A new clinical trial performed by the charity, International Partnership for Microbicides, may be influential in developing birth control that also helps to protect women from contracting HIV. The organization has developed a silicone vaginal birth control ring that releases both the contraceptive hormone, levonorgestrel, and the anti-HIV drug, dapivirine.

Women contract HIV at a higher rate than men. Many women around the world do not protect themselves because of economic and cultural reasons. Other contributors to this higher rate include biological factors that make women more susceptible to contracting the disease. Previous attempts to design HIV prevention methods for women included models that only contained dapivirine. This is the first attempt to combine the antiviral medication with birth control. The initial model was designed in 2016 and lowered the risk of contracting HIV by about 30 percent. Issues with the initial model were not with design, but rather with improper and inconsistent use.

A new drug shows significant promise in reducing hot flashes in menopausal women, according to a study published in the UK’s medical journal, The Lancet.

A hot flash is a sudden rise in temperature accompanied by sweating, feeling flush and turning red. Some women experience an increased heart rate as well. Hot flashes are often associated with women in menopause.

During the trial period, the drug, known as MLE4901, was shown to reduce hot flashes in women by almost 75 percent. The drug blocks the body chemical, neurokinin B. Neurokinin B, also known as NKB, has been known to cause hot flashes in laboratory rats, as well as women in other research studies. By blocking the body from producing this chemical, the drug will block hot flashes.

If you’re looking to boost your booty, but aren’t necessarily down for a bunch of leg lifts or squats, you may want to consider a faster fix and have a Brazilian Butt Lift. The Brazilian Butt Lift lifts and reshapes the buttocks. Dr. Alqulali performs the BBL procedure using your own fat.

During the procedure, fat is taken from an area of the patient like the thighs or abdomen. It is collected via special liposuction, and refined to separate out blood and other tissues. The pure, refined fat is then injected into the buttocks.

 
 Most people know that having high blood pressure, or hypertension, is bad for you. High blood pressure is a serious condition that can cause damage to your heart and blood vessels. High blood pressure can lead to heart attack or stroke, kidney damage and dementia, and may even impact your vision. Women are often at risk for high blood pressure, leaving them susceptible to heart attacks and strokes. Many women also experience blood pressure that is too low, leaving them at risk for other health complications. Dr. Alqulali monitors the blood pressure in her patients to ensure they are healthy- and to treat them if blood pressure is too high or too low. 

 If you’re heading towards the big 4-0, you probably are wondering if it’s the right time to get a mammogram, but new recommendations say otherwise. For many years, 40 was the standard age suggested by the American Cancer Society to start preventative scanning. However, recently the ACS and the American College of Physicians have said that 40 is not a hard and fast rule for all women. In fact, they say that age 50 is the new 40 when it comes to screening mammograms. It is important to remember that these recommendations do not apply to all women, and Dr. Alqulali encourages patients to talk to their doctors about both their family health and personal health history to determine if they need earlier screenings.

A recent study by the University of Michigan has found that women who have an episiotomy during childbirth experience feelings of poor body image and a less satisfying sex life than women who have not had the procedure.

The American Society of Plastic Surgery reports that labiaplasty procedures have increased by 400 percent between 2011 and 2015. According to the ASPS, other female genital surgery procedures have also gained popularity, too, as more women are learning about and talking about these genital plastic surgery procedures.

Labiaplasty procedures alone jumped 39 percent in 2016, as over 12,000 women seeking this surgery last year. Labiaplasty is a surgical procedure that reduces the size or reshapes the labia. In most cases, the surgery is performed on the labia minora, or the inner labia, to its length. Some women are born with labia minora that protrude beyond the labia majora, or outer labia, but some women experience labia minora stretching during childbirth.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeon’s annual recently published their 2016 statistics, which showing new trends in cosmetic surgical procedures. One particular procedure that increased in popularity is labiaplasty, or the surgical alternation of the labia. In fact, labiaplasty increased 39 percent over 2015, with over 12,000 procedures performed in 2016.

The procedure has gained popularity as more and more women are opting for bikini area grooming such as waxing or shaving. As a byproduct of these new grooming habits, they are becoming more aware of the appearance or shape of their labia- which leaves some women feeling self-conscious.

Many people suffer from the damaging effects of the sun’s ray on their skin. Regular and prolonged exposure to the sun leads to a host of skin problems like discoloration such as freckles or sunspots, wrinkles, creases and in serious cases, skin cancer. Sun exposure leaves skin looking tired and dull, which may translate to looking older. Some patients are turning back the clock and undoing the damage of the sun through a skin revitalizing procedure known as microdermabrasion.

Microdermabraision helps to repair sun damaged skin by using small aluminum oxide crystals delivered via a hand held wand to abrade the first few layers of the skin, which become clogged with dirt and makeup, or environmental pollutants. This clogging of the pores makes the skin appear dull.  After the skin is abraded, the dead, sloughed off cells are suctioned away. The exfoliation of the microdermabrasion procedure stimulates the body to produce new skin cells and increase collagen production. This leaves the patient with tightened skin and a fresh, youthful appearance.

Women over the age of 55 are now the fastest-growing demographic seeking cosmetic procedures, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. In fact, the number of cosmetic procedures for senior patients has increased over 63 percent in the last five years. These patients are looking for every kind of cosmetic procedure ranging from minimally invasive options like dermal fillers to even Brazilian butt lifts. Cosmetic surgeons do not expect to see a slowdown in this demographic’s demand for procedures anytime soon, either.

Too often, gravity gets a bad rap for its aging effects on the face and skin. It is frequently blamed as the cause for wrinkles, creases and sagging and everything sliding south. Gravity actually has little or nothing to do with aging. The real culprit behind those creases and line is fat. More so, the lack of fat in the face.

It’s true. Facial fat volume is the key to keeping a youthful visage. Facial fat volume is at its greatest peak between the ages of 18 to 22. After that, the fat volume begins to decrease, and areas may sink and slide a little, and creases and wrinkles develop more easily.

For years, many individuals opted to have facelift surgery in order to fight against gravity and aging. While the facelift procedure does work to tighten the skin by lifting everything up, it does not fill in lost fat volume. Without fat volume replacement, patients were left looking skeletal and sunken in some areas as skin tightened and smoothed out against bone.

Waxing, shaving, plucking, chemical depilatories, sugaring and threading. Just a few methods women use to remove unwanted body hair. All of these methods yield fairly short-lived results, wreak havoc on the skin, can be painful and in some cases, downright torturous. There is a more permanent and more comfortable alternative to these options. The alternative is laser hair removal, also known as intense pulsed light therapy.

Laser hair removal is one of the most of the most commonly performed cosmetic procedures in the United States, as reported by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. In their annual report, Plastic Surgery Statistics, they report that 1.1 million laser hair removal procedures were performed in 2015 and that laser hair removal is up 52 percent since 2000.

For many women, pregnancy can leave the body a little different from it was before baby. Stretch marks, changing shape and increased (and sometimes decreased) breast size are just some of the changes women go through during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Many women are looking to reduce the signs of pregnancy and give themselves a beauty boost post-partum by undergoing cosmetic and aesthetic procedures.

Members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons report an increase in the number of women seeking post-partum procedures since 2005. On average, the increase has been roughly 10 percent per year, and popular procedures range from laser skin rejuvenation to breast augmentation and liposuction. Many women choose to combine these individual procedures in a package, commonly termed as the "mom job" or "mom makeover," in order to address their desired changes in one surgical swoop.

When it comes to the topic of breast augmentation, the first thing that comes to mind for many people is usually breast implant surgery or other cosmetic procedures to increase breast size. There is another common, but less popular, type of breast surgery, called the mammoplasty reduction, which is chosen by many women each year to reduce the size of their breasts and change their appearance. There were only 40,000 aesthetic breast reduction surgeries performed in the United States in 2015, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons’ 2015 Report, Plastic Surgery Statistics. This is compared to over 279,000 breast implant or other aesthetic augmentation surgeries that same year.

Mammaplasty reduction, also known simply as breast reduction, is a procedure that reduces that size of the breasts by removing excess tissue, fat and skin in order to give the patient a more proportioned look that is balanced with their frame. Patients with very large breasts and seek out the reduction procedure may do so because they feel self-conscious or are embarrassed about their appearance. They may also shy away from participating in some activities or avoid relationships because of their feelings about their breast size.

The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, upon compiling statistics for their 2013 annual report, made a note of a surprising trend in a particular cosmetic procedure. The ASAPS pointed out that the number of labiaplasty surgeries performed across the country that year had significantly increased – to the tune of 44 percent over the previous year. The number of procedures increased again in 2014 by 49 percent, and once again in 2015. The popularity of this procedure is increasing for a number of reasons with patients citing motivations based on aesthetics, function, and health.

Labiaplasty, also known as labia minora reduction, is a cosmetic procedure that surgically alters or contours the skin folds that surrounds the vulva. The procedure can also be done with a laser. This alteration can be performed on the labia minora, or inner fold or the labia majora, or outer fold.

Most people know Botox as a treatment used to reduce wrinkles. This popular, minimally invasive injection hit the modern market in 2002 as a way to regain a youthful appearance and reduce the signs of aging. In addition to its cosmetic use, Botox has been found to have some unexpected additional medical benefits. The treatment has been approved for several applications currently in use, with over 90 other application requests pending with the Food and Drug Administration.

Botox is formulated with a toxin found in the bacterium botulism. This bacterium is known as onabotulinum toxin a. Botox, originally called Onabotulinum, was utilized the 1960s by an ophthalmologist as a way to treat patients with crossed eyes. Botox worked for this common eye condition because it paralyzed the muscles that caused the eyes to cross and allowed eyes face forward.