Vampire Facelift: Stories

Though I've been getting injections of filler all over my face for about 5 years, I never put anything under the eye because of the risk of bruising and lumpiness due to the thin skin. I'm an aesthetician, and did some research on Selphyl and was intrigued by the stem cell/regenerative properties of the filler along with the fact that it was touted as being very safe for the under the eye area because its made with your own blood.

I had a problem with alot of darkness under my eyes (I'm 44) along with the beginnings of crepiness and a few wrinkles under the eye. It was time to do something, so I took the plunge and went in for the treatment.

My doctor put a facial numbing cream on me for about 40 min prior to the treatment. I will say that even with the numbing, there was still discomfort. I can normally tolerate injections without numbing, but in this case the doctor is injecting faily viscous material deep under your eyes...and it stings!!! Plus, as the filler starts to swell your tissue, there is a uncomfortable sensation of fullness pushing up against your eyes.

He injected the equivalent of 4 syringes of filler in my peri orbital area. Post treatment I looked like I had gotten into a bar fight - I put my sunglasses on before I even hit the lobby. That night and into the early hours of the next morning I swelled up even worse - my face looked weird, almost cat-like with the puffiness under my eyes into my upper cheeks. I was so swollen that my vision was even a little distorted. I'm not going to lie, it freaked me out.

Its been about 3 days since the procedure and my swelling is just starting to go down. I figure I have at least another 3 days before my face looks "normal" again. I've got some slight bruising but its the swelling that looks the worst. Docs office tells you 3 days of down time....prepare for at least twice that. And you can't touch your eyes, no make up, no washing the area, no exercise, no extreme temperature changes for the initial 3 days. If you're going to do it...have the time to be home alone where no one will see you, cuz it ain't pretty.

That being said, I think the results are going to be favorable. The idea with Selphyl seems to be that they "overfill" the area (sort of like fat grafting), hence the swelling...because alot of it is reabsorbed. There is an initial plumping effect expected, with the best results coming in 3 to 4 weeks as the regenerative process starts to work improving the skin from within.

I'll post updates...because I was very dissapointed prior to my procedure not to find sufficient on this forum about people's experiences.

Its now been a week since the treatment and all of the swelling is gone...and with it, the appearance of fullness in the treated area. Its a little dissapointing - my face now looks almost the same as it did pre-treatment..darkness under eyes has returned. Now the waiting game - dr says that it will take 3-4 weeks for the regenerative process to take place and for me to see fullness and improved skin tone in the treated areas. Hmmph. Stay tuned.

Well its now been about 3 weeks since my treatment. There does appear to be some skin rejuvenation and some slight fullness that has returned under my eyes. The darkness seems a little dimished but overall any improvements are minimal at best. Doc said that results can continue to improve for up to 6 weeks post treatment, so maybe it will get better? He also told me that his wife had 2 treatments (3 mos apart) to get the best result.
In the mean time, I am going to start using my Palovia laser under my eyes at home to help the lines/crepiness and quality of skin under the eye and see if that makes a difference.

After using my Palovia laser to further improve the skin under my eye, I noticed an indentation or line developing between my lower eye and upper cheek. It looked like I had slight bags under my eyes that were not there before. A visit to my PS and he indicated that the filler I had in my upper cheeks had migrated, causing the appearance of the indentation or slight hollowing under the eye.!!!! Not at all pleased with that. I am unsure whether this was cause by Selphyl, the Palovia laser or what - but something to watch out for.
Other than having to fix that problem, I have noticed in looking at past photos of me that my upper face does look better/younger than it did before. Its subtle, but there is a fullness and my face looks softer - so I am pleased that I had it done. I'm 44 and I got carded twice last week (once for vodka, and once for a lottery ticket!), and since I haven't been carded much in the last couple years, something must be working!!!