Women seeking lip augmentation need to be aware of the risks and dangers of the various injectable lip fillers. Some can leave visible lumps that last for months.

Full, sexy, pouty lips are the goal of many women but Miles Graivier MD, an American Society of Plastic Surgeons’ Member says “The average lip augmentation patient is aged 35-64 and has the procedure to restore, not to over fill”.

As women age their lips lose fullness. Also laugh lines and lines around the border of the lips begin to appear. Dr. Gravier advises that women address all these areas in addition to plumping lips.

At a presentation at the ASPS 2006 conference in San Francisco, Dr. Graivier warned that not all lip fillers are created equal and some can cause long-lasting complications.

“Numerous injectable fillers have entered the market over the last five years giving patients a number of options for fuller, younger lips,” said Miles Graivier, MD, ASPS Member Surgeon and course presenter. “But patients need to be aware of the risks and benefits of these products. Some fillers carry a higher risk of complication depending upon where they are injected, which can lead to unsatisfactory results.”

See the full article here.

“Like anyone else, there are days I feel beautiful and days I don’t, and when I don’t, I do something about it”. Cheryl Tiegs (1947 - )

There are always going to be days where we shlump around, feeling like the ugly duckling, examining our faces, bodies, and hair with a critical eye. Every now and again we deserve a day where we don’t worry about image but if you’re feeling down, there are things you can do to pick up your mood and learn to really appreciate YOU.

I found this list of Ten Steps To Positive Body Image at Loyola University. The list includes some simple wisdom and active ways you can learn to “think about new ways of looking more healthfully and happily at yourself and your body”.

Spain has certainly caused a stir in the fashion world with its ban on too-thin models in an upcoming fashion show in Madrid. You can read about it in my article on this blog. New reports indicate that up to 30% of models were eliminated based on their low BMI scores.

What I found didn’t get much press was the untimely and sad death of a 22 year old Uruguayan model, briefly mentioned in a news article about the Spanish boycott. Luisel Ramos, who had been advised she could really make it big as a model if she only dropped some weight, reportedly starved herself for a period of up to two weeks prior to a show and suffered heart failure after stepping off the runway in Montevideo on August 2, 2006. Medical personnel called to the scene were unable to revive her. Her father told police she had eaten only leafy vegetables and Coke for weeks prior to the fashion show appearance.

I tried to find more on this sad story but nearly every article I found was either on a blog or on a South American website. I found one in German and another from Vietnam. I don’t speak either German or Vietnamese so I had to rely on the Spanish sites and the English language blogs for information. But why didn’t this story get more media attention?

I don’t know the answer to that. I do hope that the recent decisions by the regional government in Madrid are part of a new trend. Despite the constant media barrage of ultra-thin female images, there is little said about the dangers of being too thin and besides, young teens aren’t going to listen. The only way to prevent a tragedy like Luisel Ramos is to show them. Give them positive body images to emulate in fashion and entertainment. That can only happen if we stop rewarding the perpetrators. When we stop pulling out our checkbooks and wallets, they will get the message.

Models who are considered too skinny will be banned from a fashion show in Madrid later this month. The regional government has expressed concern that the image portrayed by these gaunt women might influence young Spanish girls and increase the incidence of anorexia and bulimia.

It seems to me that the skeletal thinness of fashion models and Hollywood stars is increasingly out of step with the attitudes of average women. When we were young, low-rise pants or “hip-huggers” with body suits that clung to every inch of the torso were worn by young women everywhere, but no one would have dared to wear that style unless they were pencil thin. Nowadays the pants are still riding low on the hips and in place of the body suit are stretchy, torso-hugging shirts that end just short of the top of the pant-waist, showing lots of skin. The difference is that heavier girls wear the style just as often as the skinny ones do. Attitudes towards what is an acceptable body seem to be shifting more towards healthy weights and away from the desire to be bone thin.

These thoughts make me hopeful for the future although, because they are my personal observations, I could be wrong. But think of having fashion and Hollywood taking their cue from the public instead of the other way around. It can happen, if we refuse to accept the pre-packaged trends and images they offer us.

I am not saying that there’s anything wrong with being in style and enjoying all that fashion has to offer. I am suggesting that we send the message, loud and clear, over and over, until Hollywood and fashion designers hear us: Style and fashion are for everyone, not just for under-nourished twenty-somethings who do not represent real women.

Madrid bans too-thin models from catwalk