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*Treatment results may vary
Love it!
Ok. It's been two weeks now. The Perlane has settled down, feels soft and just like my own cheeks. The difference is very subtle, but I can see it and love it. It took a good 8-10 days for me to feel comfortable to go out in public, especially to see people I know. I had a lot of product injected, so that is why it took so long for my swelling to go down. But, no one can tell. That's good.
My boyfriend, who I managed to avoid for 10 days and does not know I had anything done, keeps saying how wonderful I look. In fact, he keeps repeating himself so much, he actually apologized for over complimenting me. At one point, his exact words were..'You look so good lately. Like 5 year younger.' Jackpot!! I guess that means that I will have to keep up the maintenance. I wasn't trying to look younger. I just wanted to not look so sunken.
One point I have learned, now that the cheeks are fuller and nicer, the temples really do look sunken. I will have them injected too. I think that will help with the overall look.
I think using HA injections for replacing lost volume is nice. Just take it slow.
If you are having lost volume replaced in your face, please don't overlook the cheek hollows. It seems like all the doctors want to do is add volume to tops of cheeks (cheekbones). In fact, one of the doctors here on Realself questioned why my doctor injected my cheek hollows and not my cheekbones. I guess it depends on your face, but look at old pictures of yourself and see whether cheek hollows wouldn't be better than cheek bones. No one wants a pillow face.
My boyfriend, who I managed to avoid for 10 days and does not know I had anything done, keeps saying how wonderful I look. In fact, he keeps repeating himself so much, he actually apologized for over complimenting me. At one point, his exact words were..'You look so good lately. Like 5 year younger.' Jackpot!! I guess that means that I will have to keep up the maintenance. I wasn't trying to look younger. I just wanted to not look so sunken.
One point I have learned, now that the cheeks are fuller and nicer, the temples really do look sunken. I will have them injected too. I think that will help with the overall look.
I think using HA injections for replacing lost volume is nice. Just take it slow.
If you are having lost volume replaced in your face, please don't overlook the cheek hollows. It seems like all the doctors want to do is add volume to tops of cheeks (cheekbones). In fact, one of the doctors here on Realself questioned why my doctor injected my cheek hollows and not my cheekbones. I guess it depends on your face, but look at old pictures of yourself and see whether cheek hollows wouldn't be better than cheek bones. No one wants a pillow face.
Now day 5
It is now day 5. It took some time for the little swelling I had under the eyes to go down, but it is looking good. There is still a little lump there when I smile. It think the eyes will turn out fine. But to be honest, I don't think the under eye filler made much difference. I only had .4ml in each eye. I think I'll just stick to a little concealer.
The cheeks have gone way down. Since the 3rd day, I can see marked improvement in swelling. The back part of the cheek is still hard, so there must still be some more swelling in that area. Bruises are slight, but where there is a bruise there is swelling too. Still icing and using Arnica.
I am so glad that I took that picture of myself just after the procedure. At this stage when things seem to be settling down, it is easy to wonder if you still have swelling or are just over-filled. Having that picture helps.
I'm going out in public for the first time tomorrow. We'll see if my friend notices. I hope not!
Also, don't freak out if you wake-up more swollen than the night before. We are all usually a little swollen and puffy in the mornings anyway. Stay calm until at least an hour has passed. Then, you can tell whether or not the swelling and bruising improved overnight.
Last tip- My smile is a little off, but I hope that will be ok once the filler finally settles. When you are in the doctor's office, sometimes they let you look in the mirror to see your just injected face. They are probably asking if it is ok, or if you need any more 'tweaks'. At this point, smile! Make sure your filler looks good while smiling. That way, you can avoid getting a strange smile from a filler that looks good with no expression, but looks 'off' when you smile.
The cheeks have gone way down. Since the 3rd day, I can see marked improvement in swelling. The back part of the cheek is still hard, so there must still be some more swelling in that area. Bruises are slight, but where there is a bruise there is swelling too. Still icing and using Arnica.
I am so glad that I took that picture of myself just after the procedure. At this stage when things seem to be settling down, it is easy to wonder if you still have swelling or are just over-filled. Having that picture helps.
I'm going out in public for the first time tomorrow. We'll see if my friend notices. I hope not!
Also, don't freak out if you wake-up more swollen than the night before. We are all usually a little swollen and puffy in the mornings anyway. Stay calm until at least an hour has passed. Then, you can tell whether or not the swelling and bruising improved overnight.
Last tip- My smile is a little off, but I hope that will be ok once the filler finally settles. When you are in the doctor's office, sometimes they let you look in the mirror to see your just injected face. They are probably asking if it is ok, or if you need any more 'tweaks'. At this point, smile! Make sure your filler looks good while smiling. That way, you can avoid getting a strange smile from a filler that looks good with no expression, but looks 'off' when you smile.
I had 0.8ml of Restylane L injected in tear...
I had 0.8ml of Restylane L injected in tear troughs (0.4ml per eye) and a lot of Perlane in my cheek hollows (2.5ml on right side, 3.2ml on left side). I went to a dermatologist who only does esthetic procedures. The doctor originally estimated much less product for the cheeks. But while she was injecting, she told me that she really thought I could use more. She applied numbing cream before the injections and ice afterwards. Because she used so much product, it ended up being very expensive.
I got home and took pictures right away. It looked pretty good, but a bit too full. I think that's due to some swelling already starting.
BTW- I have add a little bit of filler before in the nasal labial folds and lips. I know that you can swell, so I wanted to keep track of the swelling and recovery. I suggest taking a picture as soon as you can after the injection. When you swell up and start getting nervous, you can look at that picture and remind yourself how you will actually look after the recovery is over. (pretty much)
I ice and use Arnica homeopathic granules and Arnica cream. I try to sleep with my head raised, but that is very uncomfortable for me.
First night, I didn't sleep much. When I woke up in the morning (about 12 hours after the injection), I was super swollen. I looked like really scary. I knew I would swell and I did have a large amount of product injected. Saying that, and having done fillers before, I expected swelling, but not like this!! I called the doc to make sure this was ok, and they tried to calm me down and told me to wait until day 3 to start seeing the swelling reduce.
Day 1- after the injections was somewhat uncomfortable. Besides swelling, there was some redness and heat on the surface. Not too much bruising. I couldn't open my mouth very far, so I really didn't each much. Just some crackers.
Day 2- The swelling increased again overnight, but started to subside in the evening. This was a great relief. Apparently, it is common to look worse the 2nd day.
Day 3- Today, swelling is going down but I still look like I have a beach ball in my mouth. Because I had so much trauma from the amount of Perlane injected into the cheeks, I think I will have considerable swelling for at least another 2 days. Oh- the eyes look good. A very minimal amount of swelling and no bruising. (morning photo attached)
Every time I look in the mirror, it is very scary. But, I am so glad that I took that picture directly after the injections. Although I think I am a little swollen in that pic, it makes me feel much better to see myself how I should look once the recovery is done. I recommend doing this.
Also, I think it is a good idea to take a younger picture of yourself to the doc. If your looking to change your face, then no. But, if you are trying to look like you did 5 years ago, this can help your doctor understand what look you are going for.
I hope my cheeks will look ok after the recovery. I am worried about being overfilled. This is my first time having a big filler job. If I decide to do this next time, I think I will ask the doctor to be very conservative and I can come back for more if needed.
Oh, and if I decide to continue with Perlane touch-ups for cheeks, I will take several pictures for the doctor. That way, they can replicate the look. Too many people get touch ups and look awful. How many times have you gone to the hair dresser and had the same cut by the same person and it came out different? Doctor's can't remember everything.
Fingers crossed [RS bleep]
I got home and took pictures right away. It looked pretty good, but a bit too full. I think that's due to some swelling already starting.
BTW- I have add a little bit of filler before in the nasal labial folds and lips. I know that you can swell, so I wanted to keep track of the swelling and recovery. I suggest taking a picture as soon as you can after the injection. When you swell up and start getting nervous, you can look at that picture and remind yourself how you will actually look after the recovery is over. (pretty much)
I ice and use Arnica homeopathic granules and Arnica cream. I try to sleep with my head raised, but that is very uncomfortable for me.
First night, I didn't sleep much. When I woke up in the morning (about 12 hours after the injection), I was super swollen. I looked like really scary. I knew I would swell and I did have a large amount of product injected. Saying that, and having done fillers before, I expected swelling, but not like this!! I called the doc to make sure this was ok, and they tried to calm me down and told me to wait until day 3 to start seeing the swelling reduce.
Day 1- after the injections was somewhat uncomfortable. Besides swelling, there was some redness and heat on the surface. Not too much bruising. I couldn't open my mouth very far, so I really didn't each much. Just some crackers.
Day 2- The swelling increased again overnight, but started to subside in the evening. This was a great relief. Apparently, it is common to look worse the 2nd day.
Day 3- Today, swelling is going down but I still look like I have a beach ball in my mouth. Because I had so much trauma from the amount of Perlane injected into the cheeks, I think I will have considerable swelling for at least another 2 days. Oh- the eyes look good. A very minimal amount of swelling and no bruising. (morning photo attached)
Every time I look in the mirror, it is very scary. But, I am so glad that I took that picture directly after the injections. Although I think I am a little swollen in that pic, it makes me feel much better to see myself how I should look once the recovery is done. I recommend doing this.
Also, I think it is a good idea to take a younger picture of yourself to the doc. If your looking to change your face, then no. But, if you are trying to look like you did 5 years ago, this can help your doctor understand what look you are going for.
I hope my cheeks will look ok after the recovery. I am worried about being overfilled. This is my first time having a big filler job. If I decide to do this next time, I think I will ask the doctor to be very conservative and I can come back for more if needed.
Oh, and if I decide to continue with Perlane touch-ups for cheeks, I will take several pictures for the doctor. That way, they can replicate the look. Too many people get touch ups and look awful. How many times have you gone to the hair dresser and had the same cut by the same person and it came out different? Doctor's can't remember everything.
Fingers crossed [RS bleep]