Who Wants a Mommy Makeover?
An estimated 85 million mothers call the United States home. While these moms vary in age, they obviously all have something in common: At some point, they had one or more children! This means there are about 85 million people whose bodies have undergone a remarkable and dramatic transformation. Many of these moms embrace and love their body changes, as they represent the transformational process of becoming a mother.
Some moms, however, look at photos of their “pre-baby” body and wonder about a Mommy Makeover. Palm Desert’s Cosmetic Surgery Institute team explains that there is no “right” way to approach the physical realities of motherhood.
With that in mind, here is a brief look at what may prompt someone to choose a Mommy Makeover.
Changes in Breast Size
Throughout a woman’s pregnancy, the breasts will grow as glandular tissue develops in anticipation of feeding a newborn baby. Whether a new mom breastfeeds or not, these changes happen. Eventually, the process will reverse and the breasts will shrink back to the size they were before—at least in theory. The real world is not so clear-cut. Some people find that their breasts stay much larger than they were before, while others notice that their breasts shrink down to a smaller size. The breasts may also change independently of each other, causing them to look different and create an asymmetrical appearance. Breast augmentation or reduction can bring the breasts to a patient’s idea size, as well as help them to look symmetrical again.
Changes in Breast Position
The fluctuations in volume mentioned above do more than just alter the breasts’ size. Expanding and contracting tissue can also cause supportive tissues to stretch out—and what has stretched doesn’t necessary snap back afterward. Larger breasts are also more prone to the effects of gravity, which will pull them downward. These factors combined can cause breasts to droop and sag over time. A breast lift will elevate the breasts, provide new support, and reposition the nipples as necessary to create a perkier look.
Changes to the Abdominal Area
The effects of growing and stretching tissue aren’t limited to the breasts, as a growing baby also needs to make room as the months go by. As the baby gets larger, abdominal tissues stretch in order to accommodate the rapid development. Unfortunately, a belly that has swelled rapidly—expanding considerably in less than a year—can have trouble retracting again. Abdominal skin may hang loose and appear baggy or droopy. A growing baby can also push the abdominal muscles apart, preventing them from serving as a functional wall after birth. This means everything behind them can bulge outward, adding to the lack of flat, taut look. A tummy tuck is designed to address all of these issues by removing excess skin and repairing the abdominal muscles.
Changes to Body Contours
Expectant mothers gain what many affectionately call “baby weight,” but the resulting bulges can stick around long after the baby has been born. Liposuction is designed to remove these stubborn pockets. The procedure is not intended as a weight-loss strategy, but it can help to sculpt contours more in line with a pre-baby body.
For more information about what goes into a Mommy Makeover, contact the Cosmetic Surgery Institute online or call 760.837.0364.
3 Ways Breast Augmentation Can Benefit You
Even if the word “augmentation” wasn’t a tipoff, just about anyone you ask about what a breast augmentation does for a patient would be able to tell you that the surgery makes breasts bigger. As a provider of breast augmentation in Palm Desert, the Cosmetic Surgery Institute sees this result virtually every day—but it’s not the only benefit possible from the procedure.
Read on to learn about three reasons why breast augmentation may be right for you.
Size
This is the big one—of course. As noted above, the main appeal of breast augmentation is enjoying breasts that are larger than they were before. Some patients want a subtle increase that visibly enhances the curves of their silhouette, while others want a dramatic boost that truly stands out. No matter which approach (or somewhere in the middle) seems ideal for you, the goal is the same: to add volume. The insertion of implants or transferred fat cells will take the breasts from one size to another.
Shape
Since so much focus is on size in relation to breast augmentation, many people forget that implants can also alter the shape of the breasts. Breast shape is determined by several factors, including the degree of sagging present. Elevating the breasts with a lift can help to restore their shape, but adding volume will also impact how they look. The shape of the implant itself is a significant determining factor. Patients may also opt for fat transfer, which can “soften” the look of an implant and help to create an even more natural appearance.
Symmetry
No person’s breasts are perfectly symmetrical, as there are always slight variations that keep them from looking exactly the same. Some patients, however, have breasts that are quite noticeably different sizes. An implant in one or both breasts can make them the same size, giving the chest a more symmetrical look. This option may also be accompanied by a lift to bring the breasts into the same position.
Want to learn more about what breast augmentation can do on its own or when paired with other procedures? Contact the Cosmetic Surgery Institute online or call 760.837.0364 to set up a visit.
Are All Light Treatments Lasers?
Lasers can do a lot for your skin—from hair removal to skin resurfacing to visible vein reduction—but they aren’t the only light-based treatment at Palm Springs’ Cosmetic Surgery Institute.
Many people tend to lump all light-based treatments into a single category, and while the various options do share plenty of similarities, there are also some key differences between lasers and such devices as intense pulsed light.
Put most simply, lasers direct a focused beam of light in a single wavelength onto or into the skin. The beam is powerful, precise, and ideal for heating pigmented areas, such as the dark cells in a follicle at an unwanted hair’s root or the tissue that makes up a visible spot or similar lesion.
Intense pulsed light (IPL) is more broadly applied, delivering light not of a single wavelength, but of multiple wavelengths at once. This factor makes IPL treatments—including the especially powerful BroadBand light—especially good at addressing cosmetic problems in larger areas. Think of the redness of rosacea or fine blood vessels that are close to the surface.
IPL, like lasers, works because darker-pigmented cells are impacted by the application of energy more than lighter-pigmented cells are. Targeting the deep brown of unwanted lesions, the vivid red in blood’s hemoglobin, and other visible cosmetic issues with light causes the targeted concerns to rapidly heat up. This sudden rise in temperature is damaging to the cells in question.
As a result, pigmented lesions ultimately flake off or are absorbed back into the body, visible vessels seal off from the rest of the circulatory system and collapse—also to be absorbed, hair follicles are rendered unable to properly grow new hairs, and more.
Wondering which laser or light-based treatment would be ideal for you? Trust the Cosmetic Surgery Institute team! You don’t need to tell us whether you think a laser or intense pulsed light would be most appropriate for addressing your concerns. Our highly trained and experienced team will assess the condition of your skin, examine your cosmetic concerns, and talk with you about the look you want to achieve. Then, we will make a recommendation based on our years of practical applications and work with the range of available devices.
For more information about lights and lasers, contactin the Cosmetic Surgery Institute online or call 760.837.0364.