Seattle Plastic Surgeon blogs about the lessons learned in the play, Pygmalion, now playing at Seattle’s Intiman Theater.

Mark Anders as linguist Henry Higgins and Jennifer Lee Taylor as Eliza Doolittle. Her décolleté is so lovely, he dare not look!

Last night I soooo enjoyed attending Pygmalion at Seattle’s Intiman Theater.  There is something about live human beings on stage telling a story through words and action that just touch my soul so much more than film or television ever does. 

Pygmalion, as most of you probably know, refers to the story of the artist who fell in love with his own sculpture of the “perfect woman”. 

The play, written by George Bernard Shaw and made into the musical My Fair Lady, tells the story of Linguist Henry Higgins turning the gutter snipe Eliza Doolittle into a Duchess.  In the end of course, he learns as much from her as she does from him.  It’s a great story of class and money and manners and empathy and for the plastic surgeon in the audience, the importance of sun protection on the ever important  décolleté .  

The  décolleté  is so often exposed to the sun and, unlike the face, is not amenable to deep chemical peels or laser treatments to treat the sun damage.  Therefore, prevention is paramount.  I recommend adding quick spray of Neutrogena spray-on sun block every morning to the décolleté  to every woman’s morning skin care routine.  It takes but a second or two and helps maintain skin health in this most important female landscape. 

I also highly recommend seeing this delightful play!

Thanks for reading.  Dr. Lisa Lynn Sowder

Seattle Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Lisa Lynn Sowder blogs about patient satisfaction. 

I can usually tell when a patient really, really likes the result of their breast or body contouring surgery, at least if they have had any sun lately.  I just take a look at their tan lines!  (Those of you who read this blog regularly know that I am totally anti-tan and I am not advocating any activity that causes tan line nor do I advocate non-tan line nude sunbathing!)

Sometimes I’ll have a patient who is super picky about a very minor imperfection but who has tan lines that tell me he/she is comfortable not wearing much at the beach or pool.   Once I had a tummy tuck patient, well into her 50s, that was upset that her string bikini didn’t cover her bikini line scar.  That is what I call a happy problem!

Hey, thanks for reading and stay away from those tanning beds.  More on that in an upcoming blog.  Dr. Lisa Lynn Sowder

Seattle Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Lisa Lynn Sowder is smitten with an old fashioned parasol.

I saw a patient recently who was carrying a lovely, old fashioned parasol.  I commented on her very cool accessory and got the whole story.

She had a large bald spot just above her anterior hair line where, several years ago, a melanoma had been excised and her scalp reconstructed with a skin graft.  Her hair was already quite thin and she was uninterested in any sort of hair grafting or scalp rearranging procedure to rid her of her bald spot.  She opted to keep her hair super short and wear a very high quality wig.  (I would have never known had she not told me.)

The down side of the wig is that it is hot and she cannot bear to wear a hat in the summer.  Being a melanoma survivor, she is very, very careful about sun exposure.  Thus the parasol which she uses in addition to a good sunscreen.  She is smart and oh so stylish.

Seattle has a very cool umbrella and parasol store, Bella Umbrella,  located in the Ballard neighborhood.  If you live around here, you ought to check it out.  A pretty parasol might be just the summer accessory you are looking for.

Thanks for reading!  Dr. Lisa Lynn Sowder

Seattle Plastic Surgery, Dr. Lisa Lynn Sowder blogs about her newest obsession and Seattle’s lousy summer.

Last weekend my daughter and I went to Swanson’s, which is a lovely nursery in north Seattle.  We had a light lunch at the cafe and then went browsing.  (Now that I am most definitely a woman of a certain age, I would rather cruise a nursery than a boutique).

Marie and I saw it as the same instant, just sitting there like a beautiful young orphan, so tiny and out of place with the much taller quotidian deciduous ornamental trees.  And we fell hard for this Japanese Umbrella Pine.  I put it on our cart and found a staff member to ask about it.  He could have said you need to water it with sterile thrice deionized water 4 times a day and apply platypus feces as a side dressing in the spring and fall and I would have still purchased this beauty.  Actually all he said was that it will grow to 20 feet over 20 years and I can’t let it dry out.

And drying out won’t likely be a problem, at least this summer.  While the rest of the nation is sweltering and frying, Seattle is experiencing the coldest and wettest summer in any one’s memory.  But this is good for my sweet, beautiful Japanese Umbrella Pine.  It is native to the rain forests of Japan and I’m sure I can keep it happy in the rain forest of Seattle.

So what does this have to do with plastic surgery?  Okay, how’s this?

• Just because it’s cloudy, you still need sunscreen!
• And the real reason I do plastic surgery is to support my gardening habit.

Thanks for reading!  Seattle Plastic Surgeon and Plant Freak, Dr. Lisa Lynn Sowder

Yesterday the Food and Drug Adminstration issues new rules on the labeling of sun protection products.  These rules have been many years in the making with many stakeholders involved.  This news  is welcome to me and my patients as is any regulation that promotes accurate information and truth in advertising.

Only sun protection products that protect against a broad spectrum of ultra- violet rays can claim protection against skin cancer and skin aging.  No product can call itself a sunblock.  Strong sunscreen, yes but sunblock, no.  The SPF system will be redone to give patients a more accurate way to measure protection.  No longer will we see promotions of SPF 100 which really does not exist (SPF 100 means you can spend 1500 minutes or 25 hours in the sun without getting much more than a little “color”).    Also, sweatproof and waterproof labels will disappear.

So expect some better information on sun protection products’ packaging and remember:  It only works if you use it.

Here’s wishing you a great and tan free summer.  Thanks for reading.  Seattle Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Lisa Lynn Sowder

Can you guess which twin spent years with a "healthy" tan?

Summer officially starts in two weeks and it’s time for my yearly scold about facial tanning.  As usual, a picture is worth a bajillion words so take a look at these twins.  They have had no surgery or skin treatments and neither one smokes.    They are the same age (duh) and the same weight.

Take a look at the damage that years of sun exposure have caused in the twin on the left.  Not only does she have fine wrinkles and uneven pigmentation, her face is less plump than her younger looking twin.

I am often asked which sunblock is the best for the face.  My answer is the sunblock that you will use every day.  It may take a while to find the one you like the best but shop around.  There’s one out there for you.  I really like one of the non-greasy sunblocks that Neutragena makes.  I have yet to find a sunblock compatible with my very sensitive eyes so I skip that area.  But I do have a great pair of shades that I live in when outside and I have a collection of hats.

Remember, the skin tans as a response to injury.  So take care of your largest and most visible organ and it will take care of you.

Perfect for when you just can't do another layer of sunblock.

I just received Title Nine’s summer catalogue and was thrilled to see this little number.  It is a super light weight but sun protective dress for the beach or pool side.  It’s perfect for a sun phobe like me.  Sometimes another layer of sunblock just seems like such a hassle.

Even in Seattle, I see a lot of sun damage in my plastic surgery practice, not just on faces but on arms, legs, chests, shoulders – really everywhere the sun doth occasionally shine.  Remember: Your skin doesn’t end at your chin and sun damage accounts for  a whopping 90% of visible skin aging.   If you doubt this number, compare the skin on your derriere to the skin on your forearms.  This will require a mirror and some contortion and I recommend you do it in the privacy of your home well away from any camera.

Treatment for sun damage below the chin is very limited because the skin below the chin does not heal as well or as quickly as facial skin.  Therefore, deep chemical peels and/or laser resurfacing are not an option.  Retin A can help but using it over a large is not practical and I am unaware of any studies showing that treating large areas with Retin A is safe.  So, as with most things, prevention is the best option.

So protect that hide of yours.  Tan lines are so retro.  There is no such thing as a “healthy tan”.  That tan is a response to injury.  Consider ordering one of these little sun dresses ( www.titlenine.com) and check out some of the spray-on sun blocks.  I really like the Neutragena oil- free spray.  It goes on easily and quickly and dries in a jiffy.  I also like it for my children.  I can get them sprayed before they have time to complain.

By the way,  I receive no kickbacks from anybody.  If you know anyone who wants to pay me to blog about their products, send them my way!  Just kidding.

Thanks for reading!  Seattle Cosmetic Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Lisa Lynn Sowder

My children’s school had its annual fund raising auction this past weekend. This year was a 60’s theme and we all got to dress up like hippies. It was a blast.

Every year someone inquires about me donating surgery to be auctioned off and I always have to decline. The two national associations I belong to – the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery forbid the donation of surgery to raffles, auctions, wet t-shirt contests, and the like by their members.

When one gives this some thought, it is a very good policy. These events are set up to get participants excited and enthusiastic so they will bid higher or buy more tickets and the winner of the item may never have had an inkling to purchase such a service and in fact may not be a good candidate for a particular service. I would hate to see an unhealthy, overweight, indoor tanning, 2 pack a day smoker in my office expecting a face lift because he or she was the high bidder at the auction. Participation in these events really undermines the usual process of doctor and patient selection. We are allowed to donate non-invasive procedures such as skin care, Botox and filler injections because these have a much broader range of appropriate patients than surgery.

This year I donated our medical skin care system, Obagi Nuderm. It works like a charm for fine lines and uneven pigmentation and is safe for just about everyone. I know the lovely woman who had the high bid this year and I am looking forward to helping her transform her complexion. It’s a win, win, win. She gets great skin, I get a great patient and the school gets a nice chunk of change.

Beautiful moss weather we're having

The front page of the Seattle Times today featured a great story on moss. We’ve had one of the wettest and coldest springs in recent memory and the moss is just loving it. I must admit, when I was in college and taking botony, I had a great admiration for moss, especially when I got down to moss level and really looked at it. And under the microscope – wow.

Everyone with a moss garden is estatic about this weather and I also think anyone who cares about their skin should be estatic too. I spend the winter months slathering on skin cream because I get so dried out and the summer months I slather on sun block, but the last two months I’ve headed out the door with just a dollop of sun screen on my face and that’s it. It’s so moist here, my dry skin just soaks up the ambient humidity and with this cloud cover, I can be a little lax about endless my battle with the UV. Let’s here it for Seattle’s moisture festival!