January 2017 – Hair Transplant Memphis

We’ve all made New Year’s Resolutions to lose weight, and chances are, we’ve all broken them, too. We’re three weeks into 2017, and this year, Plastic Surgery Group of Memphis wants to help you break the cycle of vowing to make a change and then abandoning it before you even flip the calendar to February. We’ve put together some tips to help you meet and maintain your weight loss goals this year.

Set realistic goals.

Setting lofty goals seems like a great idea on January 1, but will ultimately discourage your progress when you don’t see the scale moving as quickly as you’d like. Maintain your motivation by setting smaller goals that are easier to attain. You can always work your way up to more challenging ones if you start to get bored.

Measurable milestones.

Make your weight loss resolutions measurable, and give yourself a specific amount of time to reach them. Dividing your weight loss goals into specific and measurable goals lets you know when you have met one so can move on to the next.

Share your resolution.

Don’t keep your resolution a secret! Friends and family members can serve a fantastic support system. With their encouragement, you’ll find it easier than ever to make progress. You might even find a weight loss accountability partner who can help motivate you through the rough times.

Reward yourself.

Celebrate your success! Even small goals met are worth a reward. Treat yourself to some new workout clothes or a pedicure. You could even allow yourself a treat day to indulge in all the foods you’re missing. Regular treats can help motivate you to hit your hard-earned benchmarks even faster.

Don’t give up.

Over the course of your weight loss journey, you’ll inevitably encounter days that threaten to derail your diet and exercise plans. Remember that obsessing over the occasional slip-up won’t help you reach your goals any faster! Resist an all-or-nothing approach by being flexible enough to evaluate your goals and progress as you go.

Liposuction by the Plastic Surgery Group of Memphis

What happens next? You kept your resolution, you met all your weight loss goals, and you’re in maintenance mode. Depending on how much you’ve lost, you may find that even with regular exercise, you have some stubborn areas of fat that refuse to budge.

Liposuction is a method of removing that kind of stubborn fat through a small incision to help contour your body. It treats localized excess fat deposits that are usually genetic in origin. When the unwanted fat is removed, the remaining fat and skin tighten up over the next 3-6 months, giving you a new, smoother appearance. The fat removed during this procedure will not be redistributed to other parts of the body, and recovery normally only takes about one week.

Liposuction is not a weight loss technique. The best time to perform body-contouring is when you’re at your healthiest and most stable weight, so it’s a great long-term goal to have in mind. Doing liposuction while you’re still losing weight can be a bit like trying to hit a moving target! If you proceed with doing liposuction in areas that are still shrinking, the end result could be unpredictable. Waiting until you’ve achieved a healthy and stable lifestyle and you’re maintaining that lifestyle and weight as much as possible will give you far better, longer-lasting results.

SculpSure by Plastic Surgery Group of Memphis

Looking for a less invasive way to achieve the kind of body contouring you get with liposuction?

SculpSure uses cutting-edge technology that’s non-invasive, and the procedure requires no downtime or surgery. Not only that, but SculpSure offers fat reduction in significantly less time than other treatments.

As we get older and closer to adulthood, our fat cell count tends to become steady. From that point on, gaining weight doesn’t increase the amount of fat cells, but rather their size. One reason people gain weight is from eating more food than the body needs for energy. When an excess amount of food is consumed, the body processes the fat that it requires for an energy source, and the remaining fat is then stored in fat cells. The more excess fat stored, the larger fat cells can become.

When you lose weight from eating a healthy diet or exercising, those fat cells don’t disappear, they shrink. So, even with weight loss, the shrunken fat cells have the potential to enlarge again if you gain any back. The good news is that with SculpSure, fat cells are actually eliminated from your body. There’s no chance for these cells to regenerate in the treatment area since there won’t be any fat cells left to enlarge. It’s still important, though, to maintain a healthy lifestyle to make sure the surrounding fat cells that were not treated don’t get the chance to enlarge!

New year, new you

Whether it takes you six weeks or six months, Plastic Surgery Group of Memphis wants to encourage you to stick with your resolution and meet your ultimate goal. Once you get there, we’ve got the rest covered! Whether it’s liposuction, SculpSure, butt or breast lift, or a tummy tuck, we have an excellent team of surgeons and nurse-aestheticians on staff, ready to reshape those stubborn areas you aren’t able to shift on your own. All of our physicians are certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, and have over twenty years of combined experience. Although you have to do the hardest work yourself, we’re here to help you refine your results. Give us a call today or click here to schedule a consultation.

As we’ve discussed in previous blogs, more and more men are seeking cosmetic surgery these days. According to the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, the top five most popular procedures among men are Botox, hair transplantation/restoration, laser hair removal, microdermabrasion, and liposuction. A recent Consumer Survey conducted by the AACS has shown that about 12% of men plan on having cosmetic surgery at some point in the future. Plastic Surgery Group of Memphis has certainly found this trend to be true, as our male client base continues to grow annually.

One of the procedures our male clients seek out most often is hair transplantation or restoration. By the age of 35, around two-thirds of American men have experienced some degree of measurable hair loss, and by the age of 50, approximately 85% have significantly thinning hair, according to the American Hair Loss Association.

memphis plastic surgery hair loss neograft hair restoration Androgenetic alopecia, more commonly known as male pattern baldness (MPB), accounts for more than 95% of that hair loss in men. Approximately 25% percent of men who suffer from male pattern baldness begin the painful process before they reach the age of twenty-one. This hereditary condition is characterized by a receding hairline as well as a loss of hair on the top of the scalp.

Hair loss can have many possible causes. Let’s take a closer look at them:

Hair Loss and Hormones

Hair loss in men is often closely related to hormones. There is a male equivalent to menopause, called “andropause,” and it causes men to go through a similar decline and shift in hormones. Hormones regulate just about every function in the body, including hair growth. When testosterone levels fluctuate, it can impact the body’s ability to regenerate hair follicles.

The relationship between testosterone and hair loss lies with dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which is a derivative of testosterone. DHT can cause hair follicles to regress and die, which results in premature balding. More specifically, DHT shortens the growth cycle of hair and increases the resting cycle so that over time, hair in these locations grows less and becomes shorter until it simply stops growing altogether.

Excess levels of testosterone can often result in higher levels of DHT, and a greater likelihood of hair loss or baldness.

Stress and Hair Loss

Stress forces the adrenal glands to produce excess amounts of cortisol, also known as the stress hormone. High levels of cortisol can deplete collagen, decrease bone density, and can also lead to hair loss. Constantly elevated levels of stress cause the adrenal glands to become overactive in time, due to the increased need for cortisol. When the male body has in this manner, it also produces additional testosterone and adrenaline. Additional testosterone means more DHT. lead, plus cortisol itself, can often leads to hair loss in men who consistently find themselves under a lot of pressure.

Hair Loss and Thyroid Imbalance

Hair loss can be a typical symptom of thyroid disorders. Thyroid disease is a form of hormonal imbalance, and when the thyroid gland isn’t functioning properly, other hormones throughout the body are also affected. Hair loss that occurs as a result of thyroid imbalance is often preceded by noticeable changes in the hair’s texture, such as coarseness or dryness. Facial and body hair growth may also be stunted by a thyroid imbalance.

Nutritional Deficiencies and Hair Loss

As boring as it may be to talk about, balanced nutrition really is the key to overall health. It’s important that you’re getting enough of the essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients your body needs to ensure that all your organs, tissues, and cells are functioning properly. Deficiencies in protein, iron, zinc, and biotin have all been linked to hair loss in men.

It’s not just nutritional deficiencies you have to look out for, though. Excess levels of certain nutrients, such as vitamin A or carotene, can also cause premature male pattern baldness.

Hair Loss Due to Medication

Hair loss can be a common side effect of a variety of medications. Blood-thinners, antidepressants, beta blockers, NSAIDS, and vitamin A-based drugs have all been linked to thinning of the hair or baldness. Chemotherapy is also well known for causing hair loss. However, as with chemotherapy, the hair follicles should resume growing once you stop using whatever medication is causing hair loss in the first place.

How hair loss can affect men

Numerous studies on the impact of hair loss have shown that a patient’s self-esteem and body image can be negatively affected by thinning or balding hair. This loss can affect multiple aspects of a man’s life, especially when it begins at a younger age. Men may feel a deep loss of self-confidence, leading to a disruption in personal and sometimes even professional relationships.

How NeoGraft® can help

It’s clear that hair loss can be a very emotional part of the natural aging process, and seeking ways to curb this process effectively used to be quite a challenge. However, as a result of recent improvements in technology and treatments, hair restoration procedures for both men and woman have been on a consistent upswing for the last decade. The more traditional methods of hair replacement have found competition in state-of-the-art hair loss solutions like NeoGraft®. While older procedures like the “strip” method come with post-operative pain, a slow recovery time, and potential loss of feeling at the incision site, modern methods such as NeoGraft® offer patients more natural looking results with minimal downtime and no scarring.

Plastic Surgery Group of Memphis is proud to be a certified provider of NeoGraft® technology! This breakthrough procedure for men who want to achieve a fuller, healthier head of hair has many advantages over more traditional treatments. This simple process uses your own hair to recreate a fuller, more natural-looking hairline.

When choosing a hair transplant procedure, the goal of most patients is results that look natural and restore confidence. Plastic Surgery Group of Memphis have partnered with NeoGraft® because of a common belief – the belief that every person suffering from hair loss deserves a desirable, discrete option that offers better results than the current established hair transplant methods and treatments. So if you find yourself struggling with hair loss or male pattern baldness, and looking for a procedure that provides the best results without impacting your daily routine, contact our friendly and experienced team today to set up a NeoGraft® consultation!

Month: January 2017

Weight Loss Resolutions: What Comes Next?