What to expect when having Anti-Wrinkle Injections
I didn’t sleep much the night before – tossed and turned worrying about what the ‘micro-fine injections’ (needles! needles!) would feel like. I have sensitive nerve receptors and am not a fan of pain – in fact, people like me feel pain more strongly than people with more blunted nerve endings. Pain sensitivity is not only subjective, it’s also genetic, and linked with individual anatomy including bio-neurological processes, or so I’ve heard.
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So I was excited and frightened at the same time – much as I suspect I’ll be if and when I have Plastic Surgery, although likely I’ll be more so when the time comes.
I’d heard a variety of descriptions from “hardly noticeable” to “that was ouch.”
I have a low tolerance for pain and sensitive skin – so I was thinking, “this could hurt – a lot!” So here I am a bit worried (actually I always looked that way before injections – it was a pretty seriously ingrained ‘concentration’ line). And that white stuff is the numbing cream, but it’s more supposed to go around the lips – and in my opinion, ice works better.
My Birthday Treat – My 1st Anti-Wrinkle Injectable Treatment
So after deciding ‘enough was enough’ with tolerating the deepening forehead wrinkles and the sagging jowls, I decided to see what Anti-Wrinkle Injections could actually do for me. On my 53rd Birthday, exactly.
Friends were ringing to wish me a Happy Birthday, so I told them I was ‘getting a facelift’ but would see them on the weekend.
“Injectables! – a liquid facelift,” I’d confirm after they wondered how I’d be getting out on the town in bandages. “No downtime rejuvenation” was a key selling point for me. Which was fairly important to me as I was hosting an event on the weekend and had friends in town from overseas. Oh, and did I mention I was seeing my ex-husband that evening?
Not that he would care how I looked, but I guess I didn’t want to look ‘odd’ or puffy – he’s the ‘strictly natural ageing’ type. Which from what I know, is probably just a male way of saying they couldn’t be bothered about how they look as they age. Still, I didn’t want him scratching his head about my choices for an injectable treatment if it’d left me looking ‘done’ or worse – ‘way overdone.’ I wasn’t worried about that, really – as I knew my injector focused on really natural results.
Okay… the truth was, I was worried – just a little – about looking ‘overdone.’ And that’s probably a good thing. It encouraged me to be very clear in my communications about what I wanted – and I knew my Coco Ruby Cosmetic Injector would use her expert judgment anyway. But yes, I was, a wee-bit worried.
My friends were not injectable virgins – they’d all gotten injectables long before I did – but only one had mentioned it.
In chatting to my friends, they’d all had something done – and gushed to talk about it. But it was funny how only one person really spoke openly about it until I said something about my own pending ‘liquid facial’ treatment.
Most of them had good things to say about the treatments – but a few said they wouldn’t try certain things again.
“I did my lips but hated it,” said one. “They didn’t suit me. My face can’t carry lips.” In hindsight and after speaking with our top Injector about it, Sandra, I think she may have had too much lip filler, or the wrong kind – or the wrong approach that didn’t suit her face.
Both quality and amounts of the volumising product can apparently make your lips too large – or a bit ‘alien feeling.’
“Your lips won’t feel like they’re yours anymore,” said my well-versed friend.
My Injector at Coco Ruby said that result is often related to the type of injectable (brand quality) as well as the amount used.
My Coco Ruby Injector reassured me she’d use a very soft lip filler that she was ‘very natural feeling’ -and it was. They feel JUST like my lips did before, but a tiny bit fuller.
(So this tells me there are products out there that leave lips feeling not-natural because she emphasised it — a lot — before she injected my lips. She must have reassured me “your new lips will feel just like your own lips” more than four times before injecting. I got the impression this was a common complaint by people using injectors who weren’t using the right products or who used too much.
And here are the NEW lips – slightly fuller but not unnatural. I LOVE them (but might want just a bit more….just a tiny bit though. I know she’ll not go overboard but I can see how some people might get addicted to the ‘overfilled’ syndrome).
Key questions I had about Anti-Wrinkle Injections before I had my First Liquid Facelift Procedure
1. Did the treatment hurt?
- 95% of it was absolutely painless or a minor pinch – a mosquito hurts far more.
- But yes – the lip injections hurt. A lot.
- Ice helped tremendously, though – and it may have been that the numbing cream wore up before the session.
2. What did you have done as part of the liquid facelift using cosmetic injections?
My forehead line and a wonky (uneven) brow were my main concerns, but I was craving slightly fuller lips as well.
During the facial assessment with my Injector, I got excited about what injectables COULD POSSIBLY do about the other facial concerns I had.
I was initially thinking I was about ready to get a facelift (and still believe that’s on the cards in the not so distant future).
But I wondered what could be done – then and there on the day – with zero downtime.
3. What I hoped for in relation to the Liquid Facelift using cosmetic injections and lip filler
I asked one of Coco Ruby’s Senior Injectors if she could fix a sagging chin/jawline. She was honest with me that she could only do so much; this was probably more for surgery or a double-chin reduction injection. She didn’t promise she could – but she said they MIGHT work. And she said the eyelids were probably a bit past ‘fixing with injectables’ (she didn’t word it that way) and that I’d probably need an eyelid lift, but that we’d “see what could be done.”
I also had a slightly recessed chin, and she gave it what I’d call “a chin booster shot” of filler that just gave it a bit more definition and balance from the side.
And best of all, she enhanced my cheeks (and jawline) to try to remedy some of the sagging skin (restoring volume in certain places of the face makes it look better – as bones atrophy the facial features get more ‘bland’ or ‘flat’ as I call it – and whilst the results are subtle, I can tell – and it’s just enough to make me feel a lot better about my features again.
4. What was the pain like of the first anti-Wrinkle Injections?
Far, far less than anticipated.
Almost non-existent in all areas except the lips. The lips DID hurt (I cried out once, but I’m quite pain-sensitive).
But I love the look of my slightly fuller lips – and it hurt for such a short period of time (seconds, if that) – that I’d readily do it again. (I did find icing the area just before injection to the lips was extremely helpful).
Why it didn’t hurt is that my injector was obviously a very skilled injector – I could tell by the way she was injecting me. I took note of how quickly she could temporarily numb the area and then inject. But it’s not like the numbing from a dentist – there’s not really that numb feeling afterwards – it just felt normal. The lips stayed sensitive for a few days but the rest of my face had no pain or tenderness at all – and I had a LOT of areas injected!
The Results
I love the results and feel it’s given me a huge confidence boost about my facial appearance as I age. But I think I’ll still want an eyelid lift and probably a neck lift or facelift within the next few years. And I want to try ‘just a bit more’ filler on my lips.
Did anyone notice my first anti-wrinkle injections?
Most people didn’t get a chance to notice as I was telling EVERYONE how excited I was about the treatment and the results.
Those I didn’t tell didn’t indicate they’d noticed anything – but mentioned I looked ‘better’ – and one person who sees me very frequently said: “I thought you may have had something done [as you looked a bit younger/fresher] but I didn’t notice you were away for any length of time so I wasn’t sure.”
Worth it?
Absolutely. Now that I’ve found a good injector in Melbourne…time to find someone to cover up the grey!
Any good recommendations for a miracle-working hairdresser?
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