Jodi and Diane are opening the "Beauty and the Beat" event this Thursday at the Gables West Ave. If you are a resident, you're invited to come learn how to choose an aesthetics provider at 6 pm, then get your Latin groove on at 7 pm with a Zumba class taught by a former Dallas Cowboy cheerleader!

Whether bald by choice or bald by genetics, many men are choosing to channel their inner Bruce Willis and daring to go bare. It’s easy to see why. Bald heads are in. Vin Diesel. Howie Mandel. Chris Daughtry. Patrick Stewart. Andre Agassi. Taye Diggs. Some of the hottest actors, musicians, and athletes sport smooth and shiny bald heads.

Dr. Jim Cain, III, founder and medical director of Innovative Aesthetics a cosmetic and medical aesthetics practice in Houston, Texas, has recently completed a two-year Aesthetics Medicine Fellowship with Dr. Sharon McQuillon of the Ageless Aesthetic Institute. The Fellowship Certification in Aesthetic Medicine is a certification program of the American Academy of Anti‐Aging Medicine.

Innovative Aesthetics has partnered with MedChoice Financial to offer new, flexible cosmetic and aesthetic procedure financing. Through MedChoice Financial, you can finance any of the aesthetics procedures offered by Innovative Aesthetics. MedChoice offers approval decisions within 24-hours, monthly payment plans, no interest and no downpayment plans.

Arnica Montana, also known as Leopard's Bane, is a perennial herb indigenous to Central Europe. When taken two weeks prior to any cosmetic procedure (BOTOX, Dysport, injectable fillers such as Radiesse or Juvederm, or liposuction methods such as SmartLipo and VASER) arnica montana can markedly reduce bruising and swelling. Arnica montana is most commonly available in pellet form. Additionally, topical application of the arnica montana gel, cream, or ointment will speed the healing of any visible bruising should it occur.

Today's article in Time Magazine highlights the proposed "Botox tax" being floated by Senate majority leader Harry Reid as part of President Obama's health care reform package. This tax would apply to elective, but not reconstructive plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures, in the hopes of raising enough money to pay for other features of the plan. As both an aesthetics practitioner and a taxpayer, I do not agree with this proposal and do not want to be forced to increase the cost of the services we provide to you. If you too do not agree with this proposal, I urge you to visit www.stopcosmetictax.org and sign the petition and register your support.

With the American male accounting for 1.1 million total cosmetic procedures in 2008, men seem to be changing their attitude about aesthetic services. Wanting to appear youthful and healthy well into their 50’s and 60’s has led men to re-think grooming and beauty procedures that were formally just the domain of women.

Wrinkles, age spots – that “leathery” look on your hands – sound familiar? You spend all this time and effort maintaining your face, only to have your hands give your true age away.

One minute you are wearing low-cut dresses and shirts with confidence. Next thing you know you’re camouflaging your chest with turtleneck sweaters and layers of necklaces. Around the age of 40 is normally when a woman’s décolletage begins to show her age. Signs of aging include skin sagging and thinning or “crepe-like” appearance.

As you age, skin on your neck starts to lose its elasticity because of a combination of gravity and genetics. And because the skin on our necks is more delicate and thinner than facial skin, it loses elasticity faster. So even if you’ve spent thousands of dollars on keeping your face young, the sagging skin under your chin still announces to the world that you’re not getting any younger.