Restylane + Perlane by Skillful Doctor - Positive Experience - Toronto, ON

I received 3 cc's of injectable fillers today: Restylane, Perlane and a third whose name I can't remember (will return with the name once I have it).

About me: I'm 43, and I have big deep circles under my eyes, long tear troughs that extend into my cheeks, and troughs in the pre-jowl sulcus area. I tend to look tired. I was never crazy about the idea of fillers because they're so temporary, ultimately not entirely cost-effective if done frequently, and then there's this unsavoury idea of some chemicals sitting in pockets in my face. I did a lot of research and decided that if I'm going to weigh the possibilities of having fat grafts and/or chin/cheek implants to address this tired look, it would help if I could first see the effect of more volume in certain areas with little risk. (And in the meantime look less tired too.) I decided to try the fillers at least once. (Incidentally I had Ultherapy about a month ago as well; no effect from that procedure yet.)

The injection experience: It was highly positive despite my fear and light-headedness during the injections. I went into the clinic in a pretty terrified state. I had an extraordinarily painful experience with Ultherapy a month ago and I think this left me with a bit of a (hopefully temporary) pain phobia. The doctor was very informative, patient, reassuring and congenial as we talked about the 3 cc's of injections I was about to have in the tear troughs, cheeks and pre-jowl/chin area. I was given ice packs to hold over the target areas. He then numbed the upper cheek area with a small amount of anaesthetic. He was extremely gentle and I hardly felt more than slightest pinches during the injections, but I was nevertheless pretty wigged out (that lingering Ulthera terror!) and I started to feel very woozy. I mentioned I thought I was about to faint. The doctor and his assistant were incredibly supportive and reassuring as they allowed me to take a break before wrapping up with the last of the filler material. They gave me some juice, let me lie down for as long as I wanted, and checked in with me frequently. Again, I hardly felt the faintest little pin-pricks; it was either my pain anxiety, the strange idea of liquids under my skin, or the fact I skipped lunch that caused me to get light-headed.

The result so far: I'm happy with the results. Even though it was only 3 cc's, I do look much less tired. The doctor did a lovely job--no bumps so far, and the spots he injected are perfectly chosen. I have a couple of tiny bruises (about size of a letter O on this screen) in the upper cheek, as I was told might happen. There is no swelling. I would do this again, although now that I see the fillers help a lot, I may instead have fat transfers and/or chin implant with this doctor for more long-term stable improvements, especially since I can't realistically afford to do this every six months forever.

Overall, a positive experience for me.