I am absolutely thrilled with the results of my surgery with Dr. Rubinstein, and I can’t thank him and his team enough! My surgery, which included sinus procedures, deviated septum correction, and rhinoplasty, was initially scheduled for 3.5 hours but ended up taking 6 hours. While that may sound like a long time, it just shows how dedicated Dr. Rubinstein is to getting every detail absolutely perfect. He’s truly an artist when it comes to his craft, and his commitment to ensuring the best possible outcome for me was evident throughout the entire process. In addition, add that he is personable, super nice and down to earth...answering our calls himself late night the day of surgery to clarify information he had already given us because I tend to freak out (yikes) but he was amazing and supportive. From the very beginning, Dr. Rubinstein took the time to listen to my concerns, explain the procedure in depth, and made sure I was comfortable every step of the way. His meticulous attention to detail during surgery reflects his passion for delivering flawless results. Not only is Dr. Rubinstein an incredibly talented surgeon, but his entire administrative team is equally wonderful. They were organized, kind, and always available to answer questions, providing outstanding care and support both before and after my surgery. The results have far exceeded my expectations—I can breathe better, and my nose looks perfect, natural and beautiful.
I have been feeling really depressed over my loss of midface volume and dark circles over the past year or so due to stress and lack of sleep. My husband didn't want me to get injectables. He said it would screw up my face and be too expensive. I was sneaky and did it today without telling him. I figure it's my body and I have a job so what he doesn't know won't hurt him. So far, I am over the moon with the results. I'll post pictures today or tomorrow once I shower and put on makeup. I had one syringe of Voluma ($750) split between the two sides with a little more going on the right side because that's where I needed it. He also injected one syringe of Restylane ($650) in my tear troughs. I'm only 28, but my undereye area has never looked this good, as I've always had some genetic hollowness and dark circles. So far I have only very minor swelling around the injection sites and very little redness. No bruising so far except for maybe a teeny tiny one at one of the injection sites. I don't think my husband will notice. :) The only downside I can see so far is that I am addicted to these injectables and plan to get more for even more improvement. I think I look about 60% better now but I didn't want to go overboard with the injectables since it's my first time. Plus, I'm trying to save for a rhinoplasty. I think I'll wait a few days and go ahead and book another injectable appointment for 3 or 4 months from now. Updated on 8 May 2017: Updated on 9 May 2017: I may have spoken too soon on giving Voluma a Worth It review. I had a good deal of pain last night after the lidocaine wore off, especially on my right side where more product was used. I know this is normal and I have to give it time. I was stabbed in the cheek bone over and over again. Still, the pain was enough to make me anxious and I only slept 2 hours last night. Can anyone else who has had Voluma tell me how long the soreness lasted? Updated on 10 May 2017: I think my pain levels have gone down overall. It's not the Voluma that is bothering me now but the Restylane in my right tear trough. My left side is pretty much fine, just slightly tender to the touch. I am still having some discomfort in my left tear trough, especially when I smile. The cheekbone where the Voluma is slightly tender to the touch but not bothering me otherwise like it was yesterday. I am going to try not to touch the tear trough and ice it later. If it's the same or worse tomorrow, I think I'll give my PS a call. Updated on 11 May 2017: I am so relieved that the pain I had the night after the procedure has subsided a lot. I'm still slightly tender but I was able to sleep normally last night, lying down on my side as opposed to on my back with my head elevated. My face doesn't feel as tight today. No new bruising has developed so I think I should be in the clear as far as that goes that this point. Now that the filler is starting to settle, I'm a little less impressed with the results. I can still see there is improvement but it's not as dramatic as I initially thought. I guess I had more swelling than I realized. I only had 1/2 a syringe of Restylane in each tear trough and 1/2 a syringe of Voluma in each side, so I guess I should expect very subtle results. Still, I paid $1400 so I'm a little underwhelmed. As of right now, I would definitely still do it again, though, because I do see improvement, and, so far, I haven't had any terrible side effects. It was just a lot more painful initially than I had expected. Thank God for ice and Tylenol. Will update at 1 week with pics or sooner if anything major changes. Updated on 15 May 2017: Things have mostly settled down with my fillers. I still have a little bit of tenderness in my right tear trough but it seems to get a little better every day. Around days 2-3, It seemed my eyes were strained, like the fillers had caused the muscles around my eyes to tighten up. However, that has thankfully gone away. I think my PS did a great job even though I didn't get much filler. I'm glad I did it. Updated on 27 May 2017: Coming up on three weeks since my filler injections and I'm still really satisfied with my results. Still looking to get more filler but I booked a rhinoplasty for September so definitely no injections until after that's paid for. I am smiling in both of the attached photos. You can tell when I smile that I need a bit more Restylane in my left tear trough but there is noticeably more cheek volume from the 1/2 syringe of Voluma that's in there. Updated on 7 Jul 2017: My fillers are still holding up pretty well. I haven't noticed any major changes. Some days I look in the mirror in bad lighting and think my dark circles are still really terrible. However, looking at old photos from before the injections reminds me that I got a good improvement and I still look better than I did before. I have worn glasses for a long time, mostly to cover up my dark circles and to make my large, overprojected nose a little less noticeable. Now that I have the undereye improvement, I'm impatiently waiting for my rhinoplasty (67 more days!) so that I can hopefully go without glasses on the regular! Updated on 4 Nov 2017: I’m six months out and I’m really starting to notice my orbital rim so I’m planning on getting a touch-up next month. I think the Voluma is actually holding up okay but I think the Restylane in my tear trough has dissipated. I got a rhinoplasty on 9/12 so perhaps the swelling affected my fillers a bit. Anyway, I was slated to get fillers next Tuesday but since my surgeon got called into surgery, I had to reschedule for December. I will probably end up getting another syringe of Voluma and Restylane but we’ll see! Hopefully less! Updated on 13 Dec 2017: I went and got another one syringe of Voluma yesterday. The doctor pretty much split it between my cheeks so 1/2 in each side so now I’m at two syringes for 2017. Hopefully I’ll be able to wait a whole near now (or more!) before needing another Voluma touch-up since I’ve got a good amount of product now. I also got half a syringe of Restylane. He put most of it in my left tear trough and a tiny bit under my right tear trough to even me out. Then there was a very small amount left that he put in a slight groove in my nasolabial fold. I wasn’t even planning on treating that area but it looks so nice and smooth now. I hate that I love it because it’s so expensive and I don’t want to feel like every little line has to be filled in as I start to age. Do you all feel any pain when you get your injections? I feel a lot of needle sticks when my doctor does them even though the numbing cream was left on for like 50 minutes. I’ll be icing all day today. Updated on 16 Dec 2017: This is the difference between June 20, 2016, before I had anything done to my face, and December 15, 2017 so it’s a year and a half. I first started in May of this year with one syringe of Voluma in my cheeks and one syringe of Restylane in my tear troughs. I got a rhinoplasty in September. Then I just had another syringe of Voluma put in my cheeks and a half syringe of Restylane in my tear troughs earlier this week. I’m really happy with the difference it’s made. Updated on 24 Feb 2018: I’ve gotten some improvement from the two syringes of Voluma I got last year and the 1.5 syringes of Restylane but I really feel like I still need a lot more volume in my mid-face. After my touch-up in December, I only loved my results for about a month. I felt great for the holidays but by mid-January I was feeling kind of meh again. I’m in better shape than I was before the touch-up, but I definitely don’t think the Restylane lasts long for me. I’ll probably need another half stringe of Restylane by April so that will only be five months since the last injection. I feel like the Voluma swelling lasted a while and I love it when it’s swollen, but it’s not nearly as much of an improvement once the swelling goes down, probably only 50% of what it was the first few weeks after the injections. I’m seriously considering fat transfer or Sculptra as a more economical, long-term alternative but I know the results can be somewhat unpredictable. I swore I wouldn’t do something as invasive as fat transfer but I just don’t think I’m getting enough of an improvement with the Voluma to continue with it long-term because of the high price. I don’t think I want to consider cheek implants. Sculptra would be less invasive than fat transfer but I am a bit afraid of developing nodules. Any thoughts on these different options? Updated on 9 May 2018: I got another syringe of Voluma yesterday. I might post pics later but I’m not sure if the change is really all that noticeable in pictures because of where the filler was placed. It basically evened out some assymmetries between the two sides. I went to a different injector this time and have no bruising and less swelling than with my old injector. I am going to go back to this new person to do my tear troughs in the next few weeks. This is my third syringe of Voluma overall in the last year. It looks good, but I didn’t get any improvement on volumizing the sides of my face. I just need way more product. I keep flip-flopping on alternative volumizing products, whether I want to try Sculptra despite the possible side effects. I’m going to discuss it with the injector next time I go in. Updated on 22 Dec 2018: I’ve been using some topical products that I think might be helping to enhance my filler results and I feel like my cheeks are looking so full today even though I haven’t had a Voluma injection in seven months! I’m amazed by what Voluma has done to correct assymetry in my face and give me cheekbones when mine were previously quite flat. Voluma is definitely not cheap but, to me, it’s been worth every penny! I’m attaching a photo of my cheek now versus before I started using fillers. Updated on 10 May 2020: It’s now been two years since I’ve had any Voluma injected and I still have significantly more volume than before I had any filler. I can tell that a very slight amount of my facial volume has depleted, giving me ever-so-slight jowls when I have a resting face. I am happy with the way things look now, though, and don’t anticipate getting more Voluma for a while. I’ll include a smiling pic to compare to my previous pictures.
Loved it!! It make me look younger. My face looks refreshed and I don't look so tired. I would highly recommend him!!! Before the procedure I had to use concealer to try and hide the dark circles and the big space between my eyes and my cheek. But not my face looks smooth and I don't have to use any make-up at all.
I have gotten Botox for over 20 years in the 'scrinch' lines between my eyes. For the FIRST time ever, I feel like I might be experiencing side effects of swollen tender glands in my neck and stiff neck. However, I find some of the posts here a little hard to believe b/c Botox breaks down in your body in 2-5 months, which is why (If you like the results) you have to get it injected 2-4 times per year. So the posts which claim to have experienced side effects longer than that I doubt are attributable to the Botox.
I recently got one syringe of Restylane injected in my tear troughs and one syringe of Voluma in my upper cheeks. I'm very pleased with my subtle results. I need more for full correction but I don't want to spend the money right now... I'm hoping to get a little more in 6 months or so provided what I have holds up pretty well. Updated on 4 Nov 2017: I still have some Restylane in my tear troughs but I started to notice my eyes looking more sunken a couple weeks ago after a couple nights of poor sleep. I had had a refill appointment scheduled for next Tuesday but my surgeon got called into surgery that day. Now I’m not getting my touch-up until December. Updated on 13 Dec 2017: Yesterday I got another half syringe of Restylane mostly in my left tear trough. The doctor also but some under my left tear trough as well as a tiny amount in left nasolabial fold. I wasn’t planning on treating that area but it looks so nice and smooth now. I also got one syringe of Voluma split between my two cheeks. I’m really happy with the improvement but I did bruise a little this time and my left tear trough is still a little swollen. Updated on 13 Dec 2017: Updated on 4 Mar 2018: I’m staring to see that I’m losing some product in my tear troughs. Kind of sucks because it’s been less than four months since my last touch-up. I’m thinking now is the time to schedule because I generally can’t get in for 4-6 weeks in my area for an injectable appointment. I don’t want to be looking as hollow as I did before my last touch-up so I’m thinking I’ll have to start getting touch-ups about every five months. Last time I waited seven and that was too long. I really needed it at six. The good news is I should only need half a syringe for my touch-ups from now on. I’m thinking about scheduling with a different injector and maybe trying Belotero instead of Restylane. Both times I have gone for injections with my current injector, I always end up waiting forever. This past time, I got left in the exam room with the numbing cream on for a full hour with no updates. I think he actually took lunch while I was waiting. The time before, he left me with the numbing cream on for 45 minutes while he saw a late patient. I don’t think the numbing cream does much for me because I still feel all the needle sticks. Or maybe it’s the fact that he left it on so long that it stops being as effective? Anyway, I’ve been really happy with the Voluma in my cheeks. My tear trough looks good but I can feel but not see a ridge of Restylane under my skin so I think Belotero might be better. I’d also like an injector who respects my time a bit more so we’ll see. He does a good job but I’m going to explore other options. Updated on 5 Apr 2018: I had an appointment scheduled today for a touch-up on the tear trough and a syringe of Voluma. I went to a different doctor/office today than I normally do. I heard the nurse showing my photos to another nurse out in the hallway and laughing at my “drug eyes,” as they said. I had already been waiting a long time (about an hour) and was feeling really anxious about treating the delicate eye area with a surgeon I had never treated with before who was general plastic surgeon rather than a facial plastic surgeon. So that rudeness was my breaking point and I just walked out. I already had an appointment scheduled later this month with an oculoplastic specialist, as I want to treat my upper eyelid hollowness as well, and that’s something that really does require an expert. I’ll just have her do the tear troughs too. She charges $999 for Voluma, though (OMG!!!) so I might try to get my cheeks done somewhere else. Most other surgeons in my area charge $800. The oculoplastic specialist uses the cannula technique and only charges $650 per syringe of Restylane. I think that will work really well for my eye hollowness, as I probably will only need maybe 1/3 syringe to touch up my tear trough and she can use the rest on the upper eyelid. Now that I have the pricing info for her, I think I made a really good decision to not get the injections done today with a practice I wasn’t completely comfortable with. Updated on 13 Apr 2018: So I saw the specialist yesterday and she didn’t want to treat my eye area until I’ve treated my face. She also doesn’t want to do anything to my upper eyelid as far as fillers but said she’s could do a little at my browbone. Apparently I have a slight ptosis (droopy eyelid) and don’t have an eyelid crease like most people. She could do surgery to give me a crease and correct the slight ptosis but I don’t think I want to go through all that. Thoughts? Maybe when I get older, I’ll be more interested but I feel like I’m too young to take a risk of eye area surgery for a problem that I could live with. I got two syringes of Voluma last year and I was planning on continuing to slowly build my cheeks with HA filler but the specialist was really trying to sell me on Sculptra. I agree with her that the Sculptra will be a more economical choice but I’ve heard it’s really painful and I’m worried about it doing something to my skin. She said the injections are really deep so maybe I’m worried about nothing. We’ll see. I’ll probably do it. I just really wanted to do my tear troughs before I go on vacation next month but if I stick with this doctor, it doesn’t look like that will happen for a while. Updated on 6 Jun 2018: I have found a new injector finally and have switched to a different product to treat my undereye concerns. I will likely be discontinuing this review since I’m not using Restylane anymore. My feelings about Restylane are mixed. I was quite happy with my initial results. I had heard that the Restylane can last up to a year in the tear trough, but I think that’s a little misleading. I saw the product start to dissipate fairly quickly and to maintain a certain look, I probably needed top-offs about every three months. I let it go seven months and I really looked hollow by that time. I was not as happy after my first refill, as I bruised more than my initial injection. I also thought the injections were somewhat painful despite the numbing cream. My current injector uses ice rather than cream and I think it works so much better at dulling the pain, at least for me. Plus I had a smaller needle for the Volbella and it’s also quite likely my current injector is just more stilled at injecting. I would recommend using the thinnest product possible for the undereye and, at this point, that’s probably not Restylane. You can get a good result with this product but don’t expect it to last for a full year. Happy to answer and questions and I’ll be starting a Volbella review soon.
