52 and Desire a Facial and Neck Perk Me Up - South Carolina, SC

Thank you Ato Z! That should work for you. I felt totally myself again at the three week mark, other than the tightness I feel behind my ears -- but I think that will be there for a bit. I'm also still numb in front of my ears, but it doesn't bother me much. I've resumed my 4 to 5 mile a day walking schedule so I'm good enough to do that and I'm certainly not strolling. I bought a couple of UV buffs for our upcoming hiking trip as that way I can pull my hair up in a ponytail while training for it and still keep the scars protected from the sun. Oh -- and I'm now able to sleep on my side on my ears on my regular pillow. Yay!

Whoo hoo, side sleeping! (I know I am going to miss that...)

Morning Sally. No problem at all as far as not writing about my face. :-) I definitely enjoy hearing info about the area where we will be hiking this summer. We get so hot here in July and August (above 100 heat indices at times -- we've seen 110 to 115 before) and have a ton of humidity, so I would be surprised if England handed us anything worse than that! I googled "The New Daughter" as I haven't seen it -- yes, our summer home is on an island near Charleston and my daughter attended The College of Charleston. It's a beautiful area. I hope you get to see it one day! I just finished watching a BBC special about Wainwright's C2C walk. Looks quite hilly! ha! Your business sounds nice. I love animals and especially dogs. I'm sure I've mentioned it (ha!), but my Golden Retriever is my soulmate. :-D He loves to swim in the ocean and our pool. I hope you have a lovely weekend!

Thank you so much! I know -- I went back to look at my photos and definitely thought there was a Frankenstein moment (with the stitches) at first! I never felt stressed, however, because I had seen befores and afters around the ears and know Dr. Brill is an excellent surgeon. If you copy and paste this url into you address line: https://www.dorsetstreetdermatology.com/images/radiesse_pre_jowl_sulcus.jpg There's an arrow which points to the pre jowl sulcus area. It's an area in which, on some people, there's a reduction of fat connected with aging. When it occurs, it gives an impression of jowling even when, at times, jowling isn't occurring yet. The woman in the link had Radiesse injected into hers and it obscured it. I had Juvederm Ultra Plus put there and had the same result. I'm very happy with it! I really notice the difference in photographs.

Oh -- and I'm really happy with my neck also! A smooth neck makes an amazing difference! I've been slapping tons of sunscreen and moisturizer on it each day to try to preserve the effect as long as possible!

Hi Winky. I just didn't want to leave them out there forever. If you'd like me to send you photos of my incisions, I'd be happy to do that.

Super! Would you pm a picture or two showing the incisions in front and behind the ear? Winky

Hi Grace. Everything is going great. If I'm just hanging out and haven't done anything physically -- like at night before I go to bed -- I feel hardly any numbness. I can touch right in front of my tragus and the rest of my ear area and feel sensation fine. I'm walking 5 to 8 miles daily to train for an upcoming hike and after I do that I still feel the numbness about an inch out in front of my ear area. Other than that, everything definitely feels back to normal. All still looks great. I think the smoothness of my neck and sharpness of my jawline have made the biggest difference.

Hi - I remember a few months ago reading your question re your hike and the Dr answers. Thank you - It was reassuring as I have a week long cycle ride in France coming up in July (about 4 months post surgery). Now that it's getting closer I'm a bit concerned because I haven't been back on my bike yet - too hard to turn my neck quickly so I'm nervous about cycling in traffic. So I'm building fitness by walking and still getting a bit of tightness when I exercise. Any tips? Hope you enjoy your trip!

Hi Grace! I do feel blessed as far as recovery is concerned and I'm so thankful because we're temporarily moving on April 1st and I have a lot to do. I don't really have to get the Juvederm at all if I don't want. I like it pretty well though. I suppose if I decided to do it -- say every year and a half -- it would be aprrox. $1,500 if I did all those locations for two syringes. These fillers seem to last quite a while on me. I don't know why. I had already paid for two syringes and just let him keep filling. I believe they are .8ccs -- not sure. My nasolabial folds don't bother me any in their natural state to be honest, but I could see the improvement with the filler added. I had a really full face younger and my nasolabial folds just haven't gotten very deep on me. I like getting my cheeks done to add fullness. I weigh 120lbs and am losing volume in my face as I age. The first thing I tried was Radiesse and it was fine, but a totally different aesthetic to me than Juvederm in that area. I didn't particularly love it. I didn't hate it. I prefer hyaluronic fillers because they can be dissolved if there's a big mishap. Anyway, this was only the second time I've used fillers on my cheeks, nasolabial folds and pre jowl sulcus -- the first time we only used one syringe of Juvederm for the nasolabial folds and pre jowl sulcus. I didn't have to pay for the Radiesse because a rep was in the office and Dr. Brill gave it to complimentary when I was in there to get Botox. I've also had filler in my lips, but I didn't really care for it a lot. I didn't hate it. It's long gone and I like my lips the size they are just fine. I suppose the only thing I would really miss not getting is Botox. The crow's feet bother me more than anything. I have researched fat transfer, but haven't really seriously considered it. The other plastic surgeon I went to suggested it as an option, but not in my cheeks -- in the area more in the middle of my face and by and up the sides my nose. I don't feel comfortable with fat transfer. I don't like the unpredictability of the results and the permanency of having it done. I also don't like the fact up to have of it could be lost to reabsorption so overfilling is often done to compensate for that.

FWIW I have been doing Botox for the "elevens" between my brows for about 10 years and I just love it. I think it has really made a difference for not getting the deep carved-in lines there. I did have my derm do the nasolabial fold with Juvaderm once but I didn't like the fullness in that area so didn't repeat (one nice thing about fillers vs fat transfer, it does go away and is reversible). I have been doing Juvaderm in the cheeks for about 2 years, 2 to 3 times a year; the first year I felt like it really helped with my falling cheeks and dark under-eye circles but this past year it just hasn't cut it which -- together with my neck laxity -- is why I have taken the plunge to schedule the FL. I will definitely check out the smoothness of the jaw line and pre-jowl sulcus post FL... filler might be warranted there once everything is hoisted up.

I'm glad you've had success with your Botox. I feel the same way about it. I bet it has made a difference in whether or not you have developed deeper lines in your "elevens." The nasolabial fold is interesting, isn't it? Maybe it's liked more by people with deep lines there. I barely have lines there and am just noticing them a bit right up near my nose lately. Maybe that's what my doctor saw. lol I don't mind the fullness, but I don't know that I like it any more than when I don't have filler there. I feel the same way about fat transfer. It scares me a bit as I have read repeatedly to make sure you get someone who really has a lot of experience with it. I've also read some pretty scary things from people who aren't happy with it and it's not something one can remedy once it's gone wrong. Have you read about Juvederm Voluma? Are you having that done for your cheeks? I just read about it and the fact that it is longer lasting. I think my doctor used Juvederm XC or XC ultra or a combination. So far, I've only noticed it going away after about a year. Are you extra lean? I'm only asking because I am smaller and exercise a lot and that certainly lends to the slimmer cheeks. My doctor laughed and told me if I would gain 20lbs, I'd have more cheeks. He was just saying it in jest, however, because he exercises and is leaner also. The neck laxity really bothered me and my neck looks like a different neck. I think you'll be very pleased with your surgery. My neck laxity and jowls are gone. I keep staring at my neck and jawline to the point I'm lecturing myself about what is actually important in life. lol But I do like my neck and lack of jowls. :-) If you don't have a lack in pre jowl sulcus fat pre-facelift, I bet you won't have it after. Luckily, filler lasts a while there because it's not a real dynamic part of facial movement.

half. :-)

Thanks A to Z! It makes me happy. I'm going to be really good about keeping them covered with sunscreen and a hat this summer. It's so sunny here. I haven't tried to cover them and I don't think I will have to. I don't take my makeup back to my ear edges anyway, so I'm glad it doesn't seem like it's going to be a problem. It truly is amazing how quickly the scars in front of the ears fade. I don't think the scars behind the ears will be noticeable either after not too long of a time. I'm glad because I like to wear a ponytail when I walk my dog and exercise. I walked around with the lady showing me our apartment today in crazy wind and didn't even worry about the incisions because you can barely see them anyway.

Thank you, Mm! I'm very pleased with the results and how I'm feeling so soon after.

Dr. Alan Brill in Columbia, S.C.

Is he in Columbia? I think deenerbug had an awesome result with Dr Brill.

Thank you Sal9! I hope your surgery goes well and your recovery is speedy! It is much better to be a couple of weeks on the other side of it. It will go by quickly!!