Dr. Jacono discusses celebrity surgery options in New York, NY
Facial Rejuvenation: The Celebrity Choice for Surgery
It’s no secret that celebrities are major fans of plastic surgery. Even the biggest household names visit cosmetic doctors for the newest nip-and-tucks: Kim Kardashian, Kaley Cuoco, Iggy Azalea. The reason is simple: it is difficult to age ungracefully, especially if you are always in the spotlight.
“Celebrities and cultural influencers are especially likely to undergo plastic surgery,” says Dr. Jacono. “They’re under constant scrutiny from the media, the general public, and their peers. It can be extremely challenging for them to stay away from solutions like fillers, lasers, and facelifts when everyone in their peer group looks several years younger than they actually are.”
As common as cosmetic surgery is among the rich and famous, many of them decide not to divulge their aesthetic choices. This is where expert sleuths, like Dr. Jacono, get to work. “If a celebrity looks exhausted one day and completely refreshed the next, the chances are that they went under the knife,” he says. “The vast majority of the time, it’s impossible to change the way you look without dramatic intervention. Some celebrities boast about their skincare routines and special diets, but these are functional only to an extent. Cosmetic treatment is the best option.”
What Treatments Are Celebrities Having?
Celebrities use many different treatments to look their best. On the non-invasive side, they use injectables, like Botox, Juvéderm, and Restylane, to get rid of wrinkles, lines, and troughs.
Botox is a solution that, when injected, blocks certain chemical signals from nerves that cause facial muscles to contract. This may sound dangerous, but the goal of Botox is to temporarily relax muscles that cause wrinkles. In general, it lasts between 3 and 4 months, though in certain patients, it may last between 4 and 6 months. Botox has been used for many years to great success and has become one of the best-known cosmetic treatments on the market.
Juvéderm and Restylane, on the other hand, are dermal fillers that use hyaluronic acid as their primary ingredient. Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring compound in the body that acts as a joint lubricant. It also promotes smooth skin. When injected, however, hyaluronic acid acts as a volumizer. It quite literally fills certain areas of the face, reducing wrinkles, lines, and other blemishes. Compared to Botox, hyaluronic acid fillers last longer, between 9 and 12 months. Usually, they are used in the cheeks, around the eyes, and in the chin.
Injectable treatments have a few benefits. One is that they are temporary. So, if a patient is unhappy with their results, they do not have to wait too long before they look the way they used to. Another benefit is that fillers are an alternative for those who are unsure if they want to have more invasive surgery. Lastly, injectables are far less expensive per treatment than surgery.
As fantastic as injectables are, they carry a number of drawbacks. First, they do not offer dramatic results. This is because they do not alter fundamental facial structures. Additionally, their temporary nature means that patients must return to their doctor every few months for maintenance, which can be inconvenient. Worse, even though injectables are not as expensive as surgery, their cost adds up over time, especially if patients undergo repeat sessions. In the long run, they can be surprisingly more expensive than a nip-and-tuck.
“As great as fillers are, many of my patients become dissatisfied with them over time,” says Dr. Jacono, a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon. “Usually, they end up getting surgery anyway after a few years of injectable treatment. Surgery is simply a more permanent, effective solution for aging. It may seem daunting, but most of the time, it’s worth it.”
Surgery: The Next, Best Step
What fillers do, surgery can accomplish significantly better, particularly if celebrities are middle-aged. Madonna, for example, used to keep her skin wrinkle-free with fillers and Botox, but recently, she took a step forward.
“It looks like Madonna had a mini face-lift to tighten the skin in the jowl region and fat transfers to volumize her cheeks and lower eyes. She may also have had fractional laser treatments to smooth her skin. These procedures make Madonna look like she’s in her late twenties, even though she’s in her sixties.”
Obviously, surgery manipulates structures in such a way that the face itself appears not only younger but healthier. What’s more, there are many different kinds of surgery, all of which cater to different parts. An eyelid lift, for example, rejuvenates the areas around the eyes. While the neck lift targets the swathe of tissue and muscle under the chin. The facelift, of course, lifts and tightens the mid and lower face. In many cases, these procedures are combined, leaving patients looking completely refreshed and decades younger after their operation.
“After years of minimally invasive treatments, the best option, in my opinion, is to try out the surgical treatment,” says Dr. Jacono. “Celebrities, in particular, do well with these more dramatic options, because they need to keep themselves looking young and healthy at any cost. Fillers and Botox can only do so much. There is nothing wrong with doing whatever it takes to look your best—in the end, what you want is to look as young and inviting as possible!”
