Practically everyone has stretch marks somewhere on their body. Usually present on the buttocks, thighs, arms and breasts, stretch marks naturally occur when skin is stretched too quickly to accommodate growth of muscles or fat.  Also known as striae atrophica or striae distensae, they most often appear around puberty, during pregnancy, or can even occur as a result of breast augmentation.

You can remove the appearance of stretch marks with cosmetic procedures such as laser skin tightening and tummy tucks.   Find out more about these two treatments by speaking to our patient consultant. She’s available from Tuesday to Saturday, 9.30-6.30. Book your appointment at 416-221-5554.

No! Simply put, muscle cannot turn into fat because the structure of the cells that comprise each are totally different. Fat cells mainly consist of fat, acting as a storage for the body’s energy source, while muscle cells contain contractile filaments that help create motion or force.

It’s a common myth that if you don’t maintain muscle, it will turn into fat. While you may notice your body becoming flabby, it’s not due to the muscle turning into fat. Your muscle cells are simply decreasing in size and/or fat cells are increasing in size. Subcutaneous fat may be blanketing the muscle fibres, making them less visible.

On the other hand, if you are weight training but still lack muscular definition, you may be expanding fat at a rate that exceeds the expansion of muscle. This is a common problem for those of us who don’t include enough aerobic activity in their regimens, or eat that extra slice of cake thinking that they’ll just burn it off later.

As a result, liposuction or other cosmetic fat reduction methods such as UltraShape, will not remove muscle cells because they’ve “turned into fat”!

Did you know that last year, there were about 4.6million Botox procedures performed in the States? That makes it the number one cosmetic treatment (surgical or nonsurgical) in the country, by millions! At just over 1 million is hyaluronic acid treatments, such as Juvederm and Restylane.

Unfortunately, we don’t have the stats for Canada, but judging by our appointments, we’re sure the figure’s not too different here.

Dogs won’t be able to get their tails docked or ears cropped in New Brunswick anymore, after the province’s Veterinary Medical Association voted in favour to eliminate cosmetic surgery for canines in vet hospitals and clinics.

While it’ll take about 6 months for the new rule to be implemented, it’s already causing distress for dog breeders and kennel clubs.  They say the rule will be detrimental to sales as well as competitors in dog shows.

It’s official! Toronto Cosmetic Clinic has been selected in the category of Best Cosmetic Clinic by the Toronto Sun Readers’ Choice Awards 2008. This is just a couple of months after we received the Consumers’ Choice Award in a similar category.

Thank you for voting for us, and we’ll do our best for a repeat in 2009!

We knew that BOTOX® gets rid of those wrinkles, but now it’s been proven to make them disappear!

Known as an effective way to eliminate or reduce wrinkles temporarily, a study published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology has now proven that continued use of Allergan’s BOTOX® can actually eliminate wrinkles on the forehead caused by the movement of facial muscles - permanently.

The effect BOTOX® has on the targeted muscles on those who have received injections long term still wears off, however because the skin does not crease as much with repeated treatment, it has time to “relax”. Without the constant creasing, the skin has time to smooth out and repair itself.

The study, conducted by Dr Patrick Bowler, monitored two subjects treating lines on the forehead, between the brows and the soft tissue around the eyes for a 7 year period. Both subjects at the end of the period were found to have smoother skin with a more “natural” look, and their skin quality continued to improve over time.