As much as we love to preach the idea that a woman’s choices–especially regarding physical appearance–are her own, plastic surgery is still considered taboo and routinely placed under heavy scrutiny. So it’s no wonder that non-invasive procedures, or ones that don’t require anesthesia and instruments within the body, are gaining the same traction as more traditional ones, like breast enhancement or rhinoplasty.
Although more than one million Americans are still going under the knife every year, advanced technology has made it possible to get the same results with less pain, less time and in some cases–less money; a trifecta of benefits for men and women who are busier than ever. Procedures like CoolSculpting (the destruction of fat cells) have made headlines in recent years, but in 2018, there are a handful of other treatments slowly making their way up the totem pole.
Ahead, four well-known professionals share the most popular options at their practice and why patients are going crazy for them.
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Selfie Sculpting
Dr. Maercks, a Florida and New York-based aesthetic, craniofacial and reconstructive plastic surgeon, says its name comes from the incredible pervasiveness of social media and selfie culture. The goal of selfie-sculpting to create the illusion of a slimmer, more defined face with elevated cheeks and brows, and more open eyes.
“People are spending a lot of effort to play with light, filters and programs to perfect their appearance posting on social media every day…Think of it as a real life photoshopping of a person’s face.”
The procedure itself takes 15-30 minutes and either utilizes off-the-shelf fillers, the patient’s own fat, or even special amniotic membrane-derived filler material. Although the timing is pretty short, it’ll still cost you.
“The average patient spends around $9,000 on ‘selfie sculpting,’ but the range is generally $4,000 to over $6,000, depending on budget, patient desires and regions treated.”
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Tip Flip
Dr. Maercks is also keeping busy with the ‘tip flip,’ or a five minute nonsurgical rhinoplasty (also known as a nose job). Although every individual’s goals are tailored to them (removing bumps, straightening, etc.), the base of everyone’s nose tends to lose volume over time; a tip flip reverses this effect by “creating nasal projection and rotating the tip of the nose up.”
Unlike selfie sculpting, this one is a little more cost effective, ranging from $2000-$4000.
Injectable Facial Rejuvenation
Dr. Steven Cohen, a San Diego-based surgeon, is seeing an uptick in facial fillers powered by stem-cell technology. At his office, Faces+, he’s optimized fat grafting with a procedure that changes the rate of tissue decay, which in turn addresses the root cause of aging instead of masking it with a quick fix.
In a simple outpatient, turbo-charged session, Cohen harvests fat — two to three times more than any other doctor — through a needle incision. The fat is morcellized into three different densities using cutting-edge instruments and injected into the face to address individual areas of decaying tissue. It repairs and stimulates the soft tissue, creating new blood vessels and combatting inflammation.
“With ITR, we actually are changing the rate of tissue decay by adding biological tissue volume and mass back to the face and regenerating blood supply. To my knowledge, this is the first time a concept of decay and replacement has been conceived and implemented to treat facial aging in a dynamic fashion.”
Cohen likes to treat patients proactively at the earliest signs of damage, if not before, as tissue decay begins at maturity in our twenties. And it’ll cost you around $6,000.
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Miradry
Dr. Elie Levine of Plastic Surgery and Dermatology of NYC is seeing more men and women who want to downsize or completely eliminate sweat and odor from the under arm area. This is done through a one hour procedure called miradry that costs approximately $2,000.
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Levine Laser Lift
Levine also has a custom version InMode FaceTite, another contouring procedure eliminates fine lines, sagging skin and other signs of aging. It’s similar to selfie-sculpting and facial rejuvenation since it makes the face look fuller and more youthful. Levine describes it as a liposuction and lower face fat transfer ( when applicable) to the lower third of the face.
“This minimally invasive, virtually scarless procedure for the lower face and neck rejuvenation has minimal downtime and spectacular improvement. Depending on the procedure, cost ranges from approximately $3000-$10,000.”