I’m in the run up to my 50th birthday and I’ll be celebrating later this week. I’ve always been very lucky that I seem to have maintained a fairly youthful look without a lot of effort on my part. Nature seems to have been on my side as I don’t have any grey hairs or fillings yet either. But, the last few months, I’ve looked tired and felt it. I haven’t always recognised the face looking back at me out of the mirror. The dark circles haven’t helped and I’ve tried all sorts to get rid of them: drinking more water, a healthy diet and paying more attention to my sleep. It hadn’t really worked and I did feel a bit down about it especially with that milestone birthday looming.
Then Dermoperfection got in touch. I’d never really seriously considered the idea of having cosmetic non-surgical treatments, but the time seemed right. Any doubts I had disappeared when I met Stu Logan because he put me at my ease and gave me confidence in his ability. Stu is works as a nurse in the NHS alongside his role as the head of Dermoperfection. He offers a select range of treatments, preferring to build real expertise rather than offering a wider range of aesthetic options. This all reassured me.
Before treatment you have a consultation to assess your face and discuss your needs. This consultation includes personalised face mapping ensuring that you get the bespoke treatment location. It also means that Stu can explain what he suggests doing and show you what it will mean. Stu believes in using only the most reputable and premium products. There are a number of muscle and wrinkle relaxant injectable agents on the market, but there is genuinely only one brand of Botox® and this is what Dermoperfection uses. The injectable filler range are all premium range products and include the Juvéderm®, Allergan®, restylane®, Teosyal® brands. All are internationally market leading manufacturers.
Stu suggested fillers around my cheeks (which surprised me as I’ve always been a bit chubby cheeked, but Stu clearly knew what he was talking about, so I trusted to his expertise) and botox around the forehead and eyes. I wanted a very natural look and Stu assured me I would still look like me. So I booked in for an appointment a few days later.
On arrival Stu applied a numbing cream to my cheeks for a few minutes – this was to make the cheek fillers’ injections less painfully. First of all Stu applied the botox with a needle. This was really just a series of pin pricks and I was surprised how little it hurt. Applying the fillers on the other hand was quite painful, more than I’d expected. I know though from chatting to other bloggers and Dermoperfection clients that my experience wasn’t necessarily representative – it might just be that I was a bit more sensitive in that area.
before
after
After the treatments I was encouraged to look in the mirror and I was pleased to say I still looked like me. I felt a little full around the cheeks (which lasted a day or two), but I couldn’t really feel where the botox had gone in. I loved the fact that you can just walk in for your appointment and out again afterwards and no one need know.
Of course, afterwards I kept looking in the mirror trying to spot changes, despite having been told that I could expect to wait 3 days to see a difference and 2 weeks to see the full effect. I had the treatment on Friday lunchtime and there was nothing to see on Saturday, but when I woke up on Sunday, I couldn’t stop grinning. You see I’d got my old face back. I felt so much better for it. I’m a low maintenance type of girl, but I’d had to up the amount of makeup I was wearing to cover up the tired face I felt I was showing to the world. I feel so much more confident now wearing little or no makeup. The effect did get better over a few days. I liked this as it wasn’t a dramatic change.
The botox treatment has been a revelation to me. I had read a few horror stories about people who had overdone it. Stu is a master though of getting a natural look. I met a number of his other clients at a party a couple of weeks after my treatment and they all looked very natural. The effects last for a few months (which varies from person to person) and I’m certainly considering going back when I need to.
The fillers in my cheeks had a more subtle effect. I think having them made me realise that I had lost some of my face’s natural fullness over time. They do help complete the youthful look. I am relieved I don’t have to make a decision about them for a year or so, as fillers last longer than botox. For me the jury is still out on whether for me personally, the uncomfortableness of having the fillers injected is worth the results. Immediately, after having them done I wasn’t convinced it was worth it, but as the memories of the treatment fade, I’m starting to come around to the idea of having them again when the effects wear off.
Overall I’ve become a bit of a convert. This is because of the professionalism shown by the staff at Dermoperfection, but also because of the naturalness of the effects achieved.
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