DEFYING GRAVITY: MY FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH FACIAL INJECTIONS AND FILLERS

The month of January has been a month of facial maintenance, (to say the least). I decided to jump on the #dryJanuary wagon because I knew I was about to get a lot of work done on my face, and wanted to make sure my body was slightly detoxed before all the cuts and injectables were made. I just had my microbladed eyebrows touched up again after 6 months, and I finally decided it was time to take care of the lines on my face that I normally smooth out on FaceTune. It was just time.

I like being skinny and fit, and wouldn’t mind being even skinnier, (go ahead and hate me). I also know that skinny + gravity + age = higher chance of unwanted facial lines, aka wrinkles. I’ve been talking about the idea of getting Botox and fillers for the better half of last year (see TAKING THE PLUNGE & MOST ASKED), and the only reason I held back from doing it sooner was because of my ego. I loved being able to boast and brag about the fact that I look the way I do with just a great skincare routine. That I’ve never had any fillers or injectables to help me maintain by anti-aged skin. It felt good, (really good), to reveal my age to those that inquire and see their jaws drop because they can’t believe I’ve preserved myself so well.

However, each time I received my edited images back from my photographer, the first thing I did was open it up in FaceTune and use “Smoother” on my smile lines and crows feet that would show when I smile. I basically stopped showing teeth when I smiled because I didn’t want to have to deal with photoshopping those lines. I’m no spring chicken, and this isn’t a preventative measure as some young twenty-somethings would like to call it. I want to smooth out the lines I already have, especially since I’m in front of the camera more often than not. These aren’t excuses, but reasons why I felt compelled to go ahead with these non-surgical treatments. I did this because I wanted to feel better and look better, and yes, I did this for me.

To be honest, I decided to go with Westside Aesthetics because their marketing team approached me with a trade collaboration: social media coverage for some free injectables. Simple enough. But the coverage only entailed my Instagram account. I’m writing up this blog post on my own free will because I know there is someone out there who has as much qualms as I did about getting fillers and Botox. I feel like Botox has become THE word/terminology for all injectables. Kind of like how Uber has become the lexicon for shared rides. I didn’t even know there was anything else out there other than Botox, but apparently there are, and that’s exactly what I got instead.

I was still up in the air about the procedure and requested a consultation to get some questions answered and a feel of who was performing the injections. And that was how I met the wonderful Sari Hoban, a board certified physician assistant (PA-C) who works at Westside Aesthetics. BTW, her name is pronounced Sa-ry like Mary.

I immediately felt relaxed when Sari walked in because she didn’t have the cold, hard face that I was expecting from anyone who works at a medical spa. Sorry. I’m judgmental and have seen the over injected faces plastered all over Instagram. I have a deep fear of what happens to people once they start down this slippery slope of injections and fillers, and I didn’t and still don’t want to become one of them.

Sari had me look at myself with a hand held mirror and point out all the good things I loved about myself. Of course I said my high cheekbones and my healthy, youthful looking skin. Then she asked me what I would like to fix if money was no object. That’s easy: my smiles lines, the wrinkles on my eye lids when I smile, the acne scar that left a discoloration on my right cheek, and who wouldn’t want a little more pout to their lips? I stressed the emphasis of natural natural natural, so we decided that Dysport was a better option for me than Botox. I found an article on Dysport vs Botox, but I’m not sure if it’s unbiased or accurate. Either way, ask your physician or PA-C what they think is best for you based on the results that you want.

We decided that she’ll tackle my smiles lines and the crows feet, and I made an appointment for Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019. That was a little over a week ago and I feel absolutely no discomfort. I bruised very little after my appointment. I’m OBSESSED and in LOVE with my results, which looks so natural. I put together a little Vlog of the whole experience:

We, (Sari and I), will be hosting a live Q&A session on Instagram during my two-week follow up appointment. I apologize if you were wanting more answers from this blog post, but I figured most can be answered via vlog and/or the live Q&A session on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019 at around 11:30-11:45am PST. Be sure to tune in, and if you would like to go in for an appointment yourself, use code ‘KANGTHROPOLOGIE10’ to receive 10% off your treatment(s).

xo, Linda

UPDATE (2/26/2019)

I just went in for another follow up with Sari for some BEFORE and AFTER photos, and this time with no makeup so you can actually see the results. Also, I have uploaded the recorded Q & A session from Feb. 5, 2019 to my YouTube Channel (see video down below) if you want to hear some of the important questions that were asked by people like you and answered by us (me and Sari).