X Factor's Danni Minogue Vows to Cut Down on the Botox

The X Factor got off to a flying start this weekend with one noticeable difference on the part of one of the judges.

Danni Minogue has claimed that this time around she will forego the botox injections that have kept her face looking wrinkle free because of criticism that she had appeared expressionless in the last series.

In an interview with Grazia she said: "I can see what people see, but I have to say that while I have been open about doing it [botox], I'm not doing it now. For the X Factor it is actually quite useful to be able to have facial expressions!"

Although there may not have appeared to have been much of a change in Miss Minogue's pallet of expressions on Saturday night, this it most likely because it takes several months for the effects to wear off.

However having botox injections does not necessarily result in having a totally frozen face - it is dependant on how much is put in. For those that have particular trouble areas such as severe frown lines or crows feet, injections just in those areas can radically soften the face and give a more youthful experience WITHOUT restricting mobility in the entire face.

Holidaymakers Opt For Airbrushed Cosmetic Surgery

For British holidaymakers wanting to be picture picture this year, rather then resorting to actual cosmetic surgery they're opting for an altogether more Hollywood style solution. According to a report in The Times online, the high street photographic chain Snappy Snaps has experienced a 550% increase in people wanting airbrushing on the holiday photos.

Instead of having a breast enlargement, tummy tuck or lip implants people are requesting these phsyical changes be added onto their snaps post-vacation with high street stores charging around £15 for the privilege. Alternatively people can do the alterations at home on their on computers with software such as Adobe Photoshop, while Kodak has launched an airbrush plug-in specifically for touching up photos.

This craze is considered to be down to the increase in popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook where users are keen to project the right image of themselves. The problem of course comes when reality does not match up to the image.

To read The Times article in full click here

How Safe Are Sunbeds?

It has been known for many years that sunbeds aren't the healthiest of beauty treatments but recent research has just seriously upped the ante. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) who have previously stated a probable link between skin cancer and tanning beds, have now upgraded the severity of the connection to a definite link.

As more and more of the younger generation are striving for the perfect tan and the popularity of tanning salons has soared, the agency warns that teens are putting themselves at as much as a 75 percent greater risk of forming melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. In fact the agency now compares the use of sunbeds to heavy smoking or exposure to asbestos and warns that there could even be a possible connection to the development of eye cancer.

These days there are fantastic alternatives available in the form of spray tans and creams that simulate perfectly the deep glow of summer vacation so why are teenagers and adults still unnecessarily put themselves at risk?

As if that was incentive enough, overuse of sunbeds is also prematurely aging for the skin especially around the delicate eye area where crows feet can appear. Cosmetic surgeons regularly see women who's skin has been damaged by excessive exposure to UV light and for them the only solutions are procedures such as facial peels (like as the Rubicon Moulding Mask), botox injections or in more extreme cases eye lift and face lift surgery.