The American Country Music award for Newcomer of the year recently went to Kellie Pickler. You may recognize her name if you watch American Idol. She finished at number six on that show's fifth season. Before this she dropped out of beauty school. Apparently losing out to five other would-be Greatest-Singer-of-His/Her-Generation didn't sit well with Pickler because she decided to have breast augmentation after being voted off. Now questions have arisen as to whether her new, expanding fanbase is due to her singing ability or her new breasts. What's more, Pickler doesn't deny her breast procedure may have had something to do with this. "I've been growing a lot – in many more ways than one," she recently said. She also said that the breast surgery helped her to mature.

Pickler is another of the many women who have decided that getting breast augmentation will somehow help them not only with their looks, but also with their careers. In this case, it may have worked. This isn't to say this is a bad thing, but Pickler's choice to be adored by an audience, and puts her in the limelight every night is obviously different from the average woman who has a job in an office somewhere. And yet, the question must be asked: is the talent enhanced by the looks, or is it that the individual woman who suddenly feels more confident because of her breast size is able to capitalize on talent already there? Patsy Cline probably would still be as big a star today as she was back in the late '50s and early '60s long before any struggling artist decided to, and was able to, get cosmetic surgery. But then, there can be only one Patsy Cline.

If you are a struggling singer who is interested in breast augmentation to further your career, please contact an experienced cosmetic surgeon in your area.

A recent CNN article says that an Iranian official believes the importation of Western toys has serious destructive consequences, especially for Iranian culture and society. While Batman, Spiderman, and Harry Potter toys are bad, the worst is Barbie. There has been a ten year campaign against Barbie by the Iranian government, but they're apparently "alarmed" at the rate of Western dolls showing up in shops across the country.

According to Iranian Prosecutor General Ghorban Ali Dori Najafabadi, who issued the latest warning, Iran is the world's third largest importer of toys and states that smuggling imports of Western toys is a threat to the "identity" of the new generation. The main issue, of course, is that Iran a nation whose Islamic fundamentalist government seems to despise everything American, is dealing with Barbie dolls who wear bathing suits and miniskirts. This is the country where women have to wear headscarves in public, where modesty between the sexes is not only encouraged, but enforced, and like to call us "The Great Satan." The illegal importation of Barbie isn't going to help our image much.

There are two semi-interesting reasons about this story, which link to its appearance here:

First, in this country, Barbie has become not only the toy du jour of little sisters everywhere, but an American mainstay. It's right up there with mom, the 4^th of July, and apple pie. And, thanks to the advent of cosmetic surgery, there are women walking around who look a lot like Barbie might if she were a real person (here is an example). And, what may be worse for parents, traditional values, et cet, is that there are really young girls who want to be Barbie when they grow up (that is, look exactly like her).

Now, imagine a country where thousands of young Persian girls who will have a forced conservative upbringing look at Barbie's blue eyes, blonde hair, as well as her figure, and decide they don't want to look Iranian anymore. It's easy for us in the Western world to say there's no problem with this - if that's how they want to look, it's their business (and, by the way, Barbie is a toy). However, the Iranian government - and, we must stress here, not all the people of the country - officially hate us (unofficially is another question). They can't have the next generation growing up wanting to look blond and blue-eyed, and thinking Westerners must be all right since some of our women remind them of Barbie. The Iranian answer to this "Trojan horse"? Dara and Sara. Alas, this 2002 ploy failed as the Barbie dolls continued to sell.

Here's the second reason: Iran has been labeled the nose job capital of the world. No kidding. It beats out Beverly Hills, California for this honor. And it's both men and women having the rhinoplasty. There are whole families of rich Iranians who get nose jobs, and it isn't something to be ashamed of over there while it continues to raise eyebrows over here. Yet it isn't only nose jobs Iranians are getting. It is face lifts and eye lid procedures, too. However, it isn't only the rich who visit their local cosmetic surgeon. Those clerics who decide what people can wear, watch, act like, and more are occasionally also customers.

While it has been reported that Iranians are flocking to the huge number (around 3000 in Tehran alone) of cosmetic surgeons in order to look more like Westerners, it has also been reported that so many women get rhinoplasty because their nose is the only part of their body that can be seen peeking out of their robes. Then there are the Iranians who say, "Everyone would love to have a more beautiful face." Sounds like something an American would say, don't you think?

While the physical differences between those of Persian descent and European descent are obvious, the fact that both groups are flocking to cosmetic surgeons to enhance or change the way they look for many of the same reasons may show that we're more similar than our governments and our media would like for us to believe.

If you are interested in how rhinoplasty can enhance your own features, please contact an experienced cosmetic surgeon in your area.

Forget the stories about Paris Hilton swearing she'll never get breast augmentation and Kate Beckingsale swearing she's never had it. Those stories are tame compared to what's the new Flavor of the Week.

In a children's book, aimed at four to seven year olds, a mother tries to reassure her daughter about why she's getting a tummy tuck, breast augmentation (implied by the pictures showing the mother's breasts change from the beginning to the end), and nose job. These are all part of the "mommy makeover."

Written by a Florida board-certified cosmetic surgeon named Michael Salzhuaer, My Beautiful Mommy is advertised as a way to explain to young kids why their mom 1) is coming home bruised and bandaged, 2) will look different, and 3) why the mommy makeover was necessary in the first place. Dr. Salzhuaer states that it was written in response to witnessing kids coming into the office with their mothers when they were looking into having cosmetic surgery. The book has the typical text written for young kids, as well as pictures of what has been described as a mother shaped like a Barbie doll, and a doctor ("Dr. Michael") who looks a little like Superman. By the end of the book, the daughter is pleased with the fact that her mom looks "even more" beautiful.

Helpful or Hurtful?

Some mothers have found the book to be helpful. One mother, Gabriela Acosta, saw the manuscript when she went to talk to Salzhauer. She didn't know how to explain to her son what was going to happen to her. Acosta states that it helped her son move from scared to excited.

President of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Richard D'Amico, gives the book mixed reviews. On the one hand, the believes that the book lets prospective patients know that there is a way to tell their kids what's going on - if they choose to tell their kids anything. On the other hand, he believes the breasts of the mother look "overdone." Most mothers, he claims, are only looking for restoration. He apparently had no comment on Super Doctor Michael's picture.

Those who find the book problematic include both the popular blog sites www.feministing.com and www.huffingtonpost.com. Along with these sites, and their readers, others are wondering, why, on God's green earth, is there a book being marketed to children about cosmetic surgery? While some find the book a little funny, others seem to be appalled. The central argument is wondering why children as young as four-years-old should know about these procedures. The counterargument being, isn't it better to explain to children why their mothers are resting for a few days, seem a little groggy, and might look different than ignore it? Well, sure, we'll buy that.

Yet, perhaps cosmetic surgery's media fascination has jumped the shark. We're already inundated with who-is-getting-what-done all the time. We're told teens are getting cosmetic surgery at a (seemingly) astronomical rate. There are stories about 13-year-olds who want breast augmentation for their birthdays, mothers who tell their kids they may have to consider these things to get ahead in the future, and now a book explaining this to kids who have just begun their education.

Appalling? Perhaps. Genius? Eh. Sign of the times? Definitely.

But, once upon a time, a book called Where Do I Come From? appeared so that parents could read to their kids a nice, non-scientific, un-pornographic description of sex. There might have been biology and facts of life there, and it's certainly more natural than cosmetic surgery. But in the end, isn't it a mother's prerogative to wonder about cosmetic surgery? After all, it's the kid's fault their mom needs a mommy makeover in the first place.

If you are interested in mommy makeovers or other cosmetic surgery procedures, please contact an experienced cosmetic surgeon in your area.

Due to the proliferation of websites that promote anorexia and bulimia, French legislators have proposed a bill that will punish magazines or websites with three years in prison and over $70,000 in fines if they continue to show the benefits of the disorders. Since 2000, over 400 sites promoting "ana" and "mia" have been identified. These sites offer tips on bingeing, crash dieting, vomiting, and hiding weight loss from parents, many of whom are already concerned about their children.

Sponsored by Valerie Boyer, a conservative, the measure was also backed by Roselyne Bachelot, France's health minister. Measures of this caliber have been proposed since Brazilian model, Ana Carolina Reston, died of anorexia in 2006. However, this is the one of the more strongly worded measures to come before the lower house of Parliament. The bill makes illegal to "provoke a person to seek excessive weight loss by encouraging prolonged nutritional deprivation that would have the effect of exposing them to risk of death or endangering health."

Blame

Ms. Boyer blamed the "sociocultural and media environment" for favoring anorexic and bulimic behavior, and believes it necessary to act. This was criticized by the French Federation of Couture. Federation president, Didier Grumbach, states, "Never will we accept in our profession that a judge decides if a young girl is skinny or not skinny….That doesn't exist in the world, and it will certainly not exist in France." The French Socialist Party has also complained that the bill, which they believe is vaguely worded, was rushed through the lower house by President Nicolas Sarkozy's political party, the U.M.P.

Two Cents

While it is certainly a personal choice on how much weight one wants to lose, promoting anorexia and bulimia as a lifestyle seems at least misguided, and at most, possibly criminal. Society seems to already be reeling with the fact that so many young people are seeking cosmetic surgery, and this is obviously taking the urge to look "perfect" in a horrible new direction. If you have ever known anyone who has suffered anorexia or bulimia, then you know it isn't something to be promoted. It's an illness, and those with it need professional medical care. More often than not, those who suffer with these illnesses wish they could stop after they've done it for a while.

Teenage girls are more likely to succumb to the temptation to binge or starve in an effort to be as thin as waifish fashion models, just as they are more likely to seek out cosmetic surgeons. However, breast implants on an anorexic or bulimic frame 1) would look really bad, and 2) would never happen since your health is evaluated before having any type of cosmetic procedure. You can't have it both ways.

Perhaps the French could take a page from American cosmetic surgically crazed kids and go under the knife rather than starve themselves in private. After all, the end result is the hope to be seen in a positive light. And no one likes it when someone smells like vomit.

If you are interested in cosmetic surgery, 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.

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.