RealSelf

Since its founding in 2006, RealSelf has created the world's largest community for learning and sharing information about cosmetic surgery, dermatology, dentistry, and other elective treatments. Our extensive collections of reviews, photos, and doctor Q&A make RealSelf the most trusted resource for those who are looking for help beyond the beauty counter.

  The Cosmetic Surgery Directory

This consumer-friendly website can be used as a central resource to answer your questions about plastic surgery, and to locate a qualified cosmetic surgeon near you.

 Bay Area plastic surgeon blends science with art

Dr. Bermudez is a true Renaissance man. Raised in Tuscany, Italy, and inspired by fellow Tuscan Leonardo da Vinci, he mixes an extensive medical and research background with a love of sculpting and language (he's fluent in both Spanish and Italian). This means that he possesses both the skill of a surgeon and the aesthetic approach of an artist.

 Most Doctors Are Burned Out, But Not Plastic Surgeons

Other doctors are suffering from record burnout and depression, while plastic surgeons report high levels of happiness. What's their secret?

 New plastic surgery statistics reveal trends toward body enhancement

The statistics also reveal a rise in new trends in body-shaping procedures, with a spike in non-invasive fat reduction, as well as surgeries such as breast augmentations and liposuction.

 Selfie face distortion is driving people to get nose jobs

Selfies make our noses look 30 percent larger than they really are, plastic surgeons warn.

Brazilian butt lifts are the deadliest of all aesthetic procedures – the risks explained

To be successful, a fat graft needs nutrition and so has to be injected into tissue that has a blood supply. Fat can survive if injected into other fat, but up to 90% of it can be absorbed if it is. Fat has more chance of staying in place if it is inserted into muscle – but this is where the risk lies.

Call yourself a cosmetic surgeon? New guidelines fix only half the problem

The public can be forgiven for thinking a person who calls themselves a cosmetic surgeon has surgical qualifications. But this is not the case. Any registered medical practitioner can use the title, even those without any specialist training.

Cosmetic Surgery That’s Just a Click Away

The world of cosmetic surgery — whether it is wrinkle-zapping Botox shots, breast implants or a full-blown face-lift — is hardly an industry that seems to be a natural candidate for disruption by start-up entrepreneurs. But the industry is no longer limited to celebrities and wealthy socialites. It has become mainstream in recent years, thanks to TV shows like “Botched” and “Extreme Makeover,” as well as infomercial ads promoting the latest age-defying cosmetic products.

Friday essay: the ugly history of cosmetic surgery

Cosmetic surgery instinctively seems like a modern phenomenon. Yet it has a much longer and more complicated history than most people likely imagine. Its origins lie in part in the correction of syphilitic deformities and racialised ideas about “healthy” and acceptable facial features as much as any purely aesthetic ideas about symmetry, for instance.

No More Stigma Against Plastic Surgery, Please

More and more people may be doing it, but are they telling their spouses, their friends, their kids? The stigma around plastic surgery hasn't gone away, and even individuals who share child or marriage woes may be hesitant on the beauty score. "There are still plenty of people who don't share their plastic surgery, even if they talk about almost everything else," says Dr. Diller.

Sculpting Identity: A History of the Nose Job

For centuries, people have used nasal surgery to protect, or improve, their place in society.

The changing face of male cosmetic surgery

The male cosmetic procedure that has seen the largest increase, according to BAAPS, is breast reduction surgery.