Do-It-Yourself Facial Rejuvenation: A Recipe for Problems

As a facial plastic surgeon who performs treatments ranging from BOTOX® Cosmetic to nose surgery to skin cancer correction, I can't emphasize enough how important it is to have even "minor" facial rejuvenation treatments performed by a qualified professional.

Recently several patients right here in California have injected their faces with some type of "do it yourself" injectable that they bought online, and in every case that I know of they're now having to undergo plastic surgery to correct the problems that developed when their body reacted to the unknown substances they injected. Nonsurgical treatments frequently get great results without surgery, but they still take plenty of training to apply safely and in ways that look right for your face.

Questionable, do-it-yourself "fillers" available online might seem cheap, but there's a reason they're not legal – they're practically guaranteed to create damaging results since they're bound to be the wrong substances, administered in the wrong ways, in the wrong setting. Like a good San Francisco facelift or rhinoplasty procedure, a good nonsurgical treatment requires proven approaches, clean equipment, and the experience of a medical professional who understands how your features, health, and skin quality will affect your results.

Bottom Line: Even if a facial rejuvenation procedure can be perfectly safe when administered by a qualified professional, it simply isn't wise to take your health and results into your own hands.