Twiggy Olay Ad Banned For Over Airbrushing

An advert for Olay featuring the 60 year old supermodel Twiggy has been banned by the Advertising Standards Agency.

It features a clearly airbrushed Twiggy which the watchdog said "could give consumers a misleading impression of the effect the product could achieve." This was particularly in evidence around the eye area when compared to recent photos of the slender model.

Generally people realise that airbrushing takes place on most, if not all, advertising campaigns but the degree to which this photo was touched up was quite alarming. At 60 years of age, no one would realisticly expect a woman to have so few lines around her eyes without surgery and it is felt they could have presented her more naturally.

For her age, Twiggy looks fairly good even without the retouching. However if she wanted to achieve a smoother look without resorting to editing wizardy or even cosmetic surgery, there are several non surgical procedures she could use to help iron out the creases.

Fillers such as restylane can be used to plump out deep creases giving a fuller, more youthful appearance while botox if applied discriminately can soften the signs of aging such as crows feet around the eyes, rather than give a frozen look. Peels can also assist in lessening the depth of wrinkles and producing smoother, rejuvenated skin.

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

Fear of Rejection Linked To Cosmetic Surgery

Researchers at the University of Buffalo have discovered that those of us who are more sensitive to rejection based on our looks have a greater likelihood of seeking out cosmetic surgery.

The study begins with an overview of some pretty astounding figures from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. In it states that since 1997 there has been an increase of 457% in the amount of cosmetic procedures taking place, with a massive 11.7 million undertaken in 2007 alone. Of those 10.6 million were on women. Keen to find out why people do these, several studies have been undertaken over the years of which this is the latest.

In the study the researchers asked 133 American college students to write an essay on a past comment they had received about their appearance, be it negative or positive. Those who had high "appearance-based rejection sensitivity" expressed a greater desire for cosmetic surgery when recalling a negative comment then those who had low sensitivity. This was even compared against other key psychological variables such as overall self-esteem and self-perceived attractiveness.

Interestingly when recalling positive comments from others, the subjects generally referred to their appearance as a whole. However negative comments concentrated predominantly on body weight, shape and size.

Cosmetic Surgery & The Halo Effect

by Michelle Elkins

Having cosmetic surgery like breast enlargement and rhinoplasty not only improves external appearances but can help to give a confidence boost. Could this be down to more than just a personal change in attitude however?

According to decades of research a phenomenon known as the "halo effect" could be responsible. When we look at those who are phsycially blessed, unconsciously we bestow them with a whole gamut of internal positive qualities as well.

The effect means that good-looking people are considered to be healthier, nicer, smarter and more trustworthy, while others feel more disposed to help them. Employers are more likely to take them over another applicant, all other things being equal, while beautiful people tend to have greater success at work and are better financially rewarded.

The connection was first established by American psychologist Edward L. Thorndike who provided empirical research to back up the halo effect in a study he published in 1920. In it he asked a group of commanding officers to rate the soldiers in their charge. He established that there was an unconscious bias towards seeing the individuals as either entirely good or bad, whereby the perception of one particular trait can influence the perception of that person as a whole.

As a person's physical appearance is usually the first major trait people pick up on, this is often the most influential and is why celebrities and models are used to endorse products. This doesn't mean that negatives attributes will not be taken into account, it may just take a little longer for those traits to be acknowledged as people considered more attractive are given a greater benefit of the doubt.

Unfortunately though we are all guilty of doing this to some degree or another because the effect is unconscious so we are unaware of when it is happening. Even when it is pointed out, most people are unable to accept that their positive (or negative in the case of the reverse halo effect) perception coloured their whole view of someone.

This was discovered by social psychologist Richard Nisbett in a study in the 1970s. In it a group of students were split in two where one group was shown a video of a lecturer who was friendly and pro-student and the second group viewed a video of the same lecturer but using a cold, harsh manner. They were then asked to rate the lecturer on the way that he looked among other things and unsurprisingly the second group considered the lecturer to be far less attractive.

However when the students were told about the study, most refused to accept that their judgement of the lecturer's appearance was based purely on that and not on their perception of his other characteristics. On the plus side it does show that a winning personality can go a considerable way to raising your attractiveness stakes.

Click here if you would like to make an appointment to see a cosmetic surgeon.