight loss, or even genetics, some people have the dreaded “turkey neck.” 

A “turkey neck” is when the skin underneath your chin is loose and hangs. This can also look just like a double chin in some cases due to the extra skin and fat around the neck.  If a turkey neck runs in your family, you can get it as early as your twenties, though most women don’t see the signs of the turkey neck until their forties or later. 

So what can we do to fix our necks?

Depending on how bad your neck is, there are several things that can be done.  If you have a “severe” turkey neck, surgery may be the best. We often combine Neck Liposculpture and a suture lift.

No matter what you do, your face still seems sunken or drawn, and those under eye bags just won’t go away.  Have you tried to look more refreshed and awake, only to still have people think you are tired all the time?  Makeup won’t cover it, and skin care products just don’t seem to be giving you the results you desire. 

Wake up your eyes.  The eyes really show whether you are tired or not, so you want to make sure your eyes look awake and refreshed!  When you age, you can develop bulging fat and excessive skin under your eyes (you can also just get this from genetics) – which causes the under eye bags that just do not go away.  Lower blepharoplasty eyelid surgery is a common procedure to fix the problem.  Another problem is that your upper eyelids start to sag as well.  This can impair your vision, and make you look tired all the time.  If you can’t open your eyelids fully, everyone will assume you are sleepy!  That is where upper blepharoplasty eyelid surgery comes in.  Generally, eyelid surgery is a quick procedure and recovery time is minimal.  Speak to Dr Lanzer for more details

Energize your face.  When you age, you lose volume in your face.  This loss of volume is especially noticeable around the lower cheeks and temples.  When you are tired, or stressed – this loss of volume will be enhanced even more.  Your face will look even more drawn, sunken, and hollowed out.  To restore volume in your face, I would recommend  either a Fat Transfer or a facial filler depending on your aesthetic goals and unique facial features. Another way to rejuvenate your face is to improve the quality of your skin.  Hyperpigmentation as well as fine lines and wrinkles will also make you look older and more tired.  Remember that great skin you had when you were younger?  Or maybe you were acne prone as a teen?  Get better skin or clear up your acne scars with medical peel.   It can correct many common skin problems such as fine lines and wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, acne and acne scars, rosacea, and many more.  With the new line of medical grade peels that we are carrying, you can expect your downtime to be very minimal.  A peel will help remove dead skin cells, reduce fine lines and wrinkles, and give you a fresh new start!

Skin Resurfacing- Rejuvenating your skin: The Erbium Laser is a form of Laser resurfacing and has been a great advancement in the treatment of ageing and sun-damaged skin. The Erbium Laser provides an accurate and less painful method of restoring a softer, smoother, more youthful appearing skin.  Erbium Laser skin resurfacing is a procedure specifically designed to remove superficial and moderately deep lines and wrinkles on the face. It also treats or removes pigmentation, moles, acne scars and traumatic induced scars.

Why Laser Resurfacing:  Both superficial and deep wrinkles will respond to laser and the most commonly treated area is around the mouth and the eyes.  This method is ideal for texture problems such as pigmentation, blotching, freckles, acne scarring, sun damage and solar keratoses. Patients usually have their full face resurfaced for a uniform rejuvenated appearance. Localised areas such as under the eyes or the lip can be resurfaced alone, however, there may be a slight colour difference between treated and non-treated areas (demarcation line).

 Advantages of Laser Resurfacing: Erbium Laser skin resurfacing is an accurate reliable and well-controlled procedure.

• Skin resurfacing with the Erbium Laser can be performed with local topical anaesthesia in many cases.
• Resurfacing with the Erbium laser has been a valuable tool for Dr Lanzer’s patients for a long time.
• Erbium Lasers can sometimes be used on the neck, chest and hands.
• With the Erbium Laser, it is possible to treat people with naturally darker skin.
• Treatment with the Erbium Laser produces minimal heating and burning of surrounding tissue.
• May be combined with eyelid rejuvenation, liposuction, facial fillers, relaxants and the face skin suture lift.

It often happens when you have something important coming up, what are some tips and tricks to cover up an existing blemish and keep your skin clear and blemish free for the future?  Organise a consultation to see Dr Lanzer.

Don’t pick at it.  Your first natural instinct when you wake up with a pimple is to mess with it.  Squeezing it and picking at it will irritate it more and can cause scarring and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation to occur which will make the pimple appear to last longer.

ISOLAZ Deep Pore Laser Therapy “Purify your pores from the inside”: How Isolaz Works, Isolaz controls acne at the source by providing a unique combination of vacuum and a painless laser that helps clear the existing acne while helping prevent future breakouts.  The Isolaz vacuum applies gentle pressure on your pores while the painless laser helps reduce the acne causing bacteria. This helps soften and remove blackheads, dead cells and other debris from deep in your pores resulting in radiant, clear skin that is purified from the inside out.

Isolaz with profusion is a form of skin rejuvenation where anti ageing creams are penetrated into the skin (Dermis) by laser. By using this method there is a much deeper penetration of anti ageing substance.

During your Isolaz Treatment

• Before: Your skin is cleaned with a chlorhexidine solution to sterilize the skin. Since the treatment is painless you won’t need pre-numbing!
• During: When the Isolaz tip is placed on your skin, you will feel a painless, warm sensation. The process is repeated over the entire treatment area. In a recent clinical study, 100% of patients reported no pain during treatment. Treatment sensation was most commonly described, as being similar to that of a warm massage.
• After: There are no post- treatment regimes associated with Isolaz therapy. Once your treatment is complete, you are free to resume your normal activities and you can apply make up immediately In fact, you may find that your skin takes on a healthy glow and feels cleaner right away.

It’s a good idea to try and figure out what your triggers for breakouts are (soda, chocolate, caffeine, etc.) and stay away from them! 

Call into our clinic see Dr Lanzer and his team for a chemical or glycolic peel.  A peel has anti-microbial action, helps to fight acne, as well as remove fine lines, wrinkles, and acne scars!

Many people desire a fuller pout – it not only adds to a more voluminous look, but also radiates youthfulness.

You might have noticed that when you were younger, you had a fuller pout than you do now.

What people don’t realize is that as you age, your lips, like other places on your face, lose collagen and become smaller, thinner, and lose that pout from your younger years.   You also might start to notice the sides of your mouth can start to sag, and the wrinkles and deep lines that also start to form around the mouth area (some call them “marionette” lines).  However, there are also those who just naturally do not have full lips or mismatched upper and lower lips.  This is where minimally invasive injectable fillers come in!  Dr Lanzer agrees that fillers are one of the best and most popular ways to augment your lips,  bring back those lips that you had when you were younger.  Or you can get the full lips that you have always desired!  Another benefit for using  fillers to augment your lips is due to the fact that as you get older, your lips will change.  Since fillers last anywhere from six months to a year, will be able to adapt to that change by giving you more or less filler to achieve the look you desire.

When we raise our eyebrows, naturally we all have fine horizontal lines that occur across our forehead. These forehead lines are usually only noticeable during facial expression, e.g. when you are surprised. However, over time these forehead lines can become more prominent due to repeated muscle action. They may also become ‘static’, which means you can see them even when your face is relaxed.

People have different types of forehead lines. You mostly see ‘blinds’, or multiple horizontal lines that stretch across the forehead. These can be seen when you raise your brows, as the skin bunches together and creates horizontal creases. The number of lines will vary from person to person, with some people only having a ‘single’ line and others having ‘radiating’ lines that extend out from the brow line.

You can help prevent forehead lines by protecting your skin from sun exposure by wearing a wide-brimmed hat and using sunscreen. There are however treatment options available that decrease the appearance of forehead lines, There is plenty to talk about regarding rejuvenation possibilities for the upper face so please discuss with Dr Lanzer.

What are your best facial features?

Chances are in that list it’s your eyes.  Although they command our attention, the surrounding upper face allows them to ‘shine’. The eyes, forehead, eyebrows and under-eye area work in harmony to give an open, friendly, approachable look. However, over time natural facial changes associated with ageing can give the impression that we are tired, sad or even angry – even when we’re not!

So what happens? Over time, the repeated contraction of muscles in the upper face when we make facial expressions can cause the formation of facial lines and wrinkles, which can be obvious even at rest. The decrease in soft tissue volume (naturally occurring complex sugars and under-skin fat) which happens naturally over time, also contributes to the development of upper facial lines. Another cause is damage from sun exposure and smoking. These can also alter skin texture and skin pigmentation (apparent as dark circles under the eyes, freckles or sunspots). To help keep your upper face glowing, start by protecting your skin from sun damage and quit or don’t start smoking.

There is plenty to talk about regarding rejuvenation possibilities for the upper face so please discuss with Dr Lanzer.

We all often buy or read the celebrity magazines in the super markets to read all the gossip, trends of our Hollywood’s celebrities to see what stars have had Cosmetic Surgery, as most of us at some time or another have to fight the bulge. Fat can creep up on all of us, including celebrities or  we look to treatments for anti-ageing and skin tightening.

Los Angeles has long been famous as a major center for beauty, fashion, and especially entertainment industries.

A lot of “Hollywood Celebrities will not admit to surgery we can only speculate on changes made to their body.  Most opt to have non-invasive treatments as well such as muscle relaxants, facial fillers, face and body treatments, anti-aging treatments, cellulite reduction therapy and skin tightening treatments. Many celebrities have undergone liposuction in particular post child birth, opting to select this treatment as a way to quickly redeem their pre pregnancy body shape and to get back into work. 

Cosmetic surgery is becoming a common way on how people  enhance  their appearance and retain or regain a younger look.

According to a recent American survey out of 1,000 people polled, 72% said they want to have cosmetic surgery, and 49% are planning to have work done at some point in the near future.  Most women also said they did not feel it was shameful to have a cosmetic procedure. Only 31% of respondents said they would keep it a secret if they had surgery, and 55% said they thought the results of surgery are usually obvious to other people.  Cosmetic surgery is obviously a  personal choice and there are minimally invasive techniques.

Fat Transfer is becoming popular here in Australia says Dr Lanzer, Fat Transfer to the Face – for facial rejuvenation to restore volume and plump areas such as hollow cheeks and other parts of the body such as the hands. Or you can transfer the fat to other areas of the body such known as the  new butt implant many are using this procedure to boost their booties.

Another sort after procedure is Liposculpture, Dr Lanzer was the first to introduce the Vaser Hi Definition Liposculpture to Australia, it’s an advanced body sculpting procedure that combines leading edge technology with state of the art surgical techniques, resulting in a naturally sculpted, high “definition” appearance of the “stomach” for both men and women.  This revolutionary new cosmetic technique designed to selectively remove small deposits of fat surrounding specific muscle groups (abs,pecs,glutes,lats,etc) in order to enhance the visibility of the natural muscle contour,    thereby creating an  “athletic” appearance to the stomach area,  without the work!!

Dr Lanzer has performed many thousands of Cosmetic Procedures.

Dr Lanzer has found that the best and most natural results can be obtained by combining multiple procedures. Each procedure is directed at a particular issue and thereby produces the best overall result. Dr Lanzer has found that combining a number of focused procedures he can obtain an excellent natural result.

The first thing Dr Lanzer assess are the actual features of the ageing patient. Often it’s the area around the eyes. Dr Lanzer has been using Laser Therapy to open the eyelids and remove the lines and puffiness from the lower lids for some 15 years. The results give a more rejuvenated appearance.  Skin that is blotchy and has wrinkling or bumps, particularly around the mouth or on the lips, can be treated with the Contour Erbium Laser. Achieving a smooth, clean complexion is a true goal. Drooping skin can be lifted with small skin sutures called the Suture lift.  Fillers and muscle relaxing injections can also be of assistance. A face makeover is when Dr Lanzer combines many of the face procedures to produce the most dramatic and overall result.

Face Makeover “The Lanzer way”

Dr Lanzer has performed many thousands of Cosmetic Procedures.

Dr Lanzer has found that the best and most natural results can be obtained by combining multiple procedures. Each procedure is directed at a particular issue and thereby produces the best overall result. Dr Lanzer has found that combining a number of focused procedures he can obtain an excellent natural result.

These procedures include:

• Upper Blepharoplasty for  Skin sagging on upper lid
• Lower Blepharoplasty for Fat Bags
• Erbium Laser Blotchy, sun damaged skin and Wrinkles
• Suture Lift Saggy Cheeks and Jowels
• Liposuction neck No Clear angle to neck and jaw
• Fat Transfer Saggy and loss volume