10 Cosmetic Procedures You Should Avoid

Extreme Facial Procedures

As the images of more than a few celebrities can attest, extreme facial procedures can have a dramatic impact on one's appearance -- and not always in a good way.

Dr. Gregory H. Branham, associate professor and chief of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery at Washington University in Saint Louis, said he treats a number of patients who want a revision of previous work done on their faces. Sometimes, he said, this previous work involved facial liposuction in which the natural fat pads of the face are sucked out. While these patients likely hoped for a sexier, more angular appearance, what they usually got was a hollow, "Cruella deVille" kind of look.

Another procedure he sees regularly is the skin lift -- a relic of 1970s-era cosmetic surgery in which the skin was pulled taut to eliminate wrinkles.

"While I do not perform these procedures I have seen patients come into my practice with broken or failed sutures that are extruding and need to be retrieved," Branham said. "I have not seen good long-term results with these, and they are generally quite expensive when you compare them to a conventional face-lift or even a mini-lift that is a surgical procedure with more promise of a longer lasting result."

But the ravages of bad facial procedures are not confined to surgery alone. Another extreme facial procedure, the CO2 laser peel, leaves patients with a scabby, red face that takes weeks to heal. While these patients eventually enjoy a smoother complexion once the healing is over, there are a number of alternative procedures available today that can give much the same result -- without the intense pain and downtime.