I was starting to feel like Charlie Kaufman trying to adapt a best­seller into a screenplay, mean­while unraveling in the process a la Adaptation. Honestly, this story has followed me from Toronto to L.A. to Hawaii, where my husband took me for a five-day pre-Golden Globe stress rest. (As president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which puts on the event, I needed it!)

It didn’t matter how many times I plucked my eyebrows, nibbled and hunted for yet another snack, mon­keyed with my just-refined manicure or pedicure, groomed the dog, dusted the dust-free furniture or straightened the fringe on the throw rug, I couldn’t get the story to flow—even sputter. So, first, I tackled the other stories that had begun to pile up. My Al Pacino story for a European men’s magazine was received with raves, as were my George Clooney, Reese Witherspoon, Madonna and Matt Damon articles— and a few I’ve since forgotten.

Maybe it’s because I’m being asked to write about a personal experience that I find mvself stumbling so. Or per­haps it’s the long, befuddled glances from my husband, who is not a sup­porter of plastic surgery as an elective operation at all. His point of view is that, if you’ve been in a car accident or are a burn victim or have a birth defect, then go for it. All the other cos­metic enhancements for the sake of sheer vanity are, to him, sheer insani­ty. A lot of people share his point of view, but they don’t circle in the vortex known as Hollywood.

For those of you who have read my regular column in FLARE, you know that, month after month, I stand next to some of filmdom’s finest. It appears that a new generation has been spawned: the Ageless Generation. The miracle workers are the doctors. I do some investigative homework to find the real gems who help make celebri­ties look their best during some long and grueling shoots. It’s hard to get celebs to fess up, but when they do, two names come up repeatedly. In Canada, it’s Toronto’s Dr. R. Stephen Mulholland. In L.A., it’s Dr. Edward 0. Terino (but that’s another story). So what secrets do they have that the rest of us might be interested in?

From the moment I set foot in Dr. Mulholland‘s Yorkville office, I feel immediately comfortable in the unpretentiousness of the sparkling-clean clinic. So I was more than happy to try a smorgasbord of walk­away treatments.

Peel ($189 per treatment or $800 for four treatments*): I step into a pod-like chamber, not unlike something out of a science-fiction. I lie down with my head peeking out from the top. The moment strains of Beethoven begin to wash over me, I become comfortable as the pleasant voice of Heather, the medical esthetician, explains the pro­cedure step-by-step. The chamber-pod vibrates the rest of my body as Heather pampers my face with a pre­cision handpiece that directs a contin­uous stream of very fine crystals, made of aluminum oxide, across my skin. The slight suction and gentle abrasive action of the crystals remove the dead outer layer, while bringing die smoother, softer under layer of the skin to the surface. This action works best on people with fair skin. With several treatments, it peels away many signs of aging and sun damage, as well as acne scarring and pigment abnormalities. The gentle vibrating of the chamber-pod prevents me from tensing up. As 1 embrace the pamper­ing, my thoughts drift to my former lunch dine excursions—usually shop­ping—and it dawns on me that a single crystal-peel treatment costs considerably less than what Fve spent on a pair of shoes. I emerge from the pod feeling extremely refreshed, pol­ished and relaxed. My skin feels like satin and my body was tricked into believing it really did have a massage.

Botox ($500-$!,000 for die fore­head and around the eyes*): By now, practically every age-group is using Botox. It’s as common as dental floss in L.A. The theory is that if one starts early, those deep furrows and laugh lines never have a chance to take hold. Botox (botulinum toxin) lasts about three months on me. I like Dr. Mulholland’s quick, precise tech­nique. The injection sensation feels similar to a small bug bite. I had no bruising, just some minor tenderness that lasted for two days. For the squeamish, Dr. M, who is in his early 40s but belongs to that ever-growing Ageless Generation, can apply a top­ical numbing cream for a totally dis-comfort-free experience. By the way, you do not leave with a robotic, frozen look. You can still move your facial muscles. The most common thing people say is that you look more rested.

FotoFacial Program ($2,499, includes six FotoFacials, four ultra­sonic peels and skin-care products): Treatments can be performed on any part of the skin but are especially effective for improving the appear­ance of the face, neck and chest. FotoFacials treat redness, flushing, dilated capillaries, sun damage and rosacea. I can attest that the overall tone and texture of my skin improved and that a brown spot Fve had on my cheek since childhood practically vanished after only one treatment. In fact, my FotoFacial results were at their peak about a month later. Some of the celebrities I stand face-to-face with during our interviews actually remarked on my beautiful skin. This was an honest shock because not only did I suffer a bout of adult acne in my late ’20s and early ’30s but it’s hard not to get sun damage in Soudiern California and my larger-than-1-like pores are a genetic curse from my father. My mother and older sisters, on the other hand, were blessed with seemingly poreless, porcelain complex­ions. Fuckv for me, the FotoFacial can be done during your lunch break with no downtime and very little discomfort, especially when you apply a topical anesthetic cream, for people with sensitive skin, like me. It takes about 45 minutes to numb the skin in preparation for the pulses of visible light that are zapped over the skin.

I didn’t tell my husband that, when I left SpaMedica after four hours of procedures, I decided to wave off the recommended cab ride and walk back to my hotel. Little did I think I would run into anyone, but there he was: director Joel Schumacher, who had seen me earlier that morning for an interview. Now, as he was passing me on the street with an unidentified friend, Joel discreetly—and quickly— looked the other way. I couldn’t help but register the look of pity coming from his eyes. OK, I might have looked like a pifiata at a children’s birthday party—a little red and lumpy—but come on! A pleasant “Hello, how are you?” would have been fine.

So was it all worth it in the end? Absolutely. Back in L.A., dealing with the stress of the Golden Globes, I remembered that, as long as I continue to work on my personal spiritual growth, Hollywood is just a state of mind, no matter where you live. But looking good doesn’t hurt.

Prices may vary, depending on your surgeon of choice. For more info on plastic surgery and to find a surgeon in your area, contact the Plastic Surgery Information Service at (888) 4-PLASTIC or visit the service’s Website, www.plasticsurgery.org, or the Canadian Society for Aesthetic (Cosmetic) Plastic Surgery, (800) 263-4429, or on the Internet at www.csaps.ca

Too early for the knife; too late to atone for bad skin habits. New technology offers a middle ground for the almost, but not quite, ravaged and aging visage.

You know the moment.

BY MARLENE REGO

HANDS

No body part gives away one’s age more than the hands. Here, fat grafting is very common  because it plumps the prominent veins and thin, wrinkled skin that highlight aging.  Bonus: Recovery takes a week and the results are long-term, lasting two to three years or more, says Dr. R. Stephen Mulholland, IVID, FRCSC, of Toronto’s SpaMedica.

LIPS (NOT IDEAL)

Animated areas like the lips don’t do as well with fat injections. All that movement  stresses the fat graft and, as a result, some of it is reabsorbed into the body. With this procedure the swelling alone is enough to make patients reconsider. Think puffy  fish lips for three to four weeks.

UNDER THE EYES

Areas that don’t move much, like the eye hollows, benefit from fat transfer. And,  unlike synthetic fillers, results can last years or more, adds Dr. Mulholland. Expect to require two cc’s per eye, says Dr. Philip Solomon, MD, FRCSC, facial plastic surgeon, otolaryngology/head and neck surgery.

HOW TO GET A YOUTHFUL, SHAPELY COMPLEXION USING YOUR OWN FAT

BUTT

After hands, this is the most requested fat grafting procedure since we weren’t all born  with curves like those of Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks. Safer than implants because of  risk of complications and infections, this procedure involves harvesting fat from other areas of the body and Injecting it into the butt to sculpt and shape. You do need a large  amount of fat from a donor site  200 300 cc’s in each buttock, according, to Dr. Mulholland - but the results are long term.

BREASTS (undetermined)

Ever wondered about having your own fat injected into breasts as an alternative to implants?  A lot of experts are still on the fence about it. Firstly, the most that can be expected  is a half-cup size gain with fat injections, as multiple transfers are often needed to achieve significant augmentation. Next, since fat cells contain stem cells, some doc- tors question whether it could be dangerous. “One In eight women will get breast cancer,” says Dr. Mulholland. “There is research in rats that points to an increase in the cancer and tumor load when a different site’s stem cells and fat grafts are put next to it.” And although some surgeons who perform fat grafting to the breast area separate- and remove fat stem cells and do not inject fat directly into the breast tissue, the jury Is still out on the long- term safety of this procedure.

JAWLINE

Jowls are one of the most dreaded side-effects of time and gravity. Fat injections can sculpt and restore fullness to where it’s needed for an even, firm jawline. One pro of fat grafting—anywhere on the body, not just the jawline—is that noone reacts to his or her own fat. “It’s safe and ideal for patients who don’t want anything foreign,” says Dr. Mulholland. As we age, sculpted and round cheekbones are lost. That’s why plumping them  with fat is a good solution. Plus, a fat transfer will rejuvenate the skin in this area  by increasing blood flow. Cost for this procedure starts at approximately $2,500 (including initial lip procedure) and depends on how much fat is being injected. Since 65 per cent overfilled or “overcorrected” to allow for this, explains Dr. Solomon.

TEMPLES

Surprisingly, having fat injected in the temporal hollows can do wonders to restore youth.  ”It’s also to some degree a per manor t correction as compared to using fillers. A certain  percentage of the fat graft remains where you place it. You do continue to age, though,  and the area will begin to fall with time,” says Dr. Richard A. Rival, MD, FRCSC, facial  plastic surgeon, otolaryngology/head and neck surgery in Toronto.

Hyperhidrosis can either be generalized or localized to specific parts of the body. Hands, feet, armpits, and the groin area are among the most active regions of perspiration due to the relatively high concentration of sweat glands. The cause of primary hyperhidrosis is unknown, although some surgeons claim it is caused by sympathetic over-activity. Nervousness or excitement can exacerbate the situation for many sufferers. Other factors can play a role; certain foods and drinks, nicotine, caffeine, and smells can trigger a response.

If anti-perspirant isn’t keeping you dry this summer, resulting in those oh-so-attractive pit stains, botox might be the new trendy answer. While the body usually sweats to cool itself when it is hot outside or in certain emotional states, such as nervousness; people with excessive sweating experience it independent of these factors and sometimes find their condition physically and socially uncomfortable.

Whilst normal sweating regulates body temperature, excessive sweating can be chronically embarrassing and many patients feel that not having to worry about getting uncomfortably sweaty is a big boost to their confidence, especially during summer.

Sweating can stain clothing and produce visible wetness, limit colours worn, and require clothing changes. Sweaty palms often smears ink and curls paper, interferes with computer keyboards and fine tasks and is embarrassing when shaking hands or in other social circumstances. Sweating of the soles can ruin socks, produce sweat marks on shoes, and slipping in sandals and on marble floors. Back and pelvic sweating stain clothes and wet marks are often visible to others. Forehead and scalp sweating can drip, blurring vision and smear glasses. Embarrassment is common.

Botox is a drug that can be used to treat hyperhidrosis and must be carefully administered under medical supervision. Botox is injected into the skin to treat the symptoms of severe sweating and in most cases, Botox will last about 4 to 6 months. The treatment is well tolerated and the patient’s quality of life is enormously improved.

Hello, and welcome to SpaMedica.com TV.  My name is Dr. Stephen Mulholland.  Good to see you all again.

Today our episode is on a very, very popular procedure – full, luxurious, natural-looking hair – hair restoration, hair transplantation.  Always has a bit of a stigma, because people think of a large strip or a scar that they get at the back of their head.

Great new technology that gives you a scar-less hair restoration, very natural, where we take one hair at a time, from the back, in the preferred site forward.  We borrow from Peter to pay Paul.

So, hair restoration using NeoGraft.  NeoGraft is an automated hair transplantation machine, where hair is taken one follicle at a time – one follicular unit at a time – then moved to the front.

Let’s take a look at one such patient who’s undergone this process.

[eTalk broadcast begins]

Stephen Mulholland:

The big misconception is that men aren’t doing it.  They are.  In big numbers.

eTalk:

The procedures more men than ever are having to transform into Jersey Shore studs.

eTalk:

Up next, the situation with men’s plastic procedures.

eTalk:

Let’s talk about the hair, because of Jersey Shore fame as well – Pauly D – obsessed with his hair.

Stephen Mulholland:

Hair transplantation has a stigma.  The big scar at the back.  That’s limited a lot of men who want to do this.  We have a new technique now available called NeoGraft, where we can take one and two and three little hair families at a time, without the scar, and move them to the front.

eTalk:

Now to achieve Pauly D’s thick head of hair, Mulholland recommends hair implantation, which literally takes hair from one section and replaces it in another.

Stephen Mulholland:

I sneak up on the hair follicle family and I come down on top of it and I do a little push.  There it is.  Take it away.

eTalk:

Snatch that guy.

Stephen Mulholland:

And snatch it.  That simple.  And then we take the chamber and I’m going to take the hairs up, put them on my thumb.  This sucks them up into the little chamber.  So, it basically sucks the hair up, puts them in the little chamber, press a pedal and a little metal rod comes down and puts it the hole that you created.  Now, you can pull about 1000 little families per hour and that follicle’s in there.

eTalk:

In his new home.

Stephen Mulholland:

In his new home.

[eTalk broadcast ends]

Wow.  What a great process.  This has revolutionized hair restoration.  NeoGraft hair transplantation – a machine that automates and eliminates the need for scars in the back of your scalp.  You have the freedom to wear short hair whenever you want. You have the freedom to do this in a stealth fashion, 500 little follicular units at a time.

So, if you’re interested, please check this out on our SpaMedica.com or, even better, come in and see me and see if you’re a candidate for NeoGraft hair transplantation.

Announcer’s Voice:

If you’re looking for a lift this winter, look no further than your cosmetic surgeon.  As Global’s Cheryl Hickey reports, this is a new procedure that could spell the end of the traditional facelift.  But beware, the pictures you’re about to see are graphic.

Cheryl Hickey:

In today’s society, people are always looking for better, cheaper, faster ways to retain their youth.  Well, for the past two months, plastic surgeon Dr. Stephen Mulholland has been performing one new procedure known as the feather lift, which gives you a non-surgical facelift in half the time of a regular one.

Stephen Mulholland:

The technique of using facelift suture – we’ve been using them for many, many years – and inserting through a non-surgical manner; using a catheter – like an epidural catheter – and lifting fat.  I use sutures to suspend the mid-face and the brow all the time.  I just have to make incisions to get in there.  This is a beautiful non-incisional, non-surgical way to insert the same sutures with less risk and a nice, pleasing outcome.  It’s not a facelift, but it’s sure coming close.

Cheryl Hickey:

Mulholland first heard about this procedure, which originated in Europe, about a year ago and has just started it here in Canada.

Stephen Mulholland:

Huge trend.  This is another element in that whole quest for those that want to look their best but don’t want the risk of surgery.

Cheryl Hickey:

This feather lift costs between $4,000 and $8,000 and is not available in the U.S., as it has not been FDA approved.  That approval will come in the next six months.  In the meantime, Dr. Mulholland is already booked with 20 patients eager to get some threading done.

Stephen Mulholland:

The risks are that it’s not done well.  There could be some slight asymmetry.  There may be some dimpling around the thread.

Cheryl Hickey:

The risks are 1% or less, but these sutures are not for everyone.  Here’s what you should know.

Stephen Mulholland:

They are designed to last forever.  Now, can they react?  Absolutely.  Could you have a suture reaction?  Absolutely.  Can we remove them?  Absolutely.

Cheryl Hickey:

Like any procedure, some people do not make good candidates.

Stephen Mulholland:

Poor candidates for the procedure are those patients that have unrealistic expectations.  They really want the effects of a real facelift, not a thread lift.  Candidates who are unrealistic, are not medically well, who perhaps are on blood thinners and may get too much bruising, patients would could be pregnant.  Then, of course, those that are so thin that their tissue will not hide the threads.  They’re not good candidates either.

Patricia:

Yeah.  It’s made me, you know, self-assured.

Cheryl Hickey:

Patricia here is turning 50 next year.  This year, she’s decided to fight the hands of time by going under the hands of Mulholland for a feather lift.

Patricia:

I feel tightness in the face and I can see a good difference.

Stephen Mulholland:

How are you doing under there.

Anne:

Great.

Stephen Mulholland:

Any pain at all?

Anne:

No.

Stephen Mulholland:

Wonderful.

Cheryl Hickey:

So, while Anne cleans up, there’s something you should know.  There is a big difference between a regular facelift and a feather lift.  With a facelift, your down time can be between ten days and four weeks.  A feather lift – your down time can be one day.  A regular face lift will last between seven and ten years.  A feather lift will last between three and five. Now, let’s check in and see how Anne’s feeling now.

Anne:

Well, I have to eat soft food and I can’t smile.  I have to speak with my teeth close together.  I can’t sleep on my face.  I have to sleep on my back.  A small price to pay.

Cheryl Hickey:

This is Global’s Cheryl Hickey reporting.

Announcer’s Voice:

Dr. Mulholland says patients usually recover fully in about three weeks.  Still ahead on Global News – getting lucky in Spain at…

Carol:

Every time I looked in the mirror, I felt that I looked very tired and very old.  I really felt that it was time to have something done, because as you get older, everything starts going downhill in a lot of ways.  Well, I needed to bring it up again.

How I found out about this technique was through Dr. Mulholland.  I went along with a girlfriend and we went to see him regarding all sorts of cosmetic surgery.

 Stephen Mulholland:

There are three candidates for the Pan G™ lift – those who are really quite young.  Too young for cosmetic surgery. They’re starting to see some aging facial changes.  The Pan G™ offers them a lift without the risk.  Then there’s the middle group – sort of like yourself.  Not old enough where surgery would be the only alternative, but old enough that three weeks out of your life is really a lot of down time.  You’re active.  You’re busy and you just can’t at this point in your life.  Yet the Pan G™ allows you to get that life effect.

What we’re going to do today is three components of the Pan G™ lift.  We’re going to do the Mayo facial, we’re going to do the sono facial and we’re going to do the sonic peel.

I’ve hooked you up to this apparatus, because we’re going to be exercising your facial muscles, the same muscles that are drooping.  It’s important that we have some resistance.  Can you imagine going to a gym and standing in front of the mirror and doing a curl for six hours with no weight. Your bicep will look exactly the same size.  You have to put some weight on it.  That’s what these elastics have allowed us to to, is to put some weight on your facial muscles while we exercise them.

Carol:

The procedure was fairly uncomfortable to start off, because it really is quite painful, because it’s actually pulling at your muscles and your skin is being tightened.  They use elastic to pull your skin tight and they pull your muscles.  There are various parts of your face that you really do feel the pain and particularly around your teeth area, because of the metal fillings that we have.  It feels like you have a tremendous toothache on both sides of your face.  Then the hair area.  You feel like it’s pulling at your hair.

Stephen Mulholland:

These products will penetrate deeply into your skin and, again, stimulate production of collagen, stimulate growth of elastin and fade away some of the age spots and sun damage that have developed over years and years in the sun.

Carol:

But it’s like anything else.  It was a few minutes.  No pain, no gain.

Having had the Pan G™ and becoming involved in cosmetic surgery and going to see a cosmetic surgeon has made a big impact on my life.  It has become a part of my life, because I never used to talk about it before.  Now I talk about it and everybody talks about it and it seems to be the only thing everybody talks about.

Woman’s Voice:

Actually, you look even better than last time I saw you.

Carol:

Oh, really?

Woman’s Voice:

Yeah.  You have more shine in your skin.  It looks…it’s very glowy and…

Carol:

And I’ve only had two treatments since I saw you last.  Now it’s finished.

Woman’s Voice:

Maybe it was an accumulation?

Carol:

It could be.

Woman’s Voice:

How many of the treatments all together?

Carol:

Twenty.

Woman’s Voice:

Wow.

Carol:

Now I’m going to look at my before shots and look at them and say, “Oh, my God.  I look so disgusting [Laughs]  This is terrible. I look like my grandmother, let alone my mother.”  I can see quite a few improvements.  I can see particularly the skin tone is incredible.  And the droopiness.  I didn’t realize it was that obvious; how I’ve improved in that respect.

I like the procedure because I don’t have to get cut at this point in my life.  Later on, I do want to go an have…because the actual having cut and having cosmetic surgery makes a tremendous difference.  Much, much better than this one does.

I’m quite happy with this one for the moment, but I am very keen to get the other one done as well, differently.

Hugh:

I don’t want to see stretched face with looking as if, you know, you’re running out of skin or whatever.  She has to look natural.  If that’s what the end result is and she’s decided to have it, of course you have to support someone that way.

Carol:

$3,900, which is the cost of this whole series, for 20, I don’t think that’s excessive.  I mean, of course, not everybody can afford it, but I would say the majority could.  We have our choices and we choose what we want to spend our money on.  I like to spend it on my face.

Woman’s Voice:

It’s depressing.

Carol:

I met Hugh many, many, many years ago.  We used to work for the same hairdressing company in Australia.  There’s so many things about Hugh I love.  His personality is just great.  Everybody loves him.  He loves dancing like I do.  He loves people like I do.  It’s just great having a husband who loves your friends.

Hugh:

People are having facelifts more and more.  A lot of them are having surgical facelifts.  In our industry, it happens a lot, because as you get older, people…and it’s mainly ladies that are working on stage or working in front of a camera on television or training.  It’s a younger industry, so it is becoming more common for ladies to have their eyes done or their lips done.  It’s something that makes a big difference.  We have a personal friend that had it done and she looked fantastic.  She still does.

Carol:

Okay.  We’re going to get some lunch.

Woman’s Voice:

All right.

Carol:

And some drinks.

Woman’s Voice:

Cool.  Get some wine opened.

Woman’s Voice:

We are hungry.  Oh, it’s raining.  There goes our hairdos.

Carol:

My girlfriends that I meet for lunch, we talk about all sorts of things.  We talk about…well, we always talk about cosmetic surgery since I started the Pan G™.  We talk about surgery.  One wants to have her neck done.  One wants to have lips done.  Each person wants to have something done.

Woman’s Voice:

So, Carol, where do you see the biggest change?  Yourself.

Carol:

The biggest change is probably all the lines have gone.

Woman’s Voice:

Hmm, hmm.

Woman’s Voice:

In your forehead.

Carol:

It honestly feels like I’ve had a lift.

Woman’s Voice:

I’ve had glycolic peels on my face.  I started a few years ago and I like the way they make my skin look more radiant.  But I’d like more and I like your option, because it’s non-intrusive.

Woman’s Voice:

Right.

Carol:

It was after one week that someone noticed the change.  They noticed it especially around my eyes.  At that stage, I hadn’t had any Botox® or my lips or anything else done.  They said there was a glow in my face.

I find that a lot more people in the media have had a lot of procedures.  That’s basically what w talk about a lot.  We have a lot of fun comparing.  Even people in the media have noticed a tremendous difference in what I’ve had done. They keep saying, “You’ve had something done.”  Or, “Gee, you look great.  I wonder what it…change your hair colour?” – which is something I have done all the time.  They notice a difference because they are so aware of changes to people’s faces and their makeup, etcetera, and their clothes.  Stuff like that.

Well, I’ve been going through this Pan G™ system with Dr. Mulholland.

Man’s Voice:

Yes.

Carol:

It’s revitalized my face and raised.

Man’s Voice:

Quite amazing.

Carol:

Thanks.

Man’s Voice:

I notice a big difference,  you know, within two months.

Carol:

The problem is once you have something done, everything else looks bad.  You want to get everything done.

Man’s Voice:

So, this is it.  You do something.  You notice a big change, so you want to do…

Carol:

More.

Man’s Voice:

More.

Carol:

Yes.

Hugh:

You look beautiful.

Carol:

Thank you very much, honey.

Woman’s Voice:

Absolutely lovely.

Hugh:

How do you feel?

Woman’s Voice:

Bye bye.

Carol:

I feel just wonderful.

Hugh:

Great, great, thank you.  It’s just gorgeous.  I love it so much.  Thank you.

Woman’s Voice:

The last time I got complimented on my appearance was probably about two…

Announcer’s Voice:

The dangers of breast implant surgery give Leanne Malcolm anxiety attacks.  Still, she wants bigger breasts.  Today’s the day.

Stephen Mulholland:

Come on in, Leanne.  Have a seat.  Well, you must be very excited.

Leanne Malcolm:

Yes.

Stephen Mulholland:

Are you nervous?

Leanne Malcolm:

I don’t think so.  Kind of.

Stephen Mulholland:

Did you get some sleep last night?

Leanne Malcolm:

A little.

Stephen Mulholland:

Well, I’m looking forward to today.  Looking forward to helping you alter and enhance your figure and shape.  So, what we’re going to do right now is I’m going to get my little marking pen and I’m going to show you in the mirror exactly where everything’s going to go.

There are many things that a physician and surgeon needs to do to uncover that hidden beauty, that sensuality for that patient.  It’s a very individual procedure.

Again, you’re thin here.  You don’t have a lot of fat, so we’re going to go under the muscle, which will give you a much more natural look.  You’ve got a very nice shape to the breast and we want to have a size.  You’ve picked out a great size that balances your shoulders, your hips and your waist and gives you that nice, sexy, S-shaped curve.

Your incision will go between this line and this line.  I’ll hide it in the shadow of the breast; in the shadow of the new inframammary fold, like that.

For Leanne, specifically, she’s a very muscular lady.  She’s athletic and she’s got a lot of muscles.  She’s very muscular in the lower torso.  She has a large pectoral girdle, but large breasts, given her size or her shape.  So, she finds it frustrating in that she’ll get a very nice-fitting bottom to some clothing or to some sexy slacks and then the top has nothing to balance it.

Announcer’s Voice:

In the operating room, Leanne will spend two-and-a-half hours on the table.  There will be bruises, stitches, a drain under her armpit and certain changes that will alter her breasts forever.

Stephen Mulholland:

First of all, it never feels totally like a breast.  Even cohesive gel implants, which are the most natural of all, put under the muscle, still will feel like an implant if you dig hard enough.

Sensation does change.  Usually taking a small breast and coming forward, you lose some of your sensitivity. There’s about an 85% to 90% chance the areola and the nipple will maintain its erectile function and have the same sensual link that it had before to your hypothalamus, but I always tell women if the nipple is the most sensual part of your body and you can’t achieve an orgasm without nipple sensitivity the way it is now, you should not consider breast augmentation, because about 10% of people do lose some nipple sensation, no matter what the incision is.

Announcer’s Voice:

But will the surgery be worth it?  Can two sacks of gel be enough to pump up one woman’s breast power?

For Leanne Malcolm, getting bigger breasts was never about sex, power or show.  It was all about feeling good.

Leanne Malcolm:

Overall, I’m happy with the size and the way they look.  The reason I initially got it – or wanted to have it done – was for proportion and, yeah, I do feel that I’m more proportioned.  I can go and try on clothes and it fits on top and below, which was my whole gist of wanting to have it done.

Announcer’s Voice:

So, for Leanne, the implants add real value, even though people can’t keep their hands off them.

Leanne Malcolm:

People will want to touch them. Men tend to want to…men just kind of poke, but the women will get a good squish in there.  I only had one girl who was catty and she said, “You need to wear a bra because your boobs are sagging.” I told her, I said, “No, these aren’t going to sag until I’m 85.”

Stephen Mulholland:

Hello, and welcome to SpamedicaTV.  My name is Dr. Stephen Mulholland – plastic surgereon in Toronto, Canada.

Welcome again.  Hope you’ve been enjoying our shows.  Today, I think you’ll find fascinating – the 5-minute nose job; also known as the injectable rhinoplasty.

I, like other physicians, have been doing this 5-minute nose job for a good eight or nine years. For patients who have nasal-facial disproportion – a problem with the nose that they’re unhappy with; a bump or a scoop; irregularity or a crooked nose or a bulbous tip.  They don’t want to do surgery.  They want to see what it might look like before doing surgery – this is the perfect candidate for the 5-minute nose job.  Let’s take a look at one person’s experience.

Man’s Voice:

Coming up on the News Hour – if you’re in the market for a new nose, well, there’s a new trend.

We’ll tell you about the new procedure that doesn’t require a knife.

Woman’s Voice:

It’s been a busy day in the newsroom.  Let’s get started.  The News Hour begins right now.

Woman’s Voice:

Awarded Best Newscast – the News Hour with Leslie Roberts and Anne Mroczkowski.

Anne Mroczkowski:

It seems like every other week another celebrity is getting plastic surgery.  However, not everyone’s up for the idea of being under the knife for hours, not to mention the potential for weeks of recovery.  But what if we told you that there’s a nose job that can be done on your lunch break?  Minna Rhee has the details – but, a warning.  Some of the images may make our sensitive viewers a little squeamish.

Minna Rhee:

They say it’s caused them to feel insecure their entire lives.

Julie Mapera:

Years ago, at school, you know, all the bullyings and everything – “You have a big nose.  You have a crooked nose.”

Woman’s Voice:

It’s made me feel very self-conscious.  So, in photographs, I always make sure that I’m looking dead on.  I don’t ever turn my head.

Minna Rhee:

Julie Mapera wishes her sunglasses would just stay put.

Julie Mapera:

I don’t have a nose bridge.

Stephen Mulholland:

We’re going to do our 5-minute nose job today.  It’ll be over before you know it.

Minna Rhee:

A nose job in a matter of minutes?  It’s possible, thanks to a syringe instead of the dreaded scalpel.

Stephen Mulholland:

Okay.  It looks great, Julie.

I might do a hundred surgical nose jobs a year, but I’ll do 150 to 200 injection nose jobs.

I used a sharp needle only to get under the skin.

Minna Rhee:

The rest is done with something called a microcannula, which has a blunt tip to minimize swelling.

Stephen Mulholland:

Displaces veins.  It doesn’t lacerate them or injure them, so you don’t get the same bruising.

Minna Rhee:

It’s all done with one poke.  Multiple areas of the nose filled in with Juvaderm®.  Local anesthetic is built right into the gel.

Stephen Mulholland:

We’re done.

It’s kind of ironic.  We make it bigger to make it look smaller.  It becomes an optical illusion.

Minna Rhee:

Apparently, this all began as a sort of experiment with Dr. Mulholland initially using saline to show prospective nose job patients what they could expect following plastic surgery.  Then it occurred to him that he could use the same injectables that he was using to build up the cheeks and chins of other patients to achieve a longer-lasting result.

Stephen Mulholland:

See, your tip doesn’t plunge anymore.  Look how straight your bridge is.

Minna Rhee:

The procedure allows those contemplating rhinoplasty to try on a nose with results lasting up to two years.

Stephen Mulholland:

It’s got lidocaine in it.  It lasts a long time.  It’s reversible.

Minna Rhee:

All of this to prevent the so-called “Michael Jackson effect”, where constant surgical tweaking whittled away at his cartilage.  Bumps filled, bridges built – there’s no down time once the so-called “5-minute nose job” is done.

Woman’s Voice:

It’s very strange to see yourself initially.  No bump.  And so fast.  It’s going to take me a little bit to get used to it and to recognize it when I see myself and the profile is going to look completely different.

Minna Rhee:

Minna Rhee, Global News.

Stephen Mulholland:

In five minutes, you can achieve the kind of nasal-facial proportion you’ve been thinking about for years.  So, the 5-minute nose job – an injectable rhinoplasty.  Check out more information on www.spamedica.com or come in and see me.  We can talk about the kind of nose shape and form you’ve been looking for.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DFSXSgKaPE

Announcer’s Voice:

Coming to you from Queen and John, it’s Cityline with Marilyn Dennis.

Marilyn Denis:

All right.  Welcome to the show.  It’s our “Looking Good” special.  We’ve got three experts.  We sure do.  We’ve got Dr. Steve Mulholland here, a cosmetic surgeon.

A couple things I want you to do.  I want you to get your pen and pencil out because…and paper, because Steve’s going to talk about a variety of things.  Like, he’ll take any question.

Stephen Mulholland:

Any and all questions…

Marilyn Denis:

Any and all questions…

Stephen Mulholland:

About looking your best

Marilyn Denis:

Looking your best, okay.  Then, we have a show with you, not this Friday, but the following Friday…

Stephen Mulholland:

Yes.

Marilyn Denis:

A whole hour with you, so there we go.  416-870-7716 or 1-800-295-LINE.  We’ve got lots going on today.  I believe we have a good-looking audience [Applause].  Yes, we do.  We’re ready to roll, the first take.  Heather Near had a dent in her forehead.  I’m not kidding you.  She…it’s something that gets deeper and deeper the older she gets.  She went to see Dr. Steve Mulholland to see what could be done about it.  Watch this.

Stephen Mulholland:

Heather, how long have you had the dent for?

Heather:

I’ve had the dent since my early 20s.  I just noticed it forming then, but it’s gotten deeper and deeper and deeper.  Now, I just can’t stand it.

Patrick:

Dr. Mulholland, what do you see?

Stephen Mulholland:

I see a young lady who, in her very early 20s, really didn’t have much of a dent at all.  She had a hereditary predisposition.  Her parents had deep, deep furrows in their forehead.  Even in her early 20s, you see a mild line forming where you wouldn’t, normally.  Once we got to her early 30s, she started to have a very, very noticeable crevice from overactive frown lines.  Again, hereditary predisposition.  Her parents had it.  She got it, doubly bad.  Now we have a young lady who, in her mid-30s, even when she’s not frowning, has a permanent indentation, almost to the point where when you look at it, it almost looks like a scar or a bit of a deformity, because she’s been frowning so long, she’s left a change in the collagen in her skin; an indentation.

Patrick:

What are you going to do about it?

Stephen Mulholland:

Our plan is to, first of all, put those frown muscles to sleep; to use a little bit of Botox, a little paralyzing substance injected only into the muscles of the frown so she can’t do that any more.  Even when we do that, we won’t have corrected her indentation.  We’re going to take substances from her own body – some fat – lay some fat in the base of that deep furrow to soften in and then take a little bit of injectable filler – some Hylaform or some Artecoll® to give her as smooth as possible result.  That is what I would anticipate she should be able to see at the end of our procedure.

Patrick:

Dr. Mullholland, now it’s the Botox?

Stephen Mulholland:

Yes. I’ve wiped her skin clean with alcohol and we’re going to put the Botox into her very active frown lines.  Heather, give me a good frown.  Very active muscles.  I’m going to insert a little Botox on either side of her frown line.  It will go into the muscle and put it to sleep.  Now, Heather, it takes a few days for this Botox to take effect – three to five days.  During this period of time, I don’t want you to rub your forehead and I want you to try and avoid excessive exercise where you get a lot of pressure, back pressure.  No straining, no lifting, no physical exercise for about two or three days.  I’m going to hold a little pressure there now to minimize any risk of bruising.

Patrick:

Hmm, hmm.

Stephen Mulholland:

We’re going to do the other side.

Marilyn Denis:

You should have heard the camera crew going “Ow”.  Everybody has different pain thresholds, though.

Stephen Mulholland:

Well, interestingly, your camera crew is all male, but I didn’t hear any women go, “Ow”.

Marilyn Denis:

Yeah, they’re going like this.  The women are like this in the audience.  You guys are just, you know, all over.  You guys.  Okay.  Let’s talk about genes.  This dent in her forehead is hereditary.  It plays a big role in the fact that she has it.  The fact that something could be done is terrific.

Stephen Mulholland:

Yeah.  Interestingly, there are pictures of Heather’s parents and we were kind not to show them today.  They  had big, deep grooves in their early 30s as well.  Unfortunately, we can blame – or fortunately – blame our parents for the ravages of age.  When you look at the gruesome consequences of growing old…

Marilyn Denis:

Hmm, hmm.

Stephen Mulholland:

Usually you can look at your mother…

Marilyn Denis:

It’s gruesome sometimes.

Stephen Mulholland:

The mother’s mother…

Marilyn Denis:

Yeah.

Stephen Mulholland:

Your father and you can see those jowls, those cheeks, those eyelids that they passed on to you.

Marilyn Denis:

Or the nose.

Stephen Mulholland:

Or the nose.

Marilyn Denis:

Or the nose.  Is it true that the nose and the ears keep growing?

Stephen Mulholland:

They do mature somewhat in terms of width, but…

Marilyn Denis:

Yeah.

Stephen Mulholland:

Their overall length and proportion is generally fixed by about 18 to 20 years old.

Marilyn Denis:

About 18 to 20 years old.

Stephen Mulholland:

But the skin on top of it can change.

Marilyn Denis:

Hmm, hmm.

Stephen Mulholland:

So you get sometimes the W.C. Fields nose later in life.

Marilyn Denis:

Yeah.

Stephen Mulholland:

Sometimes the ear gets more cauliflower.

Marilyn Denis:

Yeah, yeah.  When someone is not happy with what they have, do you recommend that they bring pictures in from their parents, as well as, you know, pictures from your youth?

Stephen Mulholland:

I always…

Marilyn Denis:

Just to see how much it’s accentuated?

Stephen Mulholland:

To some extent, I always use the pictures from when they were 25, 35…

Marilyn Denis:

Yeah.

Stephen Mulholland:

And 45, to try and create a beautiful version of themselves.

Marilyn Denis:

Okay.

Stephen Mulholland:

Because after surgery, the last thing you want is someone saying, “Wow, you look different.  Who did your facelift?”  You want someone to say, “You look great.  You look refreshed.  You  look rested.”

Marilyn Denis:

“Did you do something with your hair?”

Stephen Mulholland:

Yes.  I did, personally, because…

Marilyn Denis:

That’s what happens.  No, no, you did, but that’s what people, “Did you do something with your hair?”

Stephen Mulholland:

If you can attribute it to that, that’s wonderful.

Marilyn Denis:

Yeah.

Stephen Mulholland:

Usually that’s what should happen.

Marilyn Denis:

Yeah.

Stephen Mulholland:

Then, if you bring in pictures of the parents, you can show them that that’s who to blame, right there.

Marilyn Denis:

Hmm, hmm.

Stephen Mulholland:

You know, we can’t trade our parents in.

Marilyn Denis:

No.

Stephen Mulholland:

Unfortunately, the damage is done.

Marilyn Denis:

Yeah.

Stephen Mulholland:

It happened at the time of conception, usually.

Marilyn Denis:

We love parents.  We love parents.  I know I’m going to hand my son down a couple things.  You can’t see it right now, because I’ve had them all changed, but he will inherit some of those things.  The point is, that’s the kind of research…

Stephen Mulholland:

Yeah.

Marilyn Denis:

That you do.  Things are hereditary.  You have to accept that, but with remarkables, things can be modified, which is terrific.

Stephen Mulholland:

Yeah.  Especially, for example, the segment today with Heather…

Marilyn Denis:

Yeah, yeah.

Stephen Mulholland:

If we can…it used to be five years ago, we’d jump right into surgery.

Marilyn Denis:

Yes.

Stephen Mulholland:

Now, generally, I talk about a stepladder and the first four or five rungs on that stepladder have no knives involved, which appeals to many patients, because…

Marilyn Denis:

That is interesting.

Stephen Mulholland:

You know, very few people in Canada are going to have a facelift.

Marilyn Denis:

Right.

Stephen Mulholland:

But everyone wants beautiful skin.

Marilyn Denis:

Yeah.

Stephen Mulholland:

Everyone wants to have beautiful skin.

Marilyn Denis:

Okay, well, here we go.  Here’s Steve at work on Heather’s surgery.  We want you to watch this, but not the cameramen.  You’ll get queasy.

Stephen Mulholland:

It’s time for your surgery.  Are you nervous?  Excited?

Heather:

I’m both.  I’m both.  I am nervous.  I had a little bit of trouble sleeping last night.  Now I’m excited, now that I’m here.  Yeah.

Stephen Mulholland:

So, how does it look so far?

Heather:

Wow.  Okay, well since the Botox, I love being on camera with no makeup.  Since the Botox, it looks a lot better, so I’m really looking forward to seeing what he can do with the Artecoll®.

Stephen Mulholland:

All right.

Patrick:

Dr. Mulholland, what are we looking at here.

Stephen Mulholland:

What we’re looking at, Patrick, is the beginning of some purified fat.  The first step today, we’re going to take some fat from the patient’s thigh – an area where she doesn’t want it and doesn’t need it.  We’re going to purify that fat and we’re going to inject it under the depths of her forehead furrow.  We’re going to add a little bit of Artecoll® to give her a nice, smooth appearance.  Then we put a little freezing in so she doesn’t feel this.  We move back and forth and the fat gradually accumulates in the syringe.  What you’re looking at is the creation of the purified fat cell.  If you look at this, there is no more blood.  There’s no more serum, just thousands and thousands of little fat cells.  In this purified form, when we inject it with gentle, microfat techniques, we can get those little fat cells to live with great predictability.  That’s why this will likely last this young lady for years.

Now the Artecoll®.  This, Patrick, is the Artecoll®.  This is the second injectable substance we’re going to put in this patient’s furrow.  I did this very, very superficially, inside the superficial depths of the skin, to add a little bit of steam pressing or a little bit of smoothing on top of where the fat went.  Now, we’ll lay down some fat right there; some Artecoll® on top of the fat right there.  You have no wrinkle anymore.  Completely smooth.

Marilyn Denis:

Welcome back to Cityline.  It’s our “Looking Good” special.  Dr. Steve Mulholland is right here.  Now, it’s time to see the result.  Here is how Heather looks after it’s all done.

Patrick:

So, where are we now, Dr. Mulholland?

Stephen Mulholland:

Well, as you can see, Patrick, Heather’s had a wonderful result.  She’s completed her microfat, her Artecoll® and the photofacials.  As you can see, she’s had an astounding – well over 90% – improvement in her rather deep frown line.

Patrick:

What does she need to do to maintain this?

Stephen Mulholland:

What I’d recommend at this point is about three times a year – every four months – Heather would come in for some Botox.  The Botox would put to sleep that tendency to want to crunch the skin.  That should preserve this nice smooth result she’s got.  Perhaps some good medical skin care products and some photofacials to continue to enhance and improve upon this already lovely skin that she’s displaying.  As you can see, she’s cut her hair and she’s, for the first time, showed off her forehead, rather than hid it.

What do you think?

Heather:

I love it.  I love it.  It’s the best thing I’ve ever done for myself.  I just…I feel so good when I look in the mirror.  It’s a massive, massive difference.

Marilyn Denis:

Okay.  We’re going to put Heather’s phone number up, so if you’re not doing anything Saturday night…  How do you feel?

Heather:

I feel great.  I feel great.  I used to…whenever I looked in a mirror, it was the first thing I would focus on, is my dent.  Whenever I got pictures back, I would just look and look at my dent.

Marilyn Denis:

Yeah.

Heather:

Now, I feel great.

Marilyn Denis:

See, the funny thing is, you and I worked on the foster parents special together…

Heather:

Right.

Marilyn Denis:

A couple of years ago for Foster Parents Canada.  I never really talked to Heather that much before.  Happy?  Happy.  But with that, you have like this furrowed brow kind of…

Heather:

It’s true.  What people are saying to me now is, “You just look more relaxed.  What are you doing?  You look stress-free.  You’re more relaxed.”

Marilyn Denis:

Yeah.  That was his point, right?

Heather:

Exactly.

Marilyn Denis:

You don’t know what it is.

Heather:

Exactly right.

Marilyn Denis:

Did you like the fact that when you first started he said you can’t work out for a couple of days?  That kind of gives you an excuse not to work out.

Heather:

Yes.

Marilyn Denis:

Yeah, I’ve got to rest.  I can’t work out for a couple days.

Heather:

Yes.  I’m just going to have to recline.

Marilyn Denis:

That’s right.  That’s what…well, listen.  I think you look fantastic.

Heather:

Thank you.

Marilyn Denis:

It suits your personality.

Marilyn Denis:

Okay, so I want to talk a little bit about maintenance.  One of the words – and we’re going to talk about it a week from Friday, because you’re on for the full hour – can you guys give me the date for a week from Friday, just in case I, you know, make a…

Woman’s Voice:

On the 26^th.

Marilyn Denis:

On the 26^th he’s here.  July 26^th for the full hour.  That’s Dr. Stephen Mulholland.  Just quickly, because we’ll talk about it more on the 26^th, photofacials.  You know, you said that was part of her maintenance.  What does that mean?

Stephen Mulholland:

A photofacial is taking light – gentle, pulsed light…

Marilyn Denis:

Right.

Stephen Mulholland:

And radiofrequency waves and passing them through the skin so that we don’t create any down time.  It’s easy to take some lasers and give you a lot of weeping and crusting and oozing,  but the photofacial is designed to be done about every three weeks.  You need four to five sessions.  You really can turn back the clock on your age.

Marilyn Denis:

What is it?  It just takes…it repairs any, like, inconsistencies in the skin?

Stephen Mulholland:

Yes.

Marilyn Denis:

Like veins?

Stephen Mulholland:

It repairs broken capillaries…

Marilyn Denis:

Yeah, yeah.

Stephen Mulholland:

Veins, age spots, sun spots, pores.

Marilyn Denis:

Yeah.

Stephen Mulholland:

We do it for the whole face or the décolletage of the chest.

Marilyn Denis:

Yeah.

Stephen Mulholland:

Or the hands.  It really just turns back the time on your skin.

Marilyn Denis:

Hmm, hmm.

Stephen Mulholland:

It’s one of those first three or four stepladder rungs that you can grab on to while trying to look your best without jumping into an operative experience.

Marilyn Denis:

How often would you have a photofacial.  Because, I mean, you’re glowing, Heather.  That’s always good to do, isn’t it?  It’s good to glow.  No, she looks great.

Stephen Mulholland:

She is a glower, yes.

Marilyn Denis:

She’s a glower.

Heather:

Well, it comes from within.

Marilyn Denis:

I know that.

Heather:

But, but, but…

Stephen Mulholland:

Well, we’re working on internal photofacials, too, but that’s usually the psychologist.

Marilyn Denis:

Yeah, I could give some gift certificates to some people I know.  You know, just taking what you have on the skin, the imperfections on the skin, is it every…once a month?

Stephen Mulholland:

Once a month.  Yeah.  About once a month you come in.

Marilyn Denis:

Yeah.

Stephen Mulholland:

The treatment is performed.  It takes about 30 to 40 minutes.

Marilyn Denis:

Okay.

Stephen Mulholland:

You go back to work.

Marilyn Denis:

Okay, very good.  All right.  Well, listen.  Again, well-done.  Thanks for letting us follow you, because we’re nosy people here at Cityline.  Yeah, yeah.

Woman’s Voice:

Just a little.

Marilyn Denis:

We’re always in your face.  Sarah is on the phone.  You have a question for Dr. Steve.  Go ahead.

Sarah:

I do.  I have bumpy, raised scars on my upper back and my side from, I guess, adult acne.

Marilyn Denis:

Okay.

Sarah:

When I was, like, 21-22.  Is there anything I can do to reduce them or bring them down?  Would it be expensive?  Like, what sort of cost would that entail?

Marilyn Denis:

Can we do like a ballpark…see if we can do a ballpark figure.

Stephen Mulholland:

Well, Sarah, you’re suffering from a very common phenomenon, either on the body – like the back, a lot of males have that – or on the face.  It’s the ongoing ravages of acne which is scars and usually discolouration.  The first thing is get the acne under control.  See your family doctor.  If you’ve been on topicals and oral medications, try that.  There’s a new…

Sarah:

Yeah.  That’s all gone, actually.

Stephen Mulholland:

Okay.  Some patients out there don’t.  They should try that or get on something called a clear light which passes light through your skin and kills the bacteria that lead to acne.  Then you don’t need to get into some of the Accutane-type medications.  Once it’s controlled, you’re left with scars and discolouration.

Sarah:

Right.

Stephen Mulholland:

Treatments like the photofacial will then blend any redness that’s residual.  If you have great big craters that create an irregularity, then you might be looking at some fillers to plump up the base of the crater.  The next step would be something a little more invasive, like resurfacing of the skin.  But usually for those first two or three rungs on the ladder, you can get about a 30% to 50% improvement.  You’d probably be looking at anywhere between $500 and $3,000, too, depending on how wide an area is involved, to get that improvement.

Sarah:

Okay, great.

Marilyn Denis:

Thanks for your call, Sarah.  Well, Dr. Steve’s going to stay with us and Derek Selby’s going to join us.  We’re going to talk about complexion when we return.  Stay with us.

Man’s Voice:

Well, everyone on Survivor has one, but many Hollywood stars are now starting to have second thoughts.

Woman’s Voice:

Yeah, and they’re spending thousands of dollars to have them removed.  Cheryl Hickey explains.

Cheryl Hickey:

They take mere moments to put on and can take 18 months to take off.  Tattoos are trendy – the must-have in the early 90s – and it’s still popular today.  But this businesswoman says she wants her ten-year-old tattoo gone.

Woman’s Voice:

It’s tacky.  It’s passé.  I don’t think it’s very ladylike, so I want to get rid of it.

Cheryl Hickey:

She’s not alone.  Many Hollywood stars are having their tattoos removed.  Take Canada’s own original Pamela Anderson.  She had her wedding ring tattoo that said “Tommy” altered to “Mommy” and then later removed completely by laser.

Ex-Spice Girl Geri Halliwell is the latest celeb to take her tat off.  Celebrities started the wave of tattoo popularity and now they’re starting the wave of removal.  Cosmetic surgeon Dr. Stephen Mulholland says it’s true.  He sees at least four people each week looking to minimize or remove their tattoo.

Dr. Stephen Mulholland:

It takes multiple treatments and often thousands of dollars to have it really skillfully removed; skillfully meaning not leaving a scar or demarcation or distorted skin behind.

Cheryl Hickey:

There are three major treatments out there.  The most popular is laser tattoo removal.  It takes six to eight treatments.

Dr. Stephen Mulholland:

You come in with some topical anaesthetic cream.  You have multiple-colour tattoos; you need multiple-colour wavelengths of lasers to remove those tattoos.  It takes about 15 minutes.  You come in every six weeks.  It takes about eight sessions.

Cheryl Hickey:

For your $50.00 tattoo to be removed, it’ll cost you about $2,000 for a small one.  If it’s medium-sized, about $4,000 and a rock star tattoo removal will cost you $6,000.  In the end, 90% of the pigment of the tattoo will be removed.  The secret is to leave normal-looking skin in the area where the tattoo was.

I look at him.  Now, at the end of the day, Hollywood’s most-decorated celebrities will likely add to their collection before they go under the laser.  For now, the trend is for 20-something businessmen and women looking to reverse that cool idea from a few years ago.  Another notable celebrity removing their tattoos is Cher.

Woman’s Voice:

Mmm.

Man’s Voice:

Lot of work on that one.

Cheryl Hickey:

That’s right.

Woman’s Voice:

Hmm, hmm.   A lot of pain.

Cheryl Hickey:

It does look like a lot of pain, but there’s a lot of celebrities who have tattoos and this is just a small list of the ones that have tattoos and what they actually have.

Woman’s Voice:

Okay.

Cheryl Hickey:

There you go.

Woman’s Voice:

A website to tell us all that [Laughs].  Thanks very much, Cheryl.

Cheryl Hickey:

Thanks.

Woman’s Voice:

Good morning, everybody.  Dr. Stephen Mulholland is here from SpaMedica.  Nice to see you.

Dr. Stephen Mulholland:

Good morning.

Woman’s Voice:

Good to have you here.  Now, first of all, we want to mention that the New You Show is coming up May 14, 15 and 16 at the Convention Centre.  I find it amazing that you can fill the Convention Centre now with all sorts of different cosmetic options.

Dr. Stephen Mulholland:

It’s amazing.  For the consumer who’s uncertain, it gives them an opportunity to see lots of doctors, lots of dentists, lots of suppliers or manufacturers in the industry.  They’re all devoted to one thing – making you…or helping you look your best.

Woman’s Voice:

Hmm, hmm.   Are you surprised at all at the way people are now…like, it’s just bigger than ever.  The TV shows devoted to it.  The money spent on it.

Dr. Stephen Mulholland:

I’m not amazed, because I see people every day of the week that want to look their best.  It’s principally people now who are confident, self-actualized individuals that want to take low to medium to high risk opportunities to look their best.

Woman’s Voice:

To look their best.  Okay.  There’s some new things coming out.  I’ll tell you one of them I’m very excited about.  It’s an…these sorts of things are exciting, I think, if you go into it with the right mindset – that it can’t change your life or completely radically change your appearance, but it can make things better.  One is body sculpting.  You’re bringing something into North America that’s not available before?

Dr. Stephen Mulholland:

Yeah.  There’s two new things now in this whole minimally-invasive area.

Woman’s Voice:

Hmm, hmm.

Dr. Stephen Mulholland:

Cosmetic surgery has risk and it’s not for everybody.

Woman’s Voice:

Hmm, hmm.

Dr. Stephen Mulholland:

But the things that offer improvement with little risk are the most popular.  You mentioned things like BOTOX® and fillers.  One of the newest things is a cellulite improver and a fat melter.

Woman’s Voice:

Yeah.

Dr. Stephen Mulholland:

So, it is minimal down time.  Sort of non-surgical liposuction combined with some cellulite enhancement.  That’s…

Woman’s Voice:

Really?

Dr. Stephen Mulholland:

One of the things I’m going to be demonstrating at the New You.

Woman’s Voice:

So…but, with the cellulite reduction, has anything really worked before?  Creams and that sort of thing?  Because I’ll tell you what – I’ve tried the creams and I didn’t find…and then there was Endermologie®.

Dr. Stephen Mulholland:

Right.

Woman’s Voice:

Which you were doing…

Dr. Stephen Mulholland:

Hmm, hmm.

Woman’s Voice:

At SpaMedica.  That had some benefit for people, correct?

Dr. Stephen Mulholland:

There was some benefit.  You have to really view cellulite as a chronic disease, much like high blood pressure, diabetes.  We just need to find the right effective treatment.

Woman’s Voice:

Yeah.

Dr. Stephen Mulholland:

Then it’s going to be a short blast to get your cellulite under control and then chronic maintenance.

Woman’s Voice:

So, exactly how will this work?  How do you melt the fat from the outside?

Dr. Stephen Mulholland:

Well, it uses radiofrequency energy and some laser energy.  It heats the fat and the cellulite at a very deep level, leaving the skin alone.  The heat itself causes a liquefication of the fat…

Woman’s Voice:

Yeah.

Dr. Stephen Mulholland:

And a smoothing of the cellulite.

Woman’s Voice:

So, it takes a few times having this done and then it will last forever?

Dr. Stephen Mulholland:

Well, the early studies show that the cellulite improves quite noticeably and then you need some maintenance about once a month.

Woman’s Voice:

Yeah.

Dr. Stephen Mulholland:

For the small to moderate collections of fat that shrink, as long as you maintain a healthy lifestyle and diet and exercise, it shouldn’t come back.

Woman’s Voice:

I love that [Laughs].  Women are going to love that, because I don’t think I know one woman who doesn’t have a cellulite issue, including myself.

Dr. Stephen Mulholland:

It does affect thin and heavy women.

Woman’s Voice:

Yeah.

Dr. Stephen Mulholland:

It is a disease of the skin, not of diet or exercise.

Woman’s Voice:

Hmm, hmm.

Dr. Stephen Mulholland:

So, it is indiscriminate on who it strikes.

Woman’s Voice:

Yeah.  The next thing that is pretty new and getting very popular is the thread lift?

Dr. Stephen Mulholland:

Yeah.  Again, along this vein of non-surgical, we’ve had a…

Welcome back.  Now that the sun is finally out, at least for today, many fitness buffs are pumped to take it all in.  But as our fitness specialist, Tonya Rouse, explains tonight, without the right protection, you’

Tonya Rouse:re asking some serious skin damage.

Do you ever get sunburn?

Man’s Voice:

Sometimes.

Tonya Rouse:

Where do you usually get them?

Man’s Voice:

Shoulders, usually.

Tonya Rouse:

People who exercise or play sports in the summertime tend to wear less clothing for the fear of overheating.  However, the problem is even is they’re wearing sunscreen, most sunscreens aren’t sweatproof, so the lotion drips right off.

Stephen Mulholland:

Outdoor athletes are very susceptible to, number one, sun damage and then the skin cancers that follow, which are the local cancers, like the basal cell and the squamous cell, and then the nasty ones which can kill you, like melanoma.

Tonya Rouse:

Whatever sport you do outside, make sure you protect the skin that is thin and has a tendency to burn – your shoulders, your chest, your cheeks and your nose.  Wear a hat, some sunglasses and some sunscreen that contains titanium dioxide.  That means it’s sweatproof.  Usually the bottle will say “sweatproof” or “sport” right on it.

Stephen Mulholland:

I think you should see a physician whose practice is devoted to cosmetic and medical beauty in your skin.  They should do a screen for any suspicious spots, any little areas of scaliness that are not going away

that you might think is a blemish, but it may not be.  Then that physician will also look at the ambient level of sun damage.

Tonya Rouse:

Man’s Voice:Remember to schedule your workout before 10:00 a.m or after 3:00 p.m., when the sun’s rays are less harmful.  From the Beaches, Tonya Rouse, City Pulse.