We are always interested in stories where science meets beauty so we gave Sarah the task of reading and reviewing a book on her beach vacation. Here is her review of In Stitches by Dr. Anthony Youn.

In Stitches: the book

In Stitches by Dr. Anthony Youn is a memoir chronicling his journey from childhood through medical school and finally ending with a very successful career as a plastic surgeon.

The first chapter immediately sets the tone with a humorous, yet relatable quest for this nerdy, Asian kid to just fit in at school, please his parents and look cool. We also see his own experience with plastic surgery to fix his ever growing jaw which he affectionately refers to as “jawzilla”.

As Youn enters college knowing he is destined to become a doctor (because his strict, Korean father said so) he continues to struggle with fitting in, meeting women and contemplating why he is really going to med school. Once in med school and continuing through his residency, you feel the highs and lows of his experience. He shares the everyday pains of just trying to make it through school by cramming for exams, eating junk food, chasing women and living in less than ideal quarters alongside bigger issues like choosing a mate and a medical specialty all while sharing poignant moments with friends and family. Ultimately, while in his pediatric rotation, an experience with a child severely mauled by a raccoon leads him on the path to choosing plastic surgery.

Sarah Says

Overall, I liked it. I found Dr Youn’s memoir to be funny, poignant and easy to read. The book was a little breezy at times, with too many contrived Asian stereotypes and a little sex obsessed. It was more Scrubs than ER, but I found myself wanting to know what happened next and finding Anthony Youn to be smart, relatable and likeable. (Plus I really, really, really, love the cover of his book!)

Do you have a book you think the Beauty Brains would like? Let us know by leaving a comment below and we’ll see if we can get Sarah to do a review.

Dark eyes asks…Does Botox get into the brain?

The Right Brain responds…

Dark Eyes asked this question in our forum while ago. We’ve already blogged about the topic and it turns out that the evidence is not clear that Botox is bad for your brain. But seeing this question again gives us an excuse to comment on the LATEST controversy about Botox: that it could rob you of the ability to sense the emotions of others. That’s right: Botox can turn you into an insensitive, emotionless zombie. (I wonder if that’s what happened to Left Brain?)

Zombieland

Botox, or the botulinum toxin as it is officially known, smooths out wrinkles by paralyzing facial muscles. These are the same muscles that control the facial expressions you use to convey emotion like lifting the corners of your mouth in a smile, furrowing your brow in confusion, or wrinkling your nose in disgust. And this is where it gets interesting: according to neuroscience researchers David Neal and Tanya Chartrand, if you’re unable to convey your own emotions, it’s harder for you to PERCEIVE the same emotions on the faces of others. This is just one more potential factor to consider if you’re thinking about getting Botox injections. Look for a copy of the Journal of Social Psychological and Personality Science to learn what else they discovered about mirror neurons and the surprising result they found when they AMPLIFIED facial muscles.

If you’re concerned about which cosmetic products are really safe and which ones are just trying to scare you out of your money, then you should download our free guide on How To Save Money On Beauty Products.

Despite their hype, most wrinkle creams do not have a significant effect on actually reducing wrinkles. The creams are typically just good skin moisturizers with an added “special” ingredient that makes for a good story but doesn’t actually do anything. (The exceptions are ones with effective levels of retinoids).

What really removes wrinkles

Of course plastic surgery really removes wrinkles. But it’s expensive and involves one or more surgical procedures. Personally, this Beauty Brain doesn’t like the idea of surgery for fixing the things time is doing to my skin. I’ve seen too many celebrity face lifts that have looked too weird (If you’re interested in seeing celebrities who’ve had cosmetic surgery, check out our favorite blog on the subject.) But if wrinkle creams are bogus and surgery’s not an option, at least there’s Botox. Right? Maybe not!

Is Botox Benign?

Now, scientists have found evidence that Botox may not be as safe as believed. According to this Italian study, the toxin used in Botox treatments was shown to migrate into the brains of treated rats. They say there were no observable negative effects, but it does seem a little scary. Could you exposing your brain to a known toxin while smoothing out your skin? Of course, scientists and the media who report on these types of things tend to exaggerate to make things sound more sensational. Botox treatments have been around since the early 1980′s and they were approved by the FDA in 2002. There has been no indication that treatments are turning people into brain damaged zombies.

However, science is always changing and when there is evidence of a problem, it is wise to be cautious. More research will be needed so I remain skeptical of the problem. But if you’re thinking about getting Botox this is just one more thing to add to your consideration. Do you really want to risk nerve and brain damage to get rid of wrinkles?

Some people might.

What do YOU think? Have you, or anyone else you know, had Botox injections?

–Mid Brain

Here’s a story from Tokyo Mango that was curious. Supposedly, if you drink this F-Cup tea you can naturally grow bigger boobs. It’s based on plant extracts from sunflower and pueraria mirifica. They have a cookie version too in case you would rather eat those. Does it work?

From tea cup to bra cup

The science. Pueraria mirifica is a phytoestrogen-rich herb traditionally used in Thailand folk medicine. It has been evaluated by various reproductive health researchers. While no one has claimed it can increase breast size, this study shows it can have prevent some breast tumors (in rats anyway). Sunflower oil has also been investigated for an effect on breast tumor inhibition. So, both extracts have been shown to have some effect. Does this translate to bigger breast? Possibly, but the connection is weak.

The Beauty Brains bottom line

However, if you don’t want to shell out the thousands of dollars it costs for implants, drinking enhanced tea seems like a harmless enough experiment. Who knows, you may actually see a difference. Of course it could just be psychosomatic but does that really matter?

Claire’s question: My sister Grace told me she’s considering a plastic surgery procedure to improve her posterior. What can you tell me about the Brazilian Butt Lift?

The Right Brain butts in:
Claire, normally we try to focus on cosmetic products but it’s hard to resist an email that combines the terms “Brazilian” and “Butt” in the same question. So, we checked with our favorite cosmetic surgeon, Dr. Tony Youn, for the 411 on butt lifting.

What is a Brazilian Butt Lift?

As the name implies, it’s a procedure to shape and firm your derrière. We wonder why it’s named after this particular country. Was it first performed by doctors in Brazil? Do Brazilian women have genetically superior asses? Or is the process some how related to Brazil nuts? We can only speculate…

Whatever the derivation of its name, a BBL is designed to give you “youthful, prominent, perky buttocks.” How does it work? Fat grafting! That means the surgeon uses liposuction to remove fat from your lower back, stomach and thighs. The fat is purified and then re-injected into different areas of your buttocks at various depths. It may take hundreds of tiny injections to fill the upper quadrant of your buttocks but when done correctly it does make your butt look better. But a poor injection job can be painful and produce fat shapeless buttocks.

Are there any problems with this perky pooper procedure?

Aside from the aforementioned shapeless buttocks, other side effects include irregular asymmetric skin, numbness, bruising and swelling. On occasion, the incisions may ooze significant fluid. And since the doctor may need to overfill your buttocks to allow for some fat re-absorption back into your body, your butt may temporarily look puffy or swollen. The good news is that unlike silicone butt implants, there is no risk of allergic reaction since the fat injections are your own natural substance.

To avoid some of these issues Dr Youn says: “My favorite way to enhance the buttocks, however, is to liposuction the hips and thighs around it. This essentially makes everything around it smaller, and can indirectly make the bottom look bigger and rounder compared to the rest of the body. It doesn’t take as much time, has few complications, and allows the patient to sit down immediately.”

How many bucks will it cost to lift my butt?

According to what we found on other sites (these are not Dr. Youn’s prices), the average cost of a Brazilian Butt Lift is about $15,000. That includes the physician’s fee, anesthesia, hospital costs, post operative nursing care, and all post operative office visits.

So tell your sister that for the price of a new car, she can have the rear end of her dreams.

Curious about to see how much better your behind be? Click here to see some before and after butt lift pictures.