Ashley Judd's beautiful face - Who are we looking good for?

Ashley Judd is a very accomplished actress and current star of Missing on ABC. For some reason, the media has decided to attack this beautiful woman and claim she must have had some plastic surgical procedure due to her "puffy face." As a facial plastic surgeon, I know the trend in facial rejuvenation has come back to augmentation of the face to make one appear more youthful. Thus, I see why this can be a hot topic when you see a prominent actress with a puffier than usual face. Unfortunately, the tone of the conversation about Ashley Judd was not supportive, but was instead derisive in nature.

Ashley spoke out about this negative criticism in a recent article. http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/04/10/ashley-judd-puffy-face/

Ashley states she did not have any procedures done, but was actually on steroid medication for a sinus infection. It is very common for patients to retain water and even to gain weight while on steroid medication, which very commonly can show up as a "puffy face."

That being said, this whole situation makes me think: Who are we looking good for? I like to hope that my patients come in for me to help them look the way they feel, young and full of life. These are all personal choices that, in the end, only affect the patient. Why must we pick apart anyone's looks at all? Let's face it, Ashley Judd is a beautiful woman, whether her face is puffy or not. She is also an advocate for women everywhere. We should be supporting her as a female lead on a primetime show, not ridiculing her....

In my practice, many patients do require soft tissue augmentation of the face in order to appear more youthful. Usually, this is a very subtle change that corrects a soft tissue loss or depression. Many products can be used to give this youthful volumization; including Radiesse, Restylane, Juvederm, and the patient's own fat cells. When done correctly, cheeks and eyes are more youthful and brighter. Very commonly, women and men will lose fat in their cheeks and around the eyes making them appear more sunken or increasing the number of lines in the cheeks. Adding volume can make all the difference, without the need for incisions and usually very minimal downtime.

Feeze away the fat?

I tried Thermage, it definitely didn't give a nonsurgical facelift. I tried Ulthera, but didn't see any of the results they promised. These experiences have made me a lot more skeptical. I am slow to adopt new technology that hasn't been proven and like to believe that I am not easily swayed by marketing gimmicks. Therefore, I was very surprised when Coolsculpting delivered on its promise.

When the rep came to the office to demo the machine, my staff blocked out my time for over 2 hours! So, when volunteers were needed to have their belly fat frozen, I offered up my pooch. First, I had to get into some scrubs and have my tummy and love handles photographed from 8 different angles. Fun. Then, the rep drew all over my tummy where the machine would freeze my fat away.

I got comfortable on the table and then they dropped the bomb on me. The machine is placed on your lower tummy and the suction is turned on. Whoosh! All of your tummy skin and fat are sucked up into the machine! It feels really strange and mildly painful for about 10 minutes. Then the freezing starts to take effect and everything feels numb. Then, I hung out for an hour. It's kind of boring, so I recommend a book, Ipod, Kindle, laptop, anything to pass the time.

When the machine is removed, your fat comes out looking like a stick/wall of butter. Gross. This is quickly massaged down and you are good to go. The area is tender for a few days, up to a week. It remains numb to the touch for about a month, smaller area each day. Most people see results at 2-4 months, but I could tell at 1 month! I did not lose any weight, but tummy was flatter! I have always had a little pooch and it is gone. Needless to say, we bought the machine.