Han Ne Lee, MD

It’s been a big year for my face. I turned 46 (sneaks up on you). A medication change resulted in an unintentional weight loss (I know, boo hoo - but I was skinny to start with and losing 15 lbs did me no favors in terms of health, strength or sexiness, believe me). Even though my life has been going really well, I felt like I was looking tired and unhealthy. And then, I started a new job that requires a lot of Skype – which means you end up staring at your own face a lot. On screen, my “relaxed and open” face and my “really listening to what you are saying” face were both looking, well... menacing. So I decided to do something about it. I wanted to start small because I’m kind of a quirky tomboy hippie and didn’t want to suddenly turn into a Real Housewife. My main concern was the dark circles under my eyes. I thought to have tear trough injections because they seemed relatively inexpensive and temporary in case I didn’t like the look, even though reviews made it clear it would be tricky to get right. When I consulted with Dr. Lee’s office, however, they suggested treating the cheek area and nasolabial folds for an all over lift that would distract attention from the under eye area. I wasn’t totally sold, but I had a rare window of a few days where I wouldn’t have to connect with anyone, so I booked an appointment. I didn’t prepare perfectly – I made sure to get a lot of water and avoid aspirin etc., but I didn’t take arnica and I did have half a glass of wine the two nights before. The day of, I was so nervous I couldn’t stop researching the procedures, surfing away on my phone even while being numbed! Everyone was really warm and professional. Rather than injecting into the tear trough, Dr. Han injected into the cheeks below the tear trough, and then the NL folds (2 syringes total). It hardly hurt at all, though I suspected I might bruise on the left cheek, which the doctor seemed to work over a little harder. And when I walked into the bathroom to check out the mirror after the procedure, I couldn’t believe it – there was the face I was used to having, the one I hadn’t actually seen for years. Later in the day the left side swelled up really big and stayed that way for about 24 hours – I iced 5 minutes every 2 waking hours as directed. By the 48 hour mark it went down enough that okay talking to people face to face. At the 36 hour mark I detected some yellow bruising but very faint, didn’t even require makeup on my olive skin. There were some teensy pin prick scabs in a line I the NL fold area though day 3. On Day 4, I made my in-person debut with my work buddies. The one person I told about it said I looked fantastic, and the ones I didn’t tell, didn’t ask. Perfect! I don't look like a Barbie Doll – I still have dark crinkly areas right below my eyes and small lines in the nasolabial folds. That’s totally fine, as I am not trying to look 20. Nonetheless, the overall effect is just what I hoped for! Dr. Lee was very conservative, just as I’d asked. I’m amazed at how much asymmetry got corrected (and a little amazed that my face got so asymmetrical in the first place – how does that happen?!) Finally, I want to send some appreciation to everyone who wrote stories on here. This was so useful and really helped me prepare. Thank you! Updated on 25 Mar 2013: 2 weeks later it's settled in but I am still very happy with the results. However, the NL fold areas of injection are just the tiniest bit itchy- not on top of the skin, no visible problems, no lumps or anything. So minor it could be psychosomatic, or maybe I always scratched there and just never noticed.