This May I went back to Visage for my usual top up of treatments. Maintenance is really important for Botox and fillers.
Depending on the area of the face and the product used as well as your lifestyle the effects of a treatment can wear off quicker or slower. For example; I do not smoke and avoid the sun which assists in the longevity of the product in my skin. However your diet, if you have a fast metabolism, your lifestyle in terms of environment all play a role.
Filler into the cheeks can sometimes disperse quicker then other areas like the lips. A deep fold in the skin might return quicker if it has been there a long time.
I allow myself 6-9 months for maintenance of all my treatments. This includes lip and cheek filler, Botox to the jaw and crow’s feet.
In the last 12 months I have noticed lines appearing around my mouth. These are known as marionette lines and are a common area of filler for patients. The lines I have are more laughter lines and dimples, but I have noticed that when resting my cheeks still show the crease. When wearing makeup it is most noticeable and recently the area has become dry and red making it more noticeable.
Dr Aicken advised I have some superficial filler in the area and injected 0.5ml of Restylane Lidocaine filler into the creases. Immediately you can see the difference and with just two injections per area. This filler brand is thinner and works well under the skin so that it does not lump together and can be moulded. I then had a top up of 0.1ml to my top lips ensuring the bottom lip was still larger.
In addition Dr Aicken's team injected 0.5ml of Restylane Lidocaine into the horizontal crease on my chin then injected 4 units of Botox to the sides of the chin to shrink the muscle and improve the contour of my face.
I was advised that the injections might cause some swelling making the area puffy or appear bigger but this would wear off and reduce in size. I slept with my head slightly elevated that evening to reduce the swelling and by the morning I was really pleased with the results. The pores on my chin appear smaller and by filling the line it made the contour of my face smoother. I am chuffed with the results. No bruising to the area and my dry skin as reduced.