Real beauty is reflected in your skin. If you want a clearer, younger looking skin, non-surgical cosmetic treatments and some maintenance after that can let you achieve immediately visible and long-lasting results. You don’t have to always undergo cosmetic surgery to improve appearance and reduce the signs of ageing. In fact, you can choose non-surgical cosmetic treatments to reduce wrinkles, plump up your lips, smoothen the surface of your skin. We spoke with Dr. Anup Dhir Senior Consultant, Cosmetic Surgeon, Apollo Hospital, Delhi to know more about non-cosmetic procedures that can bring a drastic change in your appearance and here’s what the doctor had to say.
Non-surgical cosmetic treatments: Broadly, these treatments are of three types. We can use laser and other energy based devices like radiofrequency and ultrasound, we can do injectables like botox, fillers microfat and PRP, or we can do time tested older procedures like chemical peels, dermabrasion and microneedling to rejuvenate the skin.

Laser skin resurfacing for wrinkles is very commonly done with carbon dioxide or erbium fractional laser and helps by removing the top layer of the skin and making it look younger. Laser hair reduction is done with lasers for facial and body hair and normally six sittings are needed at monthly intervals.
Radiofrequency energy devices like thermage, exilis, e matrix etc. and ultrasound devices like HIFU help in formation of new collagen under the skin by directing energy at a particular level under the skin.

Botox injection for wrinkles -This injection is very commonly used for treatment of facial wrinkles and weakens the muscles which cause wrinkles. It has to be repeated after 4-6 months.

Anti-wrinkle treatment by fillers is again a very popular procedure in which hyaluronic acid fillers are injected into scars and wrinkles. The resulting improvement lasts for 9-15 months.

Fat injection for scars and wrinkles are the gold standard for rejuvenation and in this, your own body fat is sucked, processed and injected in the facial wrinkles. Microfat and nanofat are the types of fat which can be used. The fat has its own stem cells and they help to rejuvenate the skin and improve texture and; help in face lift and rejuvenation of hands also.

PRP skin rejuvenation is done by taking your blood and making platelet rich plasma from it and this is injected in the facial skin and it can also be used in the scalp to reduce the hair fall and help in regrowth.

Dermabrasion involves taking the outer layer of skin with a diamond roller under a local anesthetic and the new skin on healing has less scars. The purpose of surgical dermabrasion is to help diminish the appearance of deeper scars and skin imperfections and smoothen the skin.

Chemical peels use a chemical solution to smoothen the texture of your skin by removing the damaged outer layers. It is one of the least invasive ways to improve the appearance of your skin. Superficial peels with fruit acids like glycolic acid etc. are also called lunchtime peels as they have hardly any down time and can give quick results. As sun exposure, acne, or just getting older can leave your skin tone uneven, wrinkled, spotted or scarred, these peels can help these conditions. They also helps to whiten the skin.

Dermaroller and mesotherapy can be done together and while doing it, a skin roller is used on the skin and mesotherapy solution is injected to improve acne scars and treat the wrinkles. Dermaroller can also be used with PRP and nanofat to rejuvenate the skin.

Finally, anti ageing diet rich in antioxidants for healthy skin has a big role to rejuvenate from within. Fruits, multi coloured vegetables, fish, plenty of water etc. are known to make your skin look younger.

Proper care and maintenance of skin is needed to achieve long lasting results. Don’t forget daily use of sunblock SPF30 or above to save your skin from premature ageing due to UV radiation in sun rays. However, you need to consult a cosmetic surgeon to find which method is best suited for your skin type.

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Plastic surgery clients are trending younger globally, and doctors and psychologists are pointing to the rise of social media as playing a role.

According to a report in the South China Morning Post, not only is the number of aesthetic plastic surgery cases—including cosmetic procedures like rhinoplasty, facelifts, and lip augmentations—on the rise globally, but the average age of clients is also dropping. Of the 22 million Chinese who underwent cosmetic procedures in 2018, clients under age 28 accounted for 54% (nearly 12 million) of patients. Teenagers, meanwhile, accounted for 8% of total procedures. Comparatively, in western European nations, the average age dropped from 42 to 37 in 2018; in the US, over 200,000 teens aged 13 to 19 had aesthetic plastic surgery in 2017, but only made up 1% of total US procedures.

Doctors, surgeons, and psychiatrists are pointing to selfie-led social media culture as driving the rise of aesthetic surgery among young people. That’s a departure from what surgeons say marked plastic surgery trends of the early aughts, when people brought in pictures of celebrities and models and asked for features to better match them.

Julian De Silva, a plastic surgeon based in London’s Harley Street, confirmed to SCMP that social media “is heavily influencing plastic surgery trends and cosmetic treatments.” In the last five years, he’s noticed that “patients are taking more photos of themselves than ever, and as a result they are far more self-conscious about their appearance. Flaws they would previously have ignored have, since the advent of social media, plagued them.”

“Snapchat dysmorphia,” a phenomenon coined in a 2018 paper published in a JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery Viewpoint by Boston University researchers, refers to a trend in which people are bringing plastic surgeons their own heavily doctored or filtered selfies, and requesting to look more like their photos. The report noted that 55% of plastic surgeons cite seeing patients who want to improve their appearance in selfies, a request that comes more often from teens, who are more frequent social media users than older adults.

Although Snapchat dysmorphia is not an official mental disorder listed in the DSM, the report highlighted its similarities to body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), a disorder classified on the obsessive-compulsive spectrum characterized by people going to great, often harmful lengths, to hide perceived imperfections and affects roughly 2% of Americans.

Indeed, the negative effects social media can have on mental health and wellbeing are well documented. A 2017 survey by Britain’s Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), a health education charity, ranked Instagram as the #1 worst social media network for its associations with anxiety and depression, with Snapchat following closely behind. Following the RSPH survey, research from Carmen Papaluca of Notre Dame revealed a connection between Instagram and mental health, particularly in young, female Instagram users. Specifically, findings from the study reported that women in their late teens and early 20s found that the app negatively impacted body image.

And the rise of selfie culture has coincided with a greater access to cosmetic beauty procedures. In the US, wrinkle-reducer Botox and dermal filler Juvéderm are being marketed to 20-somethings over its core clientele, women over 40. Meanwhile, a wave of Instagram-friendly clinics like Alchemy 43, Kate Somerville, and Skin Laundry have popularized medical beauty treatments, including services like Botox, fillers, lip injections, and laser treatments, for the under-30 crowd.

The SCMP notes that a 2018 report released by Chinese cosmetic procedure platform Gengmei found that the number of cosmetic surgery clinics opening last year increased by 10% compared with 2017. And according to the Chinese online magazine Sixth Tone, Gengmei and its competitor, the cosmetic-surgery social app SoYoung, saw their communities skyrocket, with the former noting that 36 million users and 20,000 certified surgeons joined the app in the past few years. Sixth Tone also notes that Chinese clients are likely influenced by neighboring South Korea, where European and K-pop beauty standards—big eyes, slim noses, etc.—are pervasive, and about one-third of women under 30 have had plastic surgery. Indeed, double-eyelid surgery, a procedure that seeks to produce bigger, Western-looking eyes, has become a common 18th birthday present.

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