1. Retinoid creams

A host of over-the-counter products claim to help fight wrinkles. One option: topical retinoid (derived from vitamin A) creams; look for retinol in the ingredient list. The SkinCeuticals line has products with retinol in them to help fight existing wrinkles . 

2. Over-the-counter peptide creams

Creams containing peptides—short snippets of linked amino acids—can be useful for reducing the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, but they haven’t been shown to work as well as retinoids. As skin ages, it loses collagen and becomes wrinkled and thin; creams containing peptides are supposed to encourage the skin to make new collagen. Peptides are found in a variety of products, from the inexpensive to the very expensive. There are many SkinCeuticals product that can help.

3. Microdermabrasion

Microdermabrasion uses tiny, fine particles or a very hard diamond-tipped wand to slough off cells from the top layer of the skin and encourage new skin growth. The procedure is usually not painful, though it can be uncomfortable, and it doesn’t require an anesthetic or recovery period; skin heals quickly. But you may require multiple procedures spaced a few weeks apart.

4. Laser skin resurfacing

Laser resurfacing uses high-intensity light to zap and improve the look of wrinkles and scars by tightening loose skin. The effect of your treatment and recovery time vary. There are lasers that can be superficial or intermediate and deep. You may see redness from one day to two weeks, depending on how aggressive the treatment is. 

5. Chemical peels

Used to address mild acne scars, age spots, dull skin texture, skin discoloration, or wrinkles around the eyes or mouth, chemical peels remove the outer layers of the skin and encourage the growth of new, smoother, more evenly colored skin. Depending on the peel’s intensity—which can range from superficial to medium to deep—it may cause reddening and peeling that can last up to several weeks.

6. Botox

Injections of Botox —which also contains botulism toxin and  is approved by the FDA, can paralyze tiny facial muscles, smoothing out the appearance of lines or wrinkles. The cost of Botox will vary depending on location and doctor. The effects of injections may last three to six months, depending on whether you’re a repeat customer.

7. Filler injections

Injections of fillers containing hyaluronic acid can fill in lines and wrinkles and add volume to skin. Hyaluronic acid is a “naturally occurring sugar that gets lost when you age,” and injecting it into wrinkles effectively plumps them up. Juvederm Ultra Plus XC and Juvederm Voluma are the newest and best.

8. Cosmetic surgery

Lifting the skin on the face, neck, eyelids, and forehead can give a tighter appearance. What were once traditionally open procedures—with larger incisions—can now often be done endoscopically, with smaller incisions strategically placed in difficult-to-detect areas, such as under the hairline. The effects of cosmetic surgery are somewhat permanent. 

9. Try prevention

If all this sounds extreme, remember that you can start immediately to prevent any further damage: Start wearing sunscreen every day. Lifetime exposure to the sun can wreak serious havoc. When people were younger…they didn’t think the sun caused any bad signs, but now they’re really feeling the effects of it 30 years later.
This information is brought to you courtesy of Dr. Mark Bishara and The Paragon Plastic Surgery & Med Spa in Mansfield and Southlake, TX

Clown lips like those that doomed the careers of Melanie Griffith and Meg Ryan have given way to a more natural-looking but still youthfully plump mouth.

Trout pouts, aka fish lips, once were so ubiquitous, they got an entry in the Oxford Dictionary: “The result of aggressive augmentation of the lips with filler.” Another definition: totally 1990s. “I remember the moment when patients stopped asking for bigger lips in the mid-2000s,” says dermatologist Peter Kopelson. “Jocelyn Wildenstein scared the fish lips off everyone!”
Fish lips might be extinct, but in Hollywood, maintaining a youthful mouth is hotter than ever. There simply are more effective and conservative ways to do it.
PHOTOS: Trout Pouts: Kim Kardashian, Lindsay Lohan Among Famous Faces With Plumped Lips
Plastic surgeon Lawrence Koplin maintains that lip enhancement counters the effects of aging, which include a receding upper lip and tiny lines above the mouth. He also arguably launched trout-pout mania in the late ’80s: “Barbara Hershey came to me when shooting Beaches, and we gave her fuller lips by injecting collagen. But she didn’t tell me her character would wear red lipstick!” Hershey became a media train wreck for her supposed vanity, and such actresses as Melanie Griffith and Meg Ryan donned career-inhibiting trout pouts.
STORY: Britney Spears Reveals Lip Injection Treatments
“Fillers don’t move,” says Koplin, “but fat transfer doesn’t make the lips stiff. Now we under-correct for a natural look. We lace a bit into the vermilion border for a little more fullness.” His other new, more restrained method involves injecting two drops of Botox above the lip line on each side: “It relaxes the muscles so they can roll out without making them bigger.”
Dermatologist Harold Lancer is credited with ending the trend. “I tried to bring attention to how silly they looked,” he says. “Fillers with hyaluronic acid can be reversed, but Radiesse, Sculptra and silicone can’t. After hearing about permanent damage, the public lost their demand.”
STORY: How Hollywood Stars Manage Their Assets on the Red Carpet
These days, instruments for injecting are more sophisticated. “We put in a tiny cannula, which leaves a small thread of filler, a fraction of previous volumes,” says Lancer. “Now directors and stylists are warning actresses not to get too altered.” Adds Kopelson: “Thank God we’re living in more tasteful times. Extreme anything looks wrong, unless you’re Rihanna.”
This News is brought to you courtesy of Dr. Mark Bishara and The Paragon Plastic Surgery & Med Spa in Mansfield and Southlake, TX


For those looking to improve their breast shape and/or size, breast augmentation is an option to explore. But through exploration, many women come across the same questions and concerns, leaving them to wonder what they should and shouldn’t believe. What are the most common myths regarding breast implants:
1) Saline is safer than silicone.
False. Saline implants were largely used because silicone implants were thought to cause medical problems. In scientific studies and in real life, silicone implants perform equal to or better than saline implants, which are filled with salt water. They produce more of a natural feeling. However saline implants require less surveillance and don’t necessitate MRIs.
2) Under the muscle is more natural looking than over the muscle.
False. The practice of placing breast implants under the pectoralis major muscle depends on individual breast anatomy and the type of breast implants selected. Some patients get better, more natural-looking results with the breast implants under the pectoralis major muscle, while others over the muscle. It really depends on your unique anatomy.
3) You cannot breast feed after you have had a breast augmentation.
False. When a breast augmentation is done via an incision through the inframammary fold, armpit or belly button, there is not usually a problem with breast-feeding.
4) Natural breast augmentation with fat is better than breast implants.
False. Taking a person’s own fat with liposuction and adding it to the breasts may create future problems because some of the fat transferred will perish within a year. It’s a new technology, and there is no regulatory approval in the U.S., so the technique is not yet standardized. So at this point, the procedure is very controversial, and there is concern about the long-term safety and efficacy.
5) You need breast implants for a breast lift.
False. Breast implants are not a treatment for breast sagginess. Only a breast lift (mastopexy) corrects sagginess.

For more information regarding breast augmentation, breast lift (mastopexy), or breast revision please contact the office of Dr. Mark Bishara, with offices in both Mansfield and Southlake, TX.  Dr. Bishara provides a wide range of cosmetic procedures to help patients look and feel their best. These procedures are designed to improve the appearance of the face and body through minimally invasive techniques that provide highly effective results. Please contact our office at (817) 473-2120 or visit our website at www.MarkBisharaMD.com.
Click here for more information on Breast Augmentation

Michelle Obama, who turned 50 over the weekend, isn’t ruling out using plastic surgery or Botox in the future.
“Women should have the freedom to do whatever they need to do to feel good about themselves,” the first lady told People magazine in an interview hitting newsstands Friday, her birthday. “Right now, I don’t imagine that I would go that route, but I’ve also learned to never say never.”
Her message to women is to be healthy. Mrs. Obama says she has never missed a health checkup, including mammograms and Pap smears. She’s also had a colonoscopy.
“I don’t obsess about what I eat, but I do make sure that I’m eating vegetables and fruit,” added Mrs. Obama. “And as everyone knows, I do exercise.” Her “Let’s Move” campaign to reduce childhood obesity rates through the combination of exercise and healthier eating enters its fifth year next month.
Her workouts have also evolved from weight-bearing and cardio exercises to include things like yoga that she says will help keep her flexible.
Asked whether she has peaked at 50, Mrs. Obama joked that being first lady is “pretty high up.” She said she’s always felt that her life is “ever-evolving” and she doesn’t have the right to “just sit on my talents or blessings.”
“I’ve got to keep figuring out ways to have an impact, whether as a mother or as a professional or as a mentor to other kids,” the first lady said, noting that daughter Malia, now 15, will be in college when she and President Barack Obama leave the White House in January 2017. Daughter Sasha, 12, won’t be far behind.
“At that point in life, whoa, the sky is the limit,” Mrs. Obama said.
Despite her nonchalance about her upcoming milestone, Mrs. Obama noted that some things can still make her feel older. “Well, there are those times when your staff tell you they were born the year you were graduating from college. It’s like, really? Really? That hurts,” she said, laughing. “But I don’t feel that much differently than I did when I was younger.”
President Obama told People that he’s “always in awe” of his wife as she approaches her 50th birthday.
“Michelle is actually more beautiful now than when I met her,” he said. “And I think she’s wiser.”
Beyonce and Stevie Wonder rocked the White House at a star-studded, late-night dance party celebrating first lady Michelle Obama’s 50th birthday, which was planned by Barack Obama.
At 50, she’s got some of the most envied arms, a killer wardrobe, and quite the social life.  Happy 50th Birthday, Michelle Obama!
This News is Brought to You Courtesy of Dr. Mark Bishara and The Paragon Plastic Surgery & Med Spa in Mansfield and Southlake, TX

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Breast augmentation surgery, also known as augmentation mammoplasty, involves enlarging or reshaping the breast with the use of an implant. If you are thinking about getting breast augmentation surgery, there are a few things you should know before embarking on the process. The first thing is to not be intimidated by the word “surgery”. This type of cosmetic enhancement is one of the most common types of procedures performed in the United States, with thousands of women having breast augmentation done every year.
The first step is to consult with your doctor about the nature of the procedure.
Matters discussed and questions asked during a typical consultation include:

  • What are the respective benefits of silicone and saline implants?
  • What type of anesthesia will be used?
  • The doctor’s level of experience (how many breast augmentation procedures do they perform every year?)
  • What is to be expected immediately after the procedure?
  • How often do they have to reoperate?
  • What kind of scarring is to be expected from a breast augmentation procedure?

About Implants
Silicone implants are considered to be more realistic in that the gel with which they are filled has a similar consistency to breast tissue. Saline implants are firmer and filled with salt water instead of gel. While there is the potential for a silicone gel implant to rupture as a result of an injury, this is a rare event. If it does rupture, the silicone should remain within the implant shell or move to the implant pocket. If a saline implant ruptures, its contents will be absorbed by the body.

The Surgery Itself
The factors governing the placement of the incision include the size of the implant, and your body-type. The incision may be placed in a number of areas including under your breast or arm, around your nipple. The incision may be placed through a mastectomy scar if the implant is being used to reconstruct your breast after mastectomy surgery. Dr Bishara will lift your skin tissue to create a pocket into which the implant will be inserted. After the implant is in place, the incisions will be closed by suturing the breast tissue and then using sutures, skin adhesive or surgical tape used to close the incision in the skin.

The Recovery Process Following Breast Augmentation Surgery
Immediately after breast augmentation surgery, your breasts will be covered in gauze, or you will be provided with a surgical bra. You will be taken to an observation area, where you will be observed for any possible post-surgical complications. Recovery after breast implant surgery will usually take 24 to 48 hours. You will be prescribed medications to help with any nausea or pain. Your doctor will tell you how to care for your wound and during follow-up visits, advise you on when you can return to regular activities like work and exercise.
Dr. Mark Bishara provides a wide range of cosmetic procedures to help patients look and feel their best. These procedures are designed to improve the appearance of the face and body through minimally invasive techniques that provide highly effective results. Many of these procedures can be combined in order to achieve your desired appearance. Please call our office for more information at (817) 473-2120 or visit our website at www.MarkBisharaMD.com.