Since when did having a baby become an "ugly" thing? And what about pregnancy itself? More and more celebrities are having their tales of pregnancy woe told, and the average mother may be buying it, and are beginning to see their bodies in the same light. Adding to this is the deluge of gossip magazines that show all these celebrities showing off their post-pregnancy bodies as if they've never given birth. What comes along with the articles on these women is how they did it in the first place. What they skirt over are the facts that these women can afford to hire expensive trainers, personal chefs, and the room for a pretty extensive personal gym, , and the way it makes the average woman reading about the women, their new babies, and their new looks feel. However, there may be a backlash forming against all of the media-savvy spin.

Mockery vs. Envy

While most of us mock what we see in magazines that focus solely on celebrity gossip, we spend an inordinate amount of time focusing on them ourselves. Perhaps the media helps us form the narrative, but isn't up to us, a supposedly intelligent and independent public, to figure out just what it is we care about? And if this is how celebrities manage to look so stunning after pregnancy, what does that say about us? After all, there are a lot of other things to worry about right now. Most people agree with this. Still, the rise of tell-all fluff pieces about celebrity mothers who work out every day, get more sleep than the average mother, and generally see pregnancy as simply something to get through before their next red carpet appearance has had real life consequences. Hundreds of new mothers a year are going through postpartum depression, and allegedly being inundated with news about thin celebrity mothers just adds to these feelings.

For example, Heidi Klum showed up on the catwalk two months after giving birth to her son, and Nicole Richie and Christina Aguilera both discussed in Us Weekly how they lost all their baby weight. Sure, they don't need to worry too much about paying for the hospital bills, affordable day care, and the sheer exhaustion that comes with all those nightly feedings, but, jeez, aren't they impressive? Again, not really. Health experts and doctors point out that exercising too soon after pregnancy, and not putting on the amount of weight you should when you're pregnant is a very bad idea, both for you and your baby.

Whatever the reasons, Dr. Laura Riley at Massachusetts General Hospital says that all that weight you put on will eventually come off after four to six months. Pushing it to two months is not only going to be taxing on you, your child, and the poor father of the kid, but you're going to wind up feeling extremely disappointed in yourself if you don't reach your unrealistic goal. "It took you nine months to put it on," says Dr. Riley. "It's not going to come off in nine weeks."

Answer

If you're about to give birth, or just have, and you're still unhappy and your favorite celebrity is making you feel worse with each passing month, perhaps you should consider a mommy makeover. When diet and exercise don't help, cosmetic surgery is always there for you to get back to that body you used to have in those heady days when Britney was on top of the world. And you wouldn't be alone. More women are choosing mommy makeovers than ever before. It's not the easiest thing you could do, but an experienced cosmetic surgeon would be happy to answer any questions you have, including how you can look like Jessica Alba after she gave birth.

Yet, there are plenty of women who funnel their anger and frustration at the overexposure of celebrity mothers into nice long walks. And they bring the kid, too.

Some of you may remember Brigette Nielsen as the ex-wife of Sylvester Stallone (1985-1987) and her role in Rocky IV, or you may remember her from Red Sonja. Or maybe you just don't have a clue who she is and probably don't care. That may change when she goes through several cosmetic procedures in front of the camera. Why? According to the 44-year-old actress, it has more to do with bursting the secrecy of cosmetic surgery in Hollywood than it does shameless self-promotion - even though she claims to be the first female celebrity in the world to allow herself to be filmed in this way. Nielsen calls the secrecy "annoying" and says, "You can see that the stars do not age naturally. It's not right that the fans, the normal women, are lied to."

So, in a three-part series scheduled for German television next month, all the "normal women," as well as their spouses and children, can watch Nielsen undergo procedures for a face lift, eye lift, fat injections, liposuction, as well as dental work. Her goal is to look 30 again (because she feels 30). Not only that, but Nielsen, who appeared in Playboy 20 years ago, will do so again later this year to show off her new body. Remember, no secrets. However, Nielsen also hopes that by doing this, she will provoke discussion about her, what she's done, and her belief that we should be in on what Hollywood is doing.

If you are one of the "normal women" or perhaps men, and you are interested in cosmetic surgery, please contact an experienced cosmetic surgeon in your area.

Forget the temper tantrums former supermodel Naomi Campbell makes the news with these days. While it isn't easy to feel much sympathy for a diva who belittles and abuses those who actually have jobs, maybe Campbell can still gain some love as the world finds out she may be going bald. According fashion photographer, Huggy Ragnarsson, Campbell began balding when she was only 23. He blames her weave habit. Perhaps the rage issues and the baldness are tied, waxed, clamped, or otherwise melded together somehow. Using weaves or pulling hair tight for many years can cause something called traction alopecia, which Campbell may have become a "victim" of.

However, we're not here to dwell on pseudo-celebrity gossip. We're here to discuss another issue: female baldness. Lots of men will know the stigma of baldness, but most of these men will grudgingly accept it. And, because it's much more socially acceptable to be surrounded by balding men, we don't really discuss it much beyond laughing at bad toupees, seeing a bunch of men who shave their heads, or perhaps see ads for Rogaine - simply because it isn't a big deal. However, women who begin to lose their hair might feel a similar shock and awe as some men, but the days of accepting women losing their hair may never become a socially acceptable norm. Whatever their body's appearance, at least they'll keep their hair.

Female pattern baldness is real, and, just as with male pattern baldness, the causes can be similar. Genetics, nutrition, various illnesses, and more can cause women to lose their hair. Yet, Campbell's hair loss is reportedly caused by willful choice, and knowing that risk of damaging her hair and scalp was a possibility, she did it anyway.

There are many ways to try to restore hair. These include prescription drugs like Propecia, follicle stimulation, and hair grafts. If these all sound like familiar solutions, it may be because they're the same options balding men have. Alas, there is no one magic way to cure baldness, though this isn't for lack of trying. Until then, many women will wonder who they offended to be cursed by hair loss and look for ways to either alleviate this loss, or become total shut-ins by avoiding friends, family, and other social obligations.

If you are losing your hair, and you're not quite sure what to do about it, see your doctor. Perhaps the reason is as simple as some kind of deficiency in your diet. However, if it is something else, and you are in good health, consider speaking with a cosmetic surgeon who knows something about surgical hair restoration. And, if you are metaphorically pulling your hair out over your hair loss, please contact a cosmetic surgeon in your area to see if they can help get you back out in public. Finally, if you have a hair weave, think hard about the risks.

A recent survey of 20,000 cosmetic surgeons in 84 countries conducted by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) has found that a majority of people interested in cosmetic surgery really want to look like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. As if there was any doubt about this. Having actually heard people say they wish they looked like these two, it must be true, right? Regardless, a number of other celebrities have body parts the general public - men and women - wish they had. Without further adieu, here are some, but not all, of the findings.

Women

The survey found that women are most interested in lips, buttocks, nose, and abdomen. But we've added a few more findings.

• Breasts - The most popular breasts are those of Pamela Anderson, followed by Gisele Bundchen, Brittney Spears, and Xuxa (a Brazilian pop singer). However, many women also told their cosmetic surgeons that they did not want to look like Pamela Anderson, Dolly Parton, or Victoria Beckham, a.k.a. Posh Spice. Can you blame them?
  
• Lips - Angelina Jolie was the overwhelming favorite for this category. Coming in just behind her is Julia Roberts.
  
• Buttocks - Jennifer Lopez leads the pack here. Maybe the fact she insured her buttocks for quite a bit of money had something to do with this ("If they're insured for that much, they must be good, right?"). Other choices are Juliana Paes (Brazilian), Halle Berry and Sandra Bullock.
  
• Nose - Nicole Kidman wins by a nose (yes, we went there). Following her are Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston, Xuxa, old school beauty icon Grace Kelly, and Princess Mary of Denmark.
  
• Abdomen - Gisele Bundchen, Shakira, Demi Moore, the early days of Brittney Spears, and Mexico's Thalia.
  
• Eyes - Again, Angelina Jolie is first, but Catherine Zeta-Jones, Demi Moore, Michele Pfeiffer and Salma Hayek are near the top. Sophia Lauren, Elizabeth Taylor, Catherine Deveuve and Greta Garbo show that that movie lighting really brings out the eyes eternal sparkle.
  
• Cheeks - Sophia Loren, Michele Pfieffer, Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie, and Marilyn Monroe have the best cheeks.
  
• Legs - A tie. Not just a tie - a three-way tie - here between Tina Turner, Sharon Stone, and Cameron Diaz.
  

Men

Not to be outshone by the women, men are mostly interested in the abdomen, nose, and eyes. This is followed by chest, chin, and buttocks.

• Abdomen - Brad Pitt, followed by Matthew McConaughey, then Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and David Beckham.
  
• Nose - Brad Pitt and his friend George Clooney are at the top here. It was noted that many patients were worried that they might wind up looking like Michael Jackson after a nose job. Seriously.
  
• Eyes - George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Ben Affleck have the eyes the guys admire.
  
• Chest - Arnold S. and Paulo Zulu from Brazil.
  
• Buttocks - Again, Brad Pitt. Mel Gibson, Ricky Martin and Paulo Zulu come in behind Pitt here.
  
• Cheeks - George Clooney and Brad Pitt tie. Tom Cruise and Paulo Zulu were also mentioned as having some of the best cheeks.
  

So, what does this prove? Probably nothing, really. But people have a hard time describing what they don't like about themselves. It's easier to say they want cheeks like that person has, or a nose like this person. Why not point toward the celebrities who are in front of us on an almost daily basis and use them as a template? Sure, this probably isn't what they thought about when they became the center of media attention, but let them embrace it. Let them see that they are leaders, not only in acting (for what it's worth), but in fashion and cosmetic surgery. Maybe they'll look back on their lives and realize they did a good thing beyond entertaining us.

If you are interested in any cosmetic procedure that will possibly get you closer to looking like one of the celebrities mentioned here, please contact an experienced cosmetic surgeon in your area.

It's been said that repeat customers are the bedrock of a successfully run business. You get them in, and you get them to come back – again and again if you can. This works pretty well with retail companies and some restaurants. But what about cosmetic surgery? There are estimates that put the number of people returning for further cosmetic procedures after their first at around 33%. What is unclear is how many of these people are coming back in for Botox or other injectable fillers, which need to be redone if you want to keep the look, and how many of them are coming in for a nose job, then breast augmentation, and then a tummy tuck.

When we think about the types of people who are the best customers cosmetic surgeons can have, we automatically think of movies stars. And many of them have had numerous procedures done. This seems to be par for the course if you're a movie star. You might also know of a few "normal" people who like what their surgeon did with their eyelids and now want that doctor to work on two or three other places on their body.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)

When people hear the old platitudes that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or that beauty is only skin deep, many take it to heart. However, there are some whose eyes see a skewed perspective of what is beautiful about their self, and it's often only the skin they can imagine, and they are the only beholder of that beauty.

BDD is a mental disorder is a mental condition where individuals are excessively preoccupied with how their body looks. The physical imperfections they find may be real, to an extent, but are often imagined. And they imagine that they look awful all the time. No matter how often people with BDD are reassured that they look fine they'll just find something else wrong.

Having BDD in today's culture can't be easy. Everywhere we look there are pictures of beautiful people in television and magazine ads, or in the movies. Or perhaps culture helps to perpetuate and drive the number of people with BDD up.

It's been noted time and again that the number of people getting cosmetic surgery has gone up dramatically. We hear stories of young people getting breast or cheek augmentation because they want to look like the stars. However, how do we know when one person's desire for rhinoplasty is just another procedure in a laundry list of things they want to get done? Furthermore, how do we know their nose job is the only one they're going to get? When do the cosmetic surgeons step in and say enough is enough?

Why Worry?

We've noted here that it is important to be in the right frame of mind when going in for cosmetic surgery. We've also noted that it is an individual choice. However, there are a small number of people who believe that cosmetic surgery is the only way to true happiness. They believe that their lives will be so much better after they get their eyes done or their chin augmented. But maybe these people have a problem. Because what we're seeing is these people are just the latest casualties of either a) societal pressure to look good, or b) a new thing to be addicted to, much like drugs (though, obviously, not exactly), or perhaps both. And many people have come out of the procedure with a feeling of buyer's remorse.

The Most Visual Examples

Look for botched, or excessive, cosmetic surgery on the Internet, and you'll find a number of websites that have a page on "the worst." These examples are never of our neighbors and friends, but of some pretty famous people. And the most popular bad examples are Joan Rivers, Michael Jackson, and the infamous "cat woman," Jocelyn Wildenstein. These people haven't just had one botched surgery that the media focuses on; these people have had more surgeries than we can count. It might be understandable if some people feel a sense of schadenfreude when looking at how horrible some stars behave and look, but it must be remembered that there is possibly an underlying illness they have. One might question why they keep going in for the surgery, but another question might be, who performs these surgeries know full well there might be a problem? We'll save that for another day.

Until then, if you would like to know how cosmetic surgery can help to enhance one or more areas of your body to improve the way you look, please contact an experienced cosmetic surgeon in your area. Also, remember that responsibility regarding this decision belongs to you.

According to several cosmetic surgery clinics in Britain, breast enhancement surgery numbers doubled among teenagers last year to almost 600 procedures from the year before. One clinic reportedly performed 31 breast augmentation surgeries two years ago on women 18 and 19 years old. Last year this number jumped to 169. The Hospital Group, which has over a dozen clinics, says their numbers doubled to over 200 procedures last year.

Reasons

While it isn't completely off the mark to understand why some teenagers want to look like their favorite celebrities, the names mentioned are often the biggies of the industry. Jolie, Alba, Biel, and others are the most mentioned in combination with "I want to look like.…" However, we don't normally hear about teens in this country wanting to look like their favorite reality television star. Yet, these are the examples the British story brings up.

For example, 24-year-old Chantelle Houghton, the winner of Celebrity Big Brother 2006, not to be confused with America's version of the show, was the first "non-celebrity" to win the season in Britain. This was apparently huge news. The only thing Houghton was known for before she decided to give it up for reality television's fame was a bit of modeling. However, because of her victory on the show, she was able to stretch that fame for a while with all the typical scenarios that the paparazzi and media celeb watchers love (short marriage to co-star; autobiography that bombed; her alleged quote of "What's a gynecologist?"). The British media reports that since Houghton split with her husband, she has been seen around town with enlarged breasts and possibly lip injections, and vamping for the camera whenever she can.

To sum up: Reality television stars are now powerful people who help influence British teenagers.

Mixed Reaction

While many cosmetic surgeons will perform surgery on 18-year-old women, in both the U.K. and the U.S., there is a company in London called SurgiCare that turns them away until they're 20. Chief executive of SurgiCare, Mark Bury, says, "In some cases these women have not finished developing." He goes on to say that many of the cases in which young women want cosmetic surgery are a "knee-jerk reaction or the result of peer pressure." And, yes, these young women are looking to Chantelle Houghton for fashion guidance, so Mr. Bury may have a point.

Maybe it isn't wrong to want to have the same cheekbones, lips, or breasts as your favorite celebrity. But are reality television stars really celebrities, and if they are, are they the type of person we want our youth emulating?

Anyway, if you would like to know more about breast augmentation, please contact an experienced cosmetic surgeon in your area.

By now we all know that cosmetic surgery is gaining in popularity, and we all know that some movie stars have gone through with it. And, we know that one of these is not mutually exclusive from the other. Now, get ready for some new ideas of how to use cosmetic surgery.

• Apparently there's a waiting list in New York to help women stay on their feet all night in their stilettos. With laser work to take care of the wrinkles, and the injectable filler Sculptra to add padding, your feet will gain some of the respect they probably deserve.
  
• Sculptra is also being used on the knees to avoid sagging. Melanie Griffith and Nicole Kidman have been put on notice by the gossip magazines that their knees need work.
  
• What about sweaty palms? Botox will take care of that, too. No longer will you have to wipe your hands on your pants before shaking hands with your future in-laws.
  
• Using something called "weekend lipo," also known as "micro-lipo," calves that merge into the ankles - called "cankles" - may soon be a thing of the past. This kind of liposuction reportedly leaves less bruising and gives a less bumpy effect than traditional liposuction.
  
• Brittney Spears is considering "boob Botox" to help take care of her cleavage, post-baby. This can probably fall under the Mommy Makeover section of procedures.
  
• Ear lobe work is gaining in popularity, too. Rejuvenating lobes with fillers like Restylane can undo all the sagging from years of wearing heavy, dangling earrings.
  

While we're already aware that some people will take cosmetic surgery to extremes, and some of these examples definitely fit that mold, the point is that procedures once only used one way have found several new uses. Sculptra for feet, Botox for armpits and palms, "weekend lipo," the list goes on. These new uses might seem different, but they certainly give the average person some thoughts on what his or her options are when they want to change anything on their body.

Back to "Real" Life

Because some of these procedures seem outlandish, and only what stars might want, we only hear about it once in a while. Yet, there are those who legitimately want things like Sculptra, liposuction, or Botox, who don't really care what the stars are doing. After extended illnesses have taken their toll, getting rid of those hollow eyes with Sculptra is an option. Breast augmentation and a tummy tuck after having a baby are others.

Regardless of what cosmetic surgery procedure you are interested in, the cosmetic surgeons are going to know your options and give you a recommendation. It's best to talk to them before you decide you are in dire need of stiletto surgery. Please contact an experienced cosmetic surgeon if you have questions about any of these procedures.

After the death of Donda West, hip-hop star Kanye West's mother, fingers pointed toward her cosmetic surgery procedures. In November, 2007, Ms. West had an abdominoplasty and breast reduction surgery. She dies shortly after due to complications related to her surgery.

Due to Kanye West's popularity, the death of his mother took on the appearance of a media frenzy. It also brought to light cosmetic surgeons and their practices. However, her autopsy shows that she likely died of heart disease, which added to the risk factor for elective cosmetic surgery. Her death is still ruled inconclusive by the coroner.

The Donda West Law

Donda West's family didn't stop looking into the cosmetic surgery angle after her funeral. Her niece, Yolanda Anderson, contacted Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter (D-Rialto) to see what could be done. As a result of this contact, the two women have crafted a bill that will require cosmetic surgery patients to receive medical clearance from a licensed physician before their surgery.

Donda West reportedly did not listen to medical advice given to her by one cosmetic surgeon before she found another in the Beverly Hills area who was willing to perform the surgery on her. West's pre-existing medical condition gave one cosmetic surgeon pause, but another was willing to either ignore, or not look into, this condition.

The Reason

Assemblywoman Carter believes that this legislation is important because so many more young people are considering cosmetic surgery. She wants to make sure that people are aware of the risks. This bill will go before a committee in March.

The reason this law is even being considered is due to the fact that not every person who goes into a cosmetic surgeon's office will necessarily let them know of pre-existing conditions, family history, and more. However, there is also a small proportion of cosmetic surgeons who either do not check their prospective patient's history close enough, or simply decide to perform the procedure anyway. Thus, we read about Donda West's death.

While a vast majority of cosmetic surgeons will discuss your prior health and inherent risks associated with procedures, you should think about this yourself. Weigh the risks, research the procedure, and consider your health before consulting a plastic surgeon. Even though more people are getting cosmetic surgery, and most of these people are healthy, the fact that deaths still occur due to complications cannot be overlooked.

However, if you are considering cosmetic surgery, please contact an experienced cosmetic surgeon who will discuss your health and the risks involved.