Around this time of year, one cannot walk by a newsstand without seeing the barrage of magazine covers reminding everyone of their perceived physical shortcomings. Yes, Thanksgiving was six weeks ago. Yes, you attended an onslaught of family dinners prepared with the richest and tastiest treasured family recipes and holiday parties catered by chefs who possess Michelin Stars like you possess iPhone cases. What this means is most individuals significantly exceed their caloric needs by logarithmic proportions yielding substantial weight gain. Some are not the least bit remorseful and know that during the next few weeks to months there will be a gradual correction in body habitus. Others regret the additional fois grais slider and play out a retroactive cost-benefit analysis of gustatory satisfaction vs. hours in Soul Cycle class.

Back at the office, I prepare for a tummy tuck surgery on my patient who put on no less than 10 pounds during the holiday season. We delay the procedure for a few weeks. I tell her the weight she so easily put on is also the weight she should be able to shed with discipline and relative ease. “Leave me the hard to remove fat, so I can get rid of it for you,” I tell her. My patient spends around 10 hours per week in the gym. She tells me, “I saw my kids devour cookies and cakes and amazing food. They didn’t gain a pound! I grazed and put on 10. Not fair.” I remind her that her children are pubertal and could eat sticks of butter if they desired without so much as causing the needle on a scale to quaver. She nods in agreement.

A new calendar year does not mean that old habits die-hard. A new calendar year does not mean that a new you needs to happen. A new calendar year DOES mean that there are new products on the horizon that can complement your cosmetic wants and aesthetic needs.

While recently attending an advisory board meeting in Miami for Allergan (makers of Botox, Kybella, Juvederm, and Voluma), I was made privy of new products that are being refined and tested to add to the portfolio of minimally invasive aesthetic treatment options: Vobella and Volift. Fillers that do not cause as much swelling are on everyone’s wish list. In addition, longer lasting products that are safe and affordable is clearly the holy grail of any injectable. All of these concerns were discussed at length by a panel of some of the leading facial aesthetic dermatologists and plastic surgeons in the US. While I injected new prototype fillers onto a glass slide and compared their properties to other fillers from Allergan and other companies, I was impressed with the subtle changes: fluidity, viscosity, and ease of injection. It was incredible to be playing with products that are the first of their kind that will be later utilized for millions of women and men to make subtle and aesthetically pleasing changes.

A new year does not mean a new you. The New Year rather represents the beginning of many individuals’ desire to be kinder to their bodies and overall health. This year a new year means new and exciting products in the ever-exciting world of facial aesthetics.

For more information contact Dr. Shridharani at Luxurgery located at 800A Fifth Avenue (street level).