beat the clock

How does your holiday wish list look? Or rather, how do you look?

Each year, many of us wrap presents for loved ones and put up elaborate decorations in preparation for the Christmas holiday. However, holiday décor isn’t the only important thing we put on display — our ownappearance is undeniably important (go ahead and admit it!). For some, the holidays provide that extra incentive to undergo a beauty treatment or procedure that has been considered for awhile.

According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, there has been an increase of more than 155 percent in the total number of cosmetic procedures since 1997; surgical procedures increased by more than 71 percent, and nonsurgical procedures increased by 228 percent. From 2009 to 2010, there was a 9 percent increase in the total number of cosmetic surgical procedures, with more than 1.6 million surgical procedures this year.

Even though the countdown to Christmas has begun, there is still time to give one's natural beauty a boost. Because time can be a somewhat limiting factor, let’s examine the possibilities:

Generally speaking, a facelift can provide “party ready” results in just two to three weeks (although bruising and swelling will vary among patients). Modern facelift techniques can produce dramatic improvements to your face and neck and would allow you to attend a holiday social in 10 days to two weeks. Short-incision facelifts can produce results in just seven to 10 days for many patients.

While makeup can improve the appearance of a woman’s face, eye shadow won’t do much if others can’t see it. Often times, eyelid skin can droop as we age, making eyelids appear hidden. Blepharoplasty, or an “eye lift,” can “open” eyes up in as little as two weeks. Modern brow lift techniques will not leave a long, old-fashioned scar across the hairline, and they can lift the brow into a more youthful position with just a couple of very small incisions that are fully hidden in your hair. As with any surgery, individual healing times vary. In most cases, though, bruising and swelling fade within about 10 days, and most people can wear makeup even sooner.

Some people lose facial fat volume as they age, and they may benefit from fat grafts (removing fat from one area of the body and injecting it into the face) or fillers. Injectable filler solutions fall into two main categories:

Man-made substances, such as Restylane, Perlane, Juvederm, Sculptra, or Radiesse
Fat

Recovery from injectable fillers varies greatly and is dependent on the amount of substance injected, as well as individual healing. Limited amounts of injectables can offer significantly shorter recovery times — usually up to one week.

While injectables are the ideal solution for some patients, they are not the best solution for the fine lines around the eyes or upper lip. However, laser technology allows clinicians to target the fine lines on the surface of the skin to reveal refreshed, smoother, younger-looking skin. Resurfacing laser procedures usually cause some redness that will fade over the course of a few weeks, but it can easily be covered with makeup after about seven days.

If you’re like most people, though, you have only a few days to spare before the holidays, which can still be enough time to enhance appearance significantly. Botox injections, for example, can give a more refreshed look in just a few days. Skillfully placed Botox injections can leave you looking refreshed and rested with no down time — all it takes is 10 minutes with your qualified provider. Botox is one of the least-invasive options, and with skilled delivery, you will not look "overdone."

Botox decreases the contraction of facial muscles, which subsequently decreases the amount of skin wrinkling that occurs in certain regions of the face, such as the forehead and the area between the brows. Botox usually begins to take effect within three to four days. Though Botox is popular and widely available, it is not a permanent solution, and it is not risk-free (and therefore should be performed by a trained medical professional who can skillfully inject the Botox without causing distortions in your facial expression).

If you are interested in targeting troublesome areas of your body (rather than your face), you will have an easier time concealing bruising and swelling under your party clothes. For example, breast augmentation and moderate liposuction procedures only require several days of recovery (allowing you to return to normal, not rigorous, activity). Larger volume liposuction procedures, breast reductions, breast lifts and abdominoplasty procedures (“tummy tucks”) require around two weeks to recover.

Other new noninvasive technologies — such as fat reduction by external freezing of cells, or cryolipolysis (CoolSculpting™ by Zeltiq™) and skin tightening of the face and neck using sound waves (Ultherapy™) — offer no downtime and are easy ways to get ready for the holiday season!

So there you have it... the skinny on the treatments and procedures that can be done on the final countdown to 2012. Here's to the "new" you!

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San Antonio leads Texas on ending horse-drawn carriage rides by 2030

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Horses will no longer pull carriages on the streets of downtown San Antonio.

San Antonio has pulled off something that the rest of Texas has yet to do, but it didn't come without some contentious conversations. City Council has unanimously voted (with one abstention) to phase out the use of horse-drawn carriages over the next five years. That means by January 1, 2030, there will be none on the streets at all; instead, there will be electric carriages.

These plans have been in the making since 2022 — if not always at the same level of intensity — when District 2 Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and District 3 Councilmember Phyllis Viagran wrote up some concerns about the horses' wellbeing. A special session at the end of October 2024 hinted to San Antonians that the end for this practice was neigh — sorry, nigh — and the final vote was made on December 12. In addition to accepting the plan, it extended its timeframe by two years.

The initial proposal included worries about the horses' exposure to traffic and pollution, as well how their presence might exacerbate those issues for the environment at large by slowing traffic. It also raised concerns about the effects of standing or walking on hard surfaces for too long, or spending time in extreme weather.

At the December 12 meeting, San Antonians gave impassioned speeches about animal welfare — both to call attention to the need for better conditions and to defend the reputations and jobs of current horse drivers — but it wasn't the first time the council heard from the public about the issue.

In a prior city survey, 50,476 respondents weighed in. Of those respondents, 51.98 percent said they liked the idea to "Transition horse-drawn carriages to electric carriages and pedicabs and ban horse drawn carriages completely." There were alternative solutions listed, but respondents were less drawn to them.

A cultural divide emerged in the data and continued in the December meeting: some people avoided the carriages because they worried about the treatment of the horses, while others enjoyed them because of their historical echoes and living legacy. Many speakers in favor of the plan used this to form their argument, raising questions about history versus progress.

More tangible objections to the plan hinged on the businesses — specifically five companies — and jobs that would be lost, which was the main factor behind extending the adjustment period.

Discussions about the particulars of the electric vehicles are still to come, as confirmed in the discussion near the end of the meeting. Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez addressed concerns about what would happen to the horses, mentioning the Brady Hunter Foundation as a future partner in finding them rescue homes.

Some council members also brought up rhetorical questions about animal exploitation by groups like Sea World, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, military and police forces, and even various groups in the Fiesta parade, although these did not come with a formal motion to pick the issues up.

This decision could have a ripple effect on other Texas cities. Dallas has recently considered a similar ban, but it appears to have stalled; Austin's attempts at a ban have been unsuccessful, but according to the Austin-American Statesman, only one operator is permitted to bring horses downtown. She declines to do so because the long hours are unfair to her and the horses. Houston does have horse-drawn carriages, and there seems to be little conversation about banning them.

Cities like Chicago and Salt Lake City have led the charge in the United States with some of the most prominent successful bans. Other cities around the world with bans include Brussels and Guadalajara, which both switched to electric models. Bans that have been around for years, like Guadalajara's and Prague's, still aren't out of the woods — people are still pushing back on the decision, so it sounds like San Antonio still has much work cut out for it.

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