Millennials are readily seeking cosmetically created dimples, according to The Independent.

Dimples in Demand

The dimpleplasty procedure has grown as people under 35 strive to look their favorite famously dimpled stars, like Duchess Kate Middleton, actor Brad Pitt or One Direction singer Harry Stiles.

Dimples have long been considered to mark of beauty by many people. Some cultures see them as a sign of good luck and prosperity.

Areola reduction surgeries are growing in popularity, according to a survey by the Plastic Surgery Group.

Areola Reductions Are Increasing

The organization found a growing number of women want to change not only the size of their breasts, but also the size of their areolas. The group, made up of members of the British Association of Aesthetic Surgeons and the British Association of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons, surveyed 131 people to rate the attractiveness of areolas.

Are you thinking about Botox, but you’re not sure if you really need it right now? Even if you don’t notice signs of aging like fine lines and wrinkles, aging is undoubtedly still taking place. Dr. Alqulali believes that Botox has a place in your beauty regimen no matter what your age.  

 Taking care of yourself is important at any age, and with each new decade brings a new set of recommended wellness visits based on your age. Find out the best ways to care for yourself and your health in your 40s and 50s. 

ABC New Chief Meteorologist, Ginger Zee, revealed earlier this year to a national audience that she suffered from melasma, a hyperpigmentation skin condition that affects between 15 and 50 percent of pregnant women in the United States.

Melasma: The Mask of Pregnancy

Melasma is nicknamed, "The Mask of Pregnancy." It is triggered by the hormonal fluctuations caused by pregnancy, as well as the changes in hormones brought on by menopause. Some women also develop melasma as a side effect from using hormonal birth control.

A packaging error of birth control pills may result in a baby boom for some women next spring. The Food and Drug Administration announced earlier this month that they had placed a nationwide recall on Mibelas 24 Fe, a popular birth control pill after a packaging error was discovered. 

Birth Control Pill Packaging Problems

The pills, manufactured by Lupin Pharmaceuticals, were reversed in their blister pack wallet during manufacturing. This happened when the blister packs were placed in their wallet holders upside down. The four placebo pills that round out most birth control pill packs were placed at the beginning of the pack, instead of at the end where they are typically found. 

In addition to providing high-quality obstetric care, Dr. Alqulali and the staff at Infinity Medical Group are here for all your regular healthcare needs- no matter what your age. We treat patients for regular gynecological care and as part of that care, we stress the importance of things like regular checkups, preventative screenings, and vaccinations to protect your health at every stage- beginning in your 20s and 30s.

During menopause, a woman undergoes many physiological changes that impact overall health, and can increase the risk of heart disease or heart attack after menopause up to 30 percent. Living a healthy lifestyle up to and during menopause can help to reduce your risk, but education and some steps of prevention will help to reduce your risk even further. Dr. Alqulali talks about the impact of menopause on hormones and hearts with her patients to make them aware of their increased risk of cardiovascular disease. 

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.