Beauty is only skin deep…..or is it? Well, one thing’s for certain: if your insides are ugly, your outsides will never even have the chance to shine through. Let’s reminisce back to our favorite fairytale of the beloved Snow White and the Evil Queen, YES Snow White’s skin was white as snow not a wrinkle in sight, but the Wicked Queen was not only cruel, obsessive and vain, she couldn’t see past her own insecurities to appreciate any type of beauty: INNER or OUTER. Beauty is more about how you treat others, how you carry yourself, how you live your life full of grace. Someone’s personality-or lack there of-can really alter our perceptions of one another for better….. or worse. And the most beautiful thing any of us can wear is confidence.
But what about the “most of us” who generally like the way we look, take care of ourselves, and treat others the way we’d like to be treated, but have a few areas in our appearances that we’d like to touch up here or there? If you fall into this category, then you are in luck because I’ve recently been preserving my youth…. one syringe at a time.
Cosmetic Facial Procedures 101: Where Should you Go?
First things first, you should choose a medical practice whom you trust and has good credibility. I like to research my physicians online prior to any visit I may have, anytime someone is going to alter your appearance, you should take the time to do your research and make sure they have good rapport in the community. I chose to see Dr. Gilpin and his nurse practitioner Nurse Zan at Gilpin Facial Plastics in Nashville. Everyone at the office makes me feel extremely welcome and takes the time to educate me on the various cosmetic facial procedures I can choose from. They have truly created a community of trust between the doctor and patient. I never feel rushed and everyone takes the time to make sure all of my questions have been answered. Dr. Gilpin is one of the most knowledgable in the biz and Nurse Zan might as well be one of my newest gal pals, pretty sure our next office visit might just need to end in margaritas and queso! She has the best sense of humor and is incredible at her job! She is always honest with me, not overdoing it “a la Kylie Jenner lips.” Remember the goal is to look natural, we don’t want to start treating areas that don’t need it just yet.
When it comes to trying out the newest fad or trend, I am an open book. I love being the guinea pig and I’ll be the first person to tell you if it’s worth it or not. I started getting Botox on my 30th birthday. There is no perfect age to start this process seeing as we all age differently and it’s definitely not for some people and that’s totally fine. This was just the age that I had told myself that I would be ready to start taking preventative measures to preserve my youth with cosmetic facial procedures.
Side fact: My husband was NOT on board with my anti-aging self so I didn’t tell him for 6 month because I knew he’d be upset with me or try and give me a guilt trip about my decision. Ok this is not a good idea people, but I really did not want a lecture. I was a mother of two who wanted to make decisions for my own body. The funny thing is I know so many women who have kept this very same “dirty little secret” from their spouse for fear of the EXACT same thing. So apparently I am not alone. Moral of the story is I did come clean and he did come around, but again if you are going to get Botox, fillers, whatever be sure that you are doing it for YOU and YOU alone and it’s probably a good idea to be honest with your spouse.
Before
After
Cosmetic Facial Procedures 101: Everything you Should Know About Botox
I typically get Botox in my forehead, around my outer eyes and on occasion above my upper lip to give a little pucker or lift (this is a good alternative if you are not ready to get lip fillers, it only lasts about 6 weeks, but makes you feel like you have a plumped up pout). Botox typically lasts about 4 months on me and usually costs me around $450 a visit (it’s about $12 a unit). Some people need more or less so the cost can vary. It’s great for preventing wrinkles, improving pesky fine lines, and weakens muscle contracture. There are different kinds, I prefer Botox over Dysport, Dysport is often cheaper and lasts about the same amount of time, but for me it left my face looking really shiny and oily so I prefer Botox.
Cosmetic Facial Procedures 101: Everything your Should Know About Fillers
Recently I tried Volbella lip filler, Vollure tear trough filler (under the eyes), as well as Vollure filler in my nasolabial folds. I am a HUGE fan of filler. It really makes an immediate and noticeable difference in your appearance if you want something quick and effective. My face texture looks more fresh and the tone much brighter after adding in the filler. If I hadn’t told you I got it, you probably would not notice. You would just think that something looked a bit different about me, but you couldn’t quite put your finger on it……I look like myself, just 5 years younger! Filler is great because it helps restore volume to the face and hands and improves wrinkles and folds. Basically any area you may have loss in, filler can increase volume!!! It feels a bit tight when they first inject it, but loosens up after a week or so and then you can’t feel it at all. It typically last up to a year and costs roughly $675 a syringe (and reduces to $600 for the second), it’s recommended to go back in every 6 months to reevaluate and add in any touchups if need be so that you aren’t starting completely over. As a reference I needed one syringe for my lips, 2 1/2 for my tear trough and one for my nasolabial folds. Up above, in the photo on the right only the right side of my face had been injected with filler. My right tear trough needed 1 syringe while my left needed 1 1/2. As Nurse Zan says, “Each side of our face is like sisters not twins, no two sides are the exact same.”
Cosmetic Facial Procedures 101: Microneedling vs. Vampire Facial
I also had the privilege to try both Microneedling as well as the widely talked about VAMPIRE FACIAL. This was my first time trying any type of needling on my face. I have tried dermaplaning and it made my skin feel nice and soft and was great to scrape off all of those old pesky dead skin cells, but I wouldn’t say it minimized any dark areas or pigmentation like microneedling did for me. Microneedling improved my acne scarring, the tone and texture of my skin, as well as the pore size. There was minimal downtime here, although the first day I was quite red. Think cherry tomato red, but so worth it! Microneedling is a quick collagen inducting treatment. Nurse Zan applied a topical numbing cream which sat for about 30 minutes and then used this little tool called the skin pen which uses micro needles to penetrate the skin. The treatment probably lasted 10 minutes and was only tender around my lip and nose area. It just felt like a lot of tiny vibrations and overall the treatment was fairly comfortable. They recommend getting 3 treatments spaced 3-4 weeks apart for optimal results. Costs are as follows: One treatment of microneedling is $300, a package of 3 microneedling treatments is $750, one treatment of microneedling with PRP is $500, and 3 microneedling treatments with PRP is $1,350.
So if you are like me and want to try one of these new anti aging techniques out, but you are wondering if you are a better candidate for Microneedling or the Vampire Facial? The main difference between the two is that the Vampire Facial is an extract of your own blood that contains platelets, when PRP is placed back into your skin it initiates a localized stem cell response. The actual skin penetration process however is very similar to Microneedling. Also if you can it’s best to leave the extra blood that was generated on your face for at least the remainder of the day. This was difficult for me seeing as I did not want to scare off small children, and I have plenty of them! It does look a little creepy, I’ll be honest. For me, I think you get more bang for you buck by getting the Vampire Facial. Any time we can utilize our own blood cells back into our bodies this is a win win people even if we have to look a little dead.
Cosmetic Facial Procedures 101: It’s a Marathon Not a Race
As much as I’d like to say a one time facial will solve all of your skin needs, that’s just not realistic. It’s a marathon not a race with our skin, we have to pay attention to it on a daily basis. Trying any of these procedures once is great, but in all honesty I do think you need to purchase a package and do them a few times in order to see any noticeable results. Be diligent with your skin care products, use them daily. I always use a cleanser, toner, lotion, SPF, eye cream and retinol. Skin care for myself is a science, I often have to try out many different things and see how my skin responds and every once in a while I reed to reset and try out something different. They recommend not introducing several new products at once. Instead try out one new product every 2 weeks and see how your skin reacts and go from there. For a full breakdown and list of all of the injectable procedures I had done, please visit Dr. Gilpin’s procedure page and to learn more about the Skin Pen and the benefits of micro needling you can read more about that here.
Be Your Own Kind Of Beautiful
Often if our outsides can match our insides we might gain just a little more confidence in ourselves and it can feel a little easier to take on life one day at a time. So if trying injectables or microneedling makes you feel better about how you look, then by all means you should try it. Don’t worry about what others think if you do or don’t try some things. First off it’s none of their darn business what you choose to do to your body. And secondly, they are probably already doing it and just not telling you….seriously lol! Either way, in the end we are all going to age. It’s the way God intended it to be. I’ll leave you with a quote,
“Aging is an extraordinary process where you become the person you always should have been.” -David Bowie
To schedule your next appointment with Dr. Gilpin’s office please contact them here. In the meantime check out their newest procedures and give them a follow on their Instagram page!
**Be sure to ENTER our Instagram giveaway this week, we will be gifting one of you a “Glam Package” valued at over $1,300!!!
– SHOP MY CASUAL FALL LOOK –
