Injecting L'Oreal Serum Into Your Face - Why Would This Happen?

A pattern we see --and wish would go away-- is the self-injection of illegal, inappropriate or unknown materials used to plump lips, butt, or face.

We've read terrible butt augmentation stories, received pleas for help to remove injectable substances and seen requests for advice on self-administering Restylane. This week a site visitor posted the veritable icing on the cake: "I injected a L'oreal skin product into my face".

Why are people self-injecting?

It's hard to explain. Perhaps we're seeing a sign of the down economy, where self-injecting is viewed as a money saver. Greater accessibility is another theory; it's getting easier for contaminated materials to get into the public's hands (with disasterous side effects). This theory has merit:

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Skip The Doctor When Getting Botox?

In a bid to garner publicity for a skin care line, Dallas-based esthetician Renée Rouleau recently promoted her blog entry, Getting Botox? Schedule it With the Nurse, Not the Doctor.

When asked about this skip-the-doctor advice, leading Dermatologist Ranella Hirsch, M.D. expressed surprise. Dr. Hirsch commented by email:

"As it was expert dermatologists who pioneered, cultivated, and continue to advance the science of Botulinum injections, it seems in a patient's best interest to find an experienced one to both optimize the safety and results of this medical procedure."

Rouleau postulates in her post that "no matter who it is" you can get natural-looking Botox results as long as the injector has "a lot of experience." Dr. Hirsch counters, "Respectfully, 'who it is' most certainly does matter when it comes to your face."

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Bottom 10 Cosmetic Procedures In The RealSelf Worth It Index

Earlier today we posted about the Top 20 cosmetic procedures according to our Worth It index and rating scale. 

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20 Highest Rated Cosmetic Surgery Procedures

There is no return policy in cosmetic surgery. Unlike a bad purchase decision during your last vacation or misguided selection of a restaurant for your date night out, you can very rarely brush off a bad cosmetic treatment experience and hope for better luck next time.

The cosmetic changes we pursue from plastic surgeons, dermatologists, and dentists are designed to be long-lasting; and that's a good thing because many procedures are expensive, involve recovery time, and carry some inherent risks. Of course, the ultimate downside and fear is the botched job. Done wrong, you physical appearance may be permanently altered in an unfavorable way.

RealSelf.com has designed its community around reducing the unknown by empowering people to openly share their unbiased opinion and experiences with a cosmetic treatment.

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Claim Check: The Botox Boob Job

The Claim: Botox lifts Breasts

A posting today by a RealSelf.com community member appears to have been inspired by The Mail article: Botox for breasts: New treatment helps women lift sagging cleavage.

They ask the RealSelf doctor community for more information about breast injections.

The Mail's reporter asserts that the Botox breast lift is a breast implant alternative where "Injections of Botox into the bust tighten sagging cleavage" which gives mothers a new perk to their breasts. Furthermore, it adds:

It is the 21st century solution for new mothers desperate to look their best for a party or wedding...With the treatment taking just half an hour, it is proving popular with busy young mothers who don't have time to go under the knife...

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Brooke Shields Latisse Advertising Slammed By Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports slams Latisse and the Brooke Shields ad that's been then center of the $14.5M Latisse advertising campaign.

With 88% of our readers saying Latisse is "worth it", do you think the Consumer Reports video lacks balance? 

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Johnson & Johnson Kills Evolence, Cosmetic Wrinkle Filler

A division of Johson & Johnson, Ortho Dermatologics, sent out notice (below) that Evolence--a wrinkle filler--was being taken off the market and the product is up for sale. The Ortho website for Evolence is said to be "under construction." 

Evolence has failed to gain traction in a market crowded with alternatives like Restylane and Juvederm. On RealSelf.com patients have complained about Evolence results more than any comparable wrinkle treatment, with 35% saying Evolence was "worth it."

The most recent Evolence posting by a patient complained about lumps:

"Ughh...I am so scared. Had two syringes of Evolence injected 4 days ago (nasolabial folds) and I have a hard bumpy line on one side with redness and the other side looks maybe 25% better but with red bumps...and it still hurts. I am feeling very disappointed and worried that those bumps and lumps will stay...I don't look better at all!!!"

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New National Trend Data For Cosmetic Surgery And Treatments

Noses in Northeast, Tummy Tucks in the South, Breast Reductions in the Pacific Northwest

Despite the down economy, cosmetic procedures continue to be a hot topic across the country as people research various treatments they may consider in the future. But does where people live affect what’s hot and what’s not in cosmetic makeovers? Our geographic based search data suggests the answer is “yes.”

Here are some highlights:

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3 Truly Odd Plastic Surgery Requests

1. Help me get past casino security

Beverly Hills facial plastic surgeon Dr. Richard Fleming was visited by a professional gambler wanting plastic surgery. "He wanted to totally change his physical appearance because he was being monitored in Las Vegas and Atlantic City casinos." Dr. Fleming refused to do the surgery for obvious reasons.

2.  I want to look good -- dead

Kamran Jafri, MD, a New York City Facial Plastic Surgeon, was asked to do a facelift by a terminally ill cancer patient so "she would look her best for her funeral."  He declined to do the surgery. "I did advise her on some skin care regimens that would improve some of the blemishes that had occurred on her face during her treatment," said Jafri.

In Kentucky, a 78 year old woman contacted plastic surgeon Dr. Randy Waldman and asked for a nose job. "I asked her why she had waited so long and she replied that she had always wanted a different nose and now that she was getting up in years she wanted to make sure she looked good in her coffin," explains Dr. Waldman.

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Breast Cancer Survival: Wigs 101

If you're considering buying a wig to wear during your chemotherapy treatments, there are many things to take into consideration, especially cost (wigs prices can range from about $100 on up to $6,000).

Guest post by Romi Cortier.

Romi is a celebrity hair guru in Hollywood, CA.

I recently worked with a client during this process. I met her at the wig maker's studio where I gave her various short haircuts that we photographed for fun. Ultimately, we took her hair fairly short, leaving a little length in the bangs. This helped the wig maker to get a near perfect fit until her hair had completely fallen out.

Once that happened, she went back for more adjustments. As her hair grew back, the wig was once again adjusted to accommodate her changing head shape.

I went to several holiday parties with this client and the only thing she heard was, "Your hair looks so beautiful... who does it?"

She'd point to me and say, "It's Romi's work." Since I did her weekly blow drys, it was in fact, the truth.

To this day, not even her friends knew she was wearing a wig.

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Anti-cellulite Tights A Hot Trend In The UK

The British department store John Lewis reportedly sells 25,000 pairs of Scala cellulite fighting tights each month. The store promises the Brazilian-made tights work:

Fight cellulite and create a seamless silhouette with no gym required! Sounds too good to be true? New to John Lewis, Scala’s range of Anti-Cellulite underwear can do just that! Perfect for when you need to squeeze into that dress…

What's Scala's secret cellulite treatment?  Crystals. Crystals impregnated into the fabric supposedly massage the skin, improve blood flow, and decrease cellulite.

Medical experts consistently warn consumers away from simple cellulite solutions, whether it be tights, cellulite creams, pills, or massage products. Doctors find that these cellulite products are clinically unproven and amount to marketing ploys that can't plausibly address the complex underlying mechanisms that cause cellulite.

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Latisse Side Effects: What Are Women Really Experiencing?

The FDA yesterday issued a letter to Allergan regarding their lack of warnings on the Latisse Web site about possible side effects of using the eyelash lengthening product, claiming the company is misleading consumers.

Top rated cosmetic treatment

At RealSelf.com, Latisse turns out to be one of the highest rated procedures, with 86% of those who’ve used Latisse believing it was worth it. Side effects are certainly discussed, yet the most controversy has swirled around whether or not to buy the generic version of Latisse, the glaucoma drug Lumigan.

By way of background, Latisse was approved by the FDA this past December, and since then has become a popular treatment for those looking to enhance their eyelashes.

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Buying Botox From A Canadian Pharmacy - Who's Doing It?

Search Google for Botox information and you're very likely to run across ads promising heavy discounts on self-administered Botox injections.

Most sites appear under web addresses using keywords like Canada+pharmacy, clearly suggesting that buying Botox from Canada will help you skirt regulations in the US that prevent the sale of Botox direct to consumers.

Misleading marketing

Our staff examined a few of these sites (and blocked the advertisers from appearing on RealSelf.com's Google ad placements), after seeing clear signs of misleading marketing as well as learning from our doctors that buying Botox online without a prescription is dangerous and potentially lethal.

Botox sellers that actively promote using Google Adwords program include:

• discountmedspa.com
• canadadrugpharmacy.com
• CanadaPharmacyOnline.com
• CanadianPharmacyMeds.com
• pretique.com
• CanadaDrugCenter.com
• AxonMedicalSupplies.com
• NorthWestPharmacy.com

One of these sellers, called pretique.com is largely representative of what you can find at these sites. Confusing information, manipulative page descriptions, and FAQs suggesting self-injecting drugs is easy and low risk. 

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10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Breast Implant Size

The more questions I answer for RealSelf the more I have realized that there seems to be a lack of help, for some patients, to determine the correct size and style of breast implant for breast augmentation.

Guest post by Christopher L. Hess, MD, FACS.
Dr. Hess is a plastic surgeon based in Fairfax, Virginia.

Whether this is due to a failure of plastic surgeons to assist their patients in the decision making process, a lack of understanding on the patient’s part of the complexity involved in choosing implants or an over abundance of haphazard information from both the surgeon and the internet that ultimately confuses patients, I’m not really sure.

So in an effort to help all patients here are 10 things patients need to think about when choosing breast implants.

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Has A Friend Suggested Body Magic? They Soon Will.

Anyone having undergone the assault of friends pushing Arbonne skin care or Monavie acai juice, can attest. Saying "no thanks" is difficult. The effectiveness of the direct or MLM sales strategy isn't lost on Ardyss, which has enrolled an estimated 140,000 distributors of Body Magic.

Body Magic is a garment that is designed to pull in fat and loose skin. Think Spanx for the body. Body Magic Couture promises women 2 to 3 dress size reduction and offers men t-shirts that pull in the flab.

Body Magic is likely to appeal to men and women who don't want to undertake the physical or financial investment in liposuction or tummy tuck surgery.

Believe in Body Magic? Leave a comment!

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