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POSTED UNDER Botox REVIEWS

47 yr old and Wrinkles EVERYWHERE !!! - Marmora, NJ

ORIGINAL POST

The photos I've included are of me smiling as...

Not So Gracefully
WORTH IT$350
The photos I've included are of me smiling as deeply/hard as possible to show all wrinkling. The first photos were taken yesterday prior to injection, and the second ones taken just now approximately 28 hours post injection. My understanding is that within the next day or so most of the egfrct will kick in. Anyway, I look way older than everyone else my age and have FAR more wrinkles. And this literally all took place over the past two years, dramatically drooping and wrinkling. There's lots I want to do but funds are limited and I wanted the cash I had on hand to be best spent and address my major concerns being the crows feet, forehead, eyes, vertical lip lines and smile line wrinkling. Not being able to afford it all at once I decided to go with the Botox in the forehead, Glabella and crows feet because it is less expensive than fillers and thought I would get the most bang for my buck while still addressing at least three of the areas of concern. This was my first time ever having anything injected and of course I did literally months worth of daily research looking at before and after's, reading reviews on physicians, treatment options etc. . The doctor was wonderful, she spent a great deal of time with me during our consultation, patiently re-re-answering questions that I repeatedly asked lol. What I liked most about her was her candidness and honesty, truthfully stating her strong points as well as her weaknesses in her profession. So happy to hear that rather than someone that claims they're awesome at every aspect even though they may not be. Unlike the majority of offices that I've researched, this office charges by the area for Botox rather than the unit. Botox on the forehead and glabella costs $300 and crows feet cost $150. If done at the same time the cost is $350 for all three areas. Not sure how many units she used but I think I got about four injections in the forehead, four in the glabella and four in each eye area, but don't quote me on that because I wasn't counting. So far no bruising, and immediately afterwards you could not even see where the needles went in and zero bleeding. On a scale of 1 to 10 with regards to pain level of the injection, I would say 1. It felt like little more than a tiny prick. I have a major fear of the dreaded eye droop, and had settled prior to getting the injections done. I feel a slight happiness in the corner of my left eye.but I'm trying to remain optimistic, hoping that's not going to be a droopy eye, I'll be devastated :-(
I will add more photos as things progress. Ive never posted photos of ANYTHING or even written A review for that matter, but I wanted to do so because others who have graciously done so have been extremely instrumental in my research process. If there's anything I failed to address please ask I will do my best to answer. I hope this is a helpful review, but I do understand it needs additional follow-ups as it progresses. I will try to document the various stages for you.. Thank you to everyone on the many YouTube videos I've watched, Internet searches and here on realself.com.

Not So Gracefully's provider

Medical Aesthetics Center

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Patient, thorough, knowledgeable, informative and offered several options to conform to my desires and budget. Not at all pushy.

Replies (10)

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March 13, 2016

Thank you for sharing your experience and posting your photos! Your face looks really good! How many units of Botox did you have injected?

March 13, 2016
Thank you. I am unsure the number of units that she used, however I plan to return soon for the fillers so will ask and I will post it. I am happy with the results for sure but also a little perplexed because my understanding has always been that Botox takes effect in about 3 to 4 days and I certainly see the effects much sooner-- As early as my post which was just 28 hours after receiving the injections. I'm hoping it is just a matter of all individuals reacting differently and nothing to be concerned about. In fact that question is what brought me back onto realself, to hopefully find the answer. Otherwise so far so good and now, about 39 hours post injection, it hasn't progressed but rather still looks the same as the 28 hour mark.
March 14, 2016
Hi, I really hope the results will be great. I just got my botox 4 days ago, initially felt improvement after one day but it was more likely to be a result of swelling from the injections. Got worse after 48 hours - the 4th day is good - minimal static wrinkles still there, but cannot move my face as much as 1-2 days ago. Still moving - as I requested a baby botox dose which was 50% of what the doctor would normally inject. Do you have any pictures of your forehead not frowning?
March 14, 2016
Thanks, not frowning before or after injection? I will take one now which is post injection. Despite having taken about 100 before pictures I honestly don't think I took a not frowning one. Hindsight! Not sure if I am doing this correctly but I will put it in the update post section.
March 13, 2016
Oh and I should probably proofread before posting but that " happiness " in the corner of my left eye that I mentioned...Was supposed to read "heaviness" :-) oops and that feeling has somewhat lessened. Under normal circumstances I don't even think I would notice it, but I think I am just hyper aware because I know I just had injections.
March 21, 2016
Area is very old $chool, this was the way of charging when it came onto market & ends up costing much more in my opinion. I only needed 10 units on 1 area 20 on other. This is $360. 1 area cost is typically $350, $250 2nd $600. This is overcharging. Botox is a money maker & major source of income. What is paid for a bottle is reasonable after it is mixed with a correct saline %, I now use this term loosely. Introduce the scam artists adding more saline. $$$.
March 25, 2016
I agree, and this place was only among a very few that I found that charged by the area rather than the unit but I was completely ok with that because I didn't have any idea how many units I would need and this just made it simply for me...$350 for the forehead, Glabella and crows feet. I was happy with that, but I'm guessing over time one may not require as many units as they did initially where charging by the area may not seem like a deal to me any longer. Given how thrilled I am with how it turned out (because I was kind of skeptical) i'd gladly pay that time and time again if it will allow me to maintain this appearance :-)
March 22, 2016
I wanted to see a not frowning one before - to see if you had any wrinkles then and if they improved. Im slightly disappointed my 11s are still there in between my eyebrows despite not being able to frown:(
March 25, 2016
My 11's are still there as well. I think the best idea is to start getting Botox before they have a chance to become such deep depressed wrinkles. Maybe over time they will smooth, I don't know, maybe of month or years of not being able to frown will allow them to softe/relax more so,but so far not in my case, they ARE still noticeable but overall couldn't be happier with the choice to get the Botox and I will certainly continue with the treatment not only for the improvement but also in an effort to combat even more/deeper ones from appearing.
March 25, 2016
Also I am going to ask her her thoughts on maybe putting a dab of filler in the 11's to plump them up, perhaps that would be what I need to smooth them since they are a result of years of being there. If I do that I will let you know how I make out. Planning on getting fillers the end of April, possible sooner, busy schedule permitting.
UPDATED FROM Not So Gracefully
3 days post

3 days post injection.

Not So Gracefully
Relaxed face--neither smiling nor frowning.

Replies (1)

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April 9, 2016
Looking good and smooth
UPDATED FROM Not So Gracefully
3 days post

Eyes

Not So Gracefully
I think pretty significant reduction. Each photo is me with a BIG smile. One taken before and the other 3 days post injection.

Replies (2)

March 20, 2016
You look really great! I hope you're enjoying and feeling good. Any side effects? Headaches? Flu-y stuff?
March 20, 2016
So far, now one week and one day later still no side effects and I have been hyper aware of my physical condition because I was so concerned about adverse side effects. I understand side effects can occur days to weeks after injection but no complaints thus far. In fact just today I was thinking to myself why I hadn't done this sooner and I feel the appearance improved even more over the past 2 days. Very pleased and although I have no doctor to compare her to since this was my first time I really feel the results have a lot to do with my injector, not too much nor too little. And thank you for the compliment, I FEEL great as well because I was very conscious of the wrinkles and it made me not want to smile, now I can smile again without worrying about what my face looks like. :-)