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Beauty and health: the different types of cosmetic plastic surgery

Beauty and health: the different types of cosmetic plastic surgery

Cosmetic surgery is performed to change the normal structures of the body in order to improve the patient's appearance and self-esteem.
Choosing to have cosmetic plastic surgery is a personal choice. You need to educate yourself to determine if it is indeed the choice for you. That means doing your homework and finding a plastic surgeon that is willing to help educate you on the procedure you wish to have done. Nowadays there are many options available to you. You may decide that you simply want to improve on the features you already have or there may be something about your body that you just cannot stand. Depending on your personal situation you may be looking at a simple procedure that requires a quick office visit or you may decide on a procedure that will take longer to heal from.

  • Starting from the neck on up there are many choices. There are simple procedures such a laser hair removal, Botox injections and facial peels. More detailed and higher risk procedures are neck lifts, chin implants, lip implants, eyelifts, nose reconstruction, protruding ear surgery, and complete face-lifts. From the hips up to the neck you may be looking at liposuction which is a procedure to remove excess fat from the hips, arms and tummy. There are breast implants, which increase the size of your breasts. For some individuals breast reduction is the option to choose. It all depends on your current body structure.
  • From the feet on up to the hips there are also some more choices. Fairly recently there has been a procedure to lengthen the toes. Some individuals do this to make their feet look more appealing. You can also have buttock implants to make you rear end look a little fuller. Liposuction on the thighs and buttocks is also another choice. Plastic cosmetic surgery does not come without risk. In many cases you will be put to sleep for the procedure. It is your job and the job of the physician you choose to make you aware of any and all risk involved in the procedures you choose.
  • Before making a final decision on whether you wish to proceed and have any types of cosmetic surgery done there are some steps you will need to take. First of all you need to decide what type of procedure you want to have done. Then you need to ask yourself why you want to have the procedure done. You need to make sure you understand fully why you want to have cosmetic surgery. If it's for the wrong reasons such as depression over your current body image, then you may need to find another option such as counseling. The next step is to find a board-certified plastic surgeon. Do not feel that you have to go with the first one you meet. You need to ask for references. This should be something a good plastic surgeon will be happy to provide for you. You may also check to see if anyone you know personally has had any type of cosmetic surgery done and if they can recommend anyone. You also want to make sure to check and see if there have been any malpractice lawsuits filed against the surgeon you are meeting with.
  • Lastly, if you find you are feeling scared or doubting that you want to go through with the procedure, cancel your appointment. There is no need to rush in making a decision to have plastic surgery. You want to go into it with a clear mind. Remember cosmetic surgery is generally not covered by insurance as it is considered an elective procedure.

    Hair coloring: how to get professional results at home

    Hair coloring: how to get professional results at home

    Hair coloring: how to get professional results at homeHair coloring, a step by step guide to coloring your hair at home, to achieve natural and professional looking results at a fraction of the cost.
    With the advanced home hair color products available today, achieving a result that is natural looking and flattering is easy to do. Follow these simple steps and save yourself time and money without sacrificing great results.
    Please note: The following directions do not apply to taking your natural hair color from dark to blonde. Coloring your hair blonde, especially if your natural color is brown or black, is best done by a professional because it is a much more complicated procedure than that described below.
    Coloring Materials
    First assemble your materials. You will need these items:
  • Hair color You can use either the kit that is sold in drug and grocery stores, such as Clairol or Loreal brands, or you can make your own hair color kit. I have found that you get longer lasting color by choosing your own components at a beauty supply store. You will need the coloring liquid and creme bleach, which is called developer. Choose a 30 volume white developer for best results. You can save money by purchasing a large bottle of developer and only purchasing the liquid color each time you need to touch up your roots.
  • Measuring cup Use this to measure the creme developer.
  • Bowl and brush. While at the beauty supply store, pick up a professional quality plastic bowl and brush for mixing the color. The bowl is deep and has a thumb notch on the side for easy pickup, and a rubber base to keep it from tipping. The brush is flat and has a rat-tail comb end. These two items are usually packaged together.
  • Towel or cape If desired, you can also get a salon type beauty cape at the beauty supply store. I use an old towel, which works just as well.
  • Plastic gloves I recommend the less rigid latex over plastic, although the boxed kits contain the plastic ones. The latex gloves give a greater degree of sensitivity and allow you to judge better where the color is by feel. This is helpful especially when working on the back of your head.
  • Clock All color processes must be precisely timed to avoid mistakes.
  • You may wish to do a strand test to preview your color. Mix together a drop or two of the liquid color and a drop or two of the developer. Snip a tiny amount of hair from the back and underneath area of your hair where it will not be noticed and tape it together on one end. Dip the un-taped end into the mixture and leave it for 25 minutes. Rinse, dry and compare the results to what you expected.

    If the results from the strand test are acceptable, proceed to the coloring steps.
    Coloring Procedure
    1. Mix up the color solution Into the color mixing bowl pour the liquid color and 3 oz. of the creme developer. If you bought a kit, the developer is already measured for you. Using the color brush, mix well.
    2. Apply the color mixture If this is the very first time you have colored your hair, or if your hair is completely grown out from the last time you colored and no previously color processed hair remains, apply the mixture to your hair is the same way as you would shampoo. If however you are touching up your roots, following the directions in step 3.
    3. Begin with dry hair Starting at the top front of your hair, make a part with the tail of the color brush about an inch long and another part parallel to the first one and about ? inch to the side. Holding the parted section of hair up, brush the color mixture on the root area of the parted section and the adjacent un-parted section. Pull the parted section up so that it stands on its own and out of the way to the side. Make another part ? inch to the side of the un-parted section to whose roots you previously applied the color mixture and hold the section up. Brush the color mixture onto the roots of the held section and the roots of the adjacent section as you just did with the last section. Continue this procedure until you have applied color mixture to the all the roots.
    Important: Avoid getting the color mixture on the ends. The ends are extremely porous if they were previously colored and will soak up too much of the color mixture, making them darker that the rest of your hair. If you get any color mixture on the ends, wipe it off immediately. After applying color to all your roots, wipe any color from your skin using a towel and warm water. Be sure to remove excess color from your hairline and in back of your ears.

    4. Wait the prescribed amount of time in the directions, or 20 minutes.
    5. After 20 minutes have elapsed, apply any leftover color to the ends. Use a wide toothed comb to pull the color through the entire hair shaft, from the roots to the ends.
    6. Leave color on the ends no more than five minutes. After time is up, add a little water to your hair and lather the color mixture through it like a shampoo.
    7. Rinse your hair thoroughly in tepid water until the rinse water runs clear and absolutely no color mixture remains in the hair.
    8. If your kit contained a conditioner, apply it now. Leave it on for two minutes and rinse thoroughly in tepid water. You may use a deep conditioning treatment instead of the boxed kit conditioner.

    Some women prefer to shampoo their hair after rinsing out the color and before conditioning. I don't recommend this. Waiting at least 24 hours to shampoo allows the color to "set" in your hair and helps to prevent the color from fading.
    To help preserve the vibrancy of your color, subsequent shampooing and conditioning should be done using cool water. Hot water will strip color from your hair. This is especially true for reds, which can fade or become brassy in a matter of a week to ten days.
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