The new face of anti-aging procedures

Once upon a time, it was easy. You arrived at a certain age and—if you had the funds and gumption—you got a facelift. Today, the range of elective anti-aging procedures has never been wider. Baffled? You’re not alone. We debunk the anti-aging myths and present the best new procedures from SoCal’s top docs.

Selecting a Specialty

First, define your terms. Cosmetic surgery is concerned with improving the aesthetic appearance of a person, while plastic surgery may include this, or just the reconstruction angle.

Second, find out what a doc does best. Some are known for lifts, others for Botox brilliance and one is a master of butts!

Third, ascertain the doctor’s level of training and expertise. Michael Niccole, M.D., founder and medical director of CosmetiCare Plastic Surgery Center & Med Spa in Newport Beach, advises, “Determine a surgeon’s board certification and be sure which board she or he is certified by. There are a number of pseudo-boards, which provide a false sense of security to consumers; in fact, these boards are not monitored by the government, as one would expect.”

Surgeons are warning of the risks of DIY buttock enhancement after a 20-year-old woman died in the US from silicone injections. Why do so many women now want to be big-bottomed girls?

For some people, bigger is better.

But tragically, for Claudia Aderotimi, it was the desire for a more shapely behind which ended in her death.

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Stem cells are all the rage in the aesthetic industry and while many physicians provide fat transfers, very few actually have the technology to purify the fat, isolating stem and regenerative cells. One of these physicians, who practices in the U.S. as well as Europe, Dr. Renato Calabria uses the PureGraft in his practice in Beverly Hills, CA. In his practice in Italy, Dr. Calabria uses EU-approved technology that may soon be making an appearance in the US. This new technology "turbo-charges" stem and regenerative cells in fat, which Dr. Calabria then transfers to the patients face for his Stem Cell Facelift.

World-renowned plastic surgeon Dr. Renato Calabria M.D. has given new meaning to the phrase "inner beauty", by developing a revolutionary procedure which is the perfect combination of the body’s natural restorative powers and ground-breaking new techniques to create the Cell-Enhanced Facelift.

“The Cell-Enhanced Facelift is a new procedure, which volumizes the face and creates a more youthful look,” Dr. Calabria explains. “This facelift not only restores the volume in the face, which has always been my goal, but it also adds regenerative cells which are beneficial to the rejuvenation process.”

Dr. Constantino Mendieta is a board certified plastic surgeon who is headquartered in America's derriere capitol: Miami, Florida.

Miami truly is the land of little clothes and sexy bodies, gorgeous beaches and beautiful people, all celebrated in numerous rap videos and TV shows like Showtime's "Dexter" and USA's "Burn Notice."

If you want to resemble Sophia Vergara, J-Lo and Kim Kardashian in the booty department, there's a Doctor for that.

Curves are back in a big way - Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel, Beyonce, Kim Kardashian, and the list continues. In the past, we have all envied Hollywood stars their bodies but it seems the focus of that envy is shifting south - to the derriere. So if you're not built like ScarJo or any of the Kardashians, for that matter, what can you do?

Actual Brazilian Butt Lift Results of Dr. Constantino Mendieta

Post Treatment 6 Months

A buttock augmentation procedure that is gaining in popularity is the The Brazilian Butt Lift. Board certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Constantino Mendieta, creator of the The Miami Thong Lift explains, "The Brazilian Butt Lift is transferring fat from one unwanted area of the body to an area where we can help create and sculpt different parts of the body." Instead of using an implant, Dr. Mendieta performs a fat transfer where the patients own fat is removed via liposuction and then re-injected into the buttock area to create a fuller, shapelier behind.

Christine, before and after her injectable rhinoplasty procedure. Photos Courtesy of Dr. Alexander Rivkin

When we first covered the topic of ethnic rhinoplasty, the tale of Los Angeles high school senior and Persian princess Dornaz Maraghehchi, who received a nose job as a gift for the Persian New Year, stirred much controversy.

Now an increase in the number of Asian patients seeking nose reshaping is bringing the hot topic back into the spotlight.