BOTOX for Babies: Part 3- Ice, Ice Baby

Have you been nervous to try an injectable because of bruising or discomfort? Read on… There is a TOTAL laundry list of ways to avoid little bruises or lessen the slight (and temporary) discomfort from an injectable cosmetic treatment, but here is one of my tips based on my experiences in the office:

She's as cold as ice:

Pressing a cold pack onto the area for 5 or 10 minutes before your procedure usually means vasoconstriction –so those little blood vessels are running for their lives, not begging to be hit with an injection (this is what causes bruising). BONUS: it helps dull the sensation, too!

Icing afterward will also prevent or reduce swelling, which is helpful as well. The cold reduces blood flow to the injury and can limit the size of the bruise. Additionally, the cold will decrease the inflammation (this IS an injury, after all) and reduce any swelling that you might have.

5-15 minutes on, and 5-15 minutes off with a cold pack can be helpful after an injection… so if you’re checking your email or watching Netflix when you get home, grab a cold one! (a cold pack, that is!)

Your doc will likely have specific instructions for you, including post-care. Please note: this is post is simply meant to be fun and informative, *not the authority on your health* so please always follow your doctors instructions... and NOT what you read on the internet. (yes, this blog included!)

Keep in mind that there are always risks to every procedure, so chat it up with your physician to make sure these procedures are appropriate for you… Until Next time: Stay safe, and fabulous!

Fillers, without the ouch: Dermasculpt Cannulas

When a physician uses a blunt-tipped cannula to administer a soft-tissue filler like Juvederm, Radiesse, Restylane, Perlane or other, they are using a blunt-ended, usually flexible, straw-shaped tool to move around the area. This tool allows the injector to lay little threads of the filler product smoothly and evenly. The key point here is that blunt-tipped micro cannulas are not sharp. When the filler is administered with one, the tissue is not pierced through or poked like it would with a ‘regular’ needle. The physician or nurse will be sliding the cannula in through a tiny pin-point opening that they create (in an inconspicuous place like the corners of the mouth). Then they'll thread/glide the cannula through the tissue, smoothly filling the area with the product. Additionally, they do not have to pierce through the surface skin multiple times like they would with a needle. This means less possibility of bruising for you!

It’s also less painful, and you'll typically end up with much less swelling. Here’s a great study from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, if you'd like to check that out. They did a 2 week comparison of post-injection 'downtime' of needles and micro-cannulas. They conclude that cannulas are the way to go!

l personally would describe the feeling as “weirdzies” versus “OUCH!!”. You can certainly feel something moving around, which is why I describe it more as a strange sensation, and not really a pain sensation. I've personally tried the Dermasculpt Cannula, which seems to be a great product. Dermasculpt cannulas have pretty much become the standard for soft-tissue filler treatment at Cadella Medical Spa and Wellness Center here in Chicago, so it's the brand I'm most familiar with.

Even though blunt-tipped cannulas are a fantastic way to have a soft-tissue filler injected, not all docs use them. They can be much more expensive than regular needles, and training is needed (there is a learning curve, as I understand).  It's also important to know that even if they utilize cannulas for injections in their practice, sometimes an injector will choose to use a traditional needle. It can depend on the product being used, because some fillers are thicker or thinner than others. It also depends on and what the injector wants to do with it, and where they'd like to put it, so it won't be appropriate all the time. Chat it out with your injector to see if you're a good candidate for blunt tipped micro cannulas at your next treatment.

Check out my other post on Dermasculpt and uplift filler technique here, and until next time: stay fabulous my friends!

If Michelangelo was into aesthetic medicine, he'd do this...

Michelangelo Buonarroti is known to have described his sculpting as a process where he would 'release' a figure from the block of stone in which it slumbered. The masters of the Renaissance (and contemporary sculptors, too) would often create a model of their ideal figure first. Typically made out of clay, the artist would mold and manipulate the shapes to take form- and create something beautiful.

To me, this is not unlike the soft-tissue filler sculpting methods of today. Injectors will often use combinations of Artefill, Juvederm, Radiesse, Perlane, Belotaro, and/or Restylane to fill in areas that have lost facial volume due to age, injury, or medication/treatment. After the product is administered, they'll sometimes use their hands to manipulate the material and sculpt the filler inside the tissue, (no, it doesn't hurt!) since at this point, the fillers have a clay-like consistency. It absolutely makes me think of sculpting, like the masters of the Renaissance.

I've got soft-tissue fillers on my mind since the fabulous injectable event that I worked last night. We were SO busy, because once you've discovered who to go to for a gentle, natural liquid facelift -or- uplift injection, you don't need to look any farther. Dr. Eliza Parker in Chicago is that physician (and a sort of Michelangelo) for many people. She is a MASTER with the soft tissue filler sculpting techniques and the use of Dermasculpt blunt-tipped micro cannulas. She uses the Dermasculpt cannula instead of a traditional needle, and smoothly threads filler into the tissue. She'll do this as a part of her sculpting technique as her tool to restore lost volume and build a sort of scaffolding, which helps create a structure underneath any lax or sagging facial skin.

If you were to watch her perform an uplift, you could see how she gently moves and sculpts the product to the exact place she wants it to create a very pretty and natural contour, gently lifting jowles and naso-labial folds (nose-to-mouth). Here is a video of Dr Pierone in Vero Beach FL performing an uplift. We were lucky enough to visit him in his office to observe his technique a couple years back. You may find it fascinating...

If you’re in the Chicago-area, I would highly recommend seeing Dr. Eliza Parker for a consultation: her technique is total artistry. She even trains other medical professionals how inject with these special cannulas. Here's Dr Parker's website, so you can check it out!

And if you happen to be in Florida, you could certainly give Dr Pierone a call. Dermasculpt seems to be having trouble with their physician-finder page as I write this, so if you're in any other of the 48 states... (sorry!) check back with them soon to find an MD in your area: Here's the Dermasculpt link for you, and until next time: stay fabulous, my friends!