This past December 16th, I finally took the plunge and tried my very first cosmetic procedures. I admit that this has been something I’ve thought about for a long time now but so many factors held me back. For starters, there’s the fear of all the things that can go wrong. Secondly, I had no idea of who to go to nor did I feel comfortable asking those I believed had had some work done, for any recommendations. Lastly & most importantly, I worried about winding up looking like a caricature of myself.
Then in early December, I was contacted by PR asking if I would be interested in meeting with Dr. Adi Yoskovitch, and my journey into medical aesthetic treatments began. It was at this point that some soul-searching set in; what did I want done and why? So, after doing my homework and weighing all the pros & cons, I decided I would try 1-2 treatments, document the experience and share every.single.detail with you all. No holds barred.
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I would be lying if I didn’t say that vanity had plenty to do with it and while I’m genuinely happy with the overall way I look, a few things have begun bothering me these past few years. Being a ‘serial frowner’ my entire life, the result is that the dreaded #11 had developed between my brows (you know, 2 vertical creases the size of the Grand fricking Canyon). Then there’s the ‘marionette lines’ on either side of my mouth (ugh…that term) which made my resting face look perpetually mad/sad, regardless of how I was really feeling. As well, my jawline has started heading towards jowl territory, but I’m not ready to tackle that … yet.
For those who want to know more, I’ll be posting my video recap of the experience on my YouTube channel – stay tuned!
The vial of Botox that was used on me
I apparently needed the Juvéderm Ultra Plus version … sigh …
When I met with Dr. Adi, he began the conversation by asking me what I wanted to do; after listening to my concerns, he added a few thoughts of his own and then proceeded to take a photo of my face in order to clearly illustrate what would be done, how, & why.
During our discussion, he made it clear to me that he wouldn’t do anything I didn’t feel comfortable with and that he preferred to stay on the conservative side — all of which suited me perfectly, since this was my maiden voyage and I wanted to take baby steps.
So, it was decided that I would try a combination; Botox between the brows/forehead level and at the far outer corner of the eyes to smooth out crows feet, plus Juvéderm (filler) for the lines beside my mouth.
I was then prepped by aesthetic technician, Lucie Beauchemin, who made it a point to not only explain everything that was about to happen, but everything I would most likely experience later on as well. She rubbed a numbing agent at the site where the fillers would go (the afore-mentioned lovely marionette lines), as the injections in that area can be painful. She also cleaned & sterilized my forehead & temples in preparation for the Botox injections. At this point Dr. Adi came in and after asking me to smile so he could ‘map out’ my features, he began with the Botox injections (no numbing agent needed). Five minutes later, and it was done.
The fillers took a little longer — approximately 12 minutes in total, and then it was all over. Apart from some tiny pricking sensations (for both the Botox and Juvéderm), I really hadn’t felt much pain at all. Any bleeding was also minimal at best, and I was fortunate to not experience swelling either. When it was all over, Lucie applied some arnica gel along all the injected areas, in order to minimize any bruising that might potentially occur.
In all my glory, fresh from the procedures (you can see some redness)
Yes, this is literally 5 minutes after the procedures and still sporting ‘brow grooves’
The dream team: flanked by PR queen Jillian Zrihen of Tracey Brooke PR & Lucie Beauchemin, aesthetic technician (in white)
Even though cosmetic procedures have become commonplace now, there’s still a sense of stigma that lingers and the hush-hush conspiracy is alive and well. Doing any kind of aesthetic work is a personal choice and I was tired of looking tired. The fact that both procedures are not permanent (Botox can last anywhere from 3 – 9 months, while Juvéderm can sometimes go to 18 months), made my decision to try both out that much easier.
Had you asked me 2 weeks ago what I thought of the results, then I would have said that I wasn’t as impressed as I expected to be — plus the unaccustomed numbness at my forehead felt weird. Now, however that things have finally started ‘settling’ (guess I’m a late bloomer), it’s a whole different ballgame. My forehead is smoother, but not ‘plastic-looking’ and while the furrow between my brows has significantly reduced, there’s still a bit left which I find makes my face look totally natural. In fact, I look like a fresher version of me … but still me. As these procedures were performed right before Christmas where I would soon be gathering with family, validation came in the form of no one noticing that I had had anything done; that meant that the work had been performed exactly as I wanted. I still feel odd along my forehead, but that might have more to do with how much I expressed myself with that part of my face, so I’m still adjusting.
Final verdict: my experience was completely positive and more importantly, the face I see looking back at me looks so much more refreshed. Sort of like Eugenia 2.0, and that totally works.
Opening photo credit
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