Ultimate Makeover

After thirty years of practicing facial plastic surgery, I have realized that the primary reason most people decide to lose weight or embark upon an exercise program is: to look better. And, people who have plastic surgery are generally the same individuals who visit health clubs, supplement their diet with vitamins, engage in regular exercise, partake of services and products offered by spas and skin care centers, improve their smiles and oral health, and have frequent medical check-ups…before they become “ill.” And, in this quest to improve one’s appearance, most people tend to find better health.

It is with this realization that the McCollough Institute for Appearance and Health was founded…and that the services, which health and appearance conscious individuals seek, are included in a single location, here in Gulf Shores, Alabama. This is also, precisely why the McCollough Institute is a perfect fit for WEAR-ABC TV’s “Ultimate Makeover”.

Plastic surgery and scientific skin care are complementary in nature. So are scientific nutritional and exercise programs, stress and weight management. Each has the potential to enhance the results of the other. Each has its place within the long-term objective of helping people look and feel their best, and therefore has its place in the McCollough Institute’s version of, the “Ultimate Makeover”.

Long-term, because we envision our “makeovers” will be a starting point for a better life and sense of self-esteem for our candidates. While working on the physical changes, we will address the mental changes needed as well. Positive thoughts tend to lead to positive outcomes. The reverse is also true. And, while we can’t always control the things that happen to—and around us—we can control our attitude about what happens.

Below is a list of common-sense changes you can make, to enhance your personal beauty and begin your own “ultimate makeover” if you’re not quite ready for the full treatment!

(1) Accentuate the positive. For those with natural good looks, consider yourself fortunate. For others, this is not the only criterion which determines beauty. The rule is to accentuate your positive features, correct the things which can be safely and predictably corrected, and downplay the ones which detract from the desired image.

(2) Smile. A pleasant countenance has always been associated with beauty in both genders.

(3) Enhance self-esteem. Express yourself with confidence and add new abilities to your present arsenal of skills. This is especially effective if the acquired art or craft is unique. Knowing that you have a special ability enhances your perception of self and strengthens the way you come across to the world. It will also earn you the respect of those you know. Everyone can do something well. Find out where your talents lie and develop them to the best of your abilities. This is also an excellent way to downplay and overshadow the negatives that may be associated with disharmonious features.

(4) Be neat. In all things, neatness counts. In fact, it’s rather powerful.

(5) Mirror beauty. As simplistic and trite as it sounds, take the time to look for beauty in both yourself and others. Research suggests that what you give others through your positive actions, words, and deeds, will be returned in kind. The fact that all people can see beauty in others may be a cultural saving grace in a most complex time.

(6) Lifestyles. Research proves that people, who pay better attention to their health, eat the appropriate foods (and amounts of foods), engage in regular exercise, manage stress, take recommended nutritional supplements, and refrain from smoking and excessive alcohol ingestion, live longer and healthier lives.

(7) Be optimistic. Expecting things and conditions to improve generally causes them to do so.