Beauty

[lhs43]

. . . . and most likely the last.

The following may be a little graphic for some of you. Also, if you do not want my negative experience to dissuade you from having this done, then probably best not to read, although the derm did say that my sensitivity was atypical.

I've been going to my derm, who I trust implicitly, for 15 years. I've had skin cancers removed from my face, so I'm no stranger to needles in the face. I've also had a lot of dental work done in my life and do not have any problem going to the dentist or experiencing dental pain. My derm's female colleague does cosmetic procedures and I had seen her a couple of times in the past in his absence. I had a good vibe about the whole thing and was excited when I made my decision to do this. I was also excited from reading various threads here about it.

Last week, I briefly watched videos of the procedure because I like to know what to expect. One thing I learned from watching is that there is a lot of needle manipulation. In other words, it's not just a simple matter of injecting the stuff in one straight injection. The needle is moved around a lot under the skin. Okay, I figured if you're numbed, that shouldn't be a problem.

I had the depression on the sides of my nose done. I only have very faint nasolabial lines, so didn't need a whole lot there. I was surprised, however, when the assistant only put on a numbing cream on my face. I knew this would take care of the outside of the skin, but how could it numb underneath the skin? Well, I was right. The procedure was quite unpleasant and quite uncomfortable for me. I was even starting to get so panicky about all the pain, throbbing, burning, stinging I was feeling as she was moving that needle around, that I was going to stop her. I told her after she finished the first side that it was much worse than I had anticipated it being.

We got through the nasolabial injections. She had said if she has some left over, she would do the corners of my mouth. Again, I only have faint marionette lines, but the corners of my mouth downturn, so I wanted that done. I was so ready to walk out, though. I just couldn't take any more of the same. She suggested I hang out for a while and see how I felt, which I thought was nice. After all, I was paying for the whole vial -- it would be a shame to throw the rest out. BTW, she said that she couldn't understand my significant physical sensitivity, given the fact that there was zero bruising, swelling, or even redness (and I do have very sensitive skin).

She came back and she offered me the option of lidocaine to numb the mouth area. Since I was already familiar with the experience of a lidocaine injection to the face, I said ok. That injection was far easier than the procedural injection. Despite the lidocaine, I still felt the Juvederm needle very slightly, but it was a better experience than the n-l lines for sure. She said should I choose to do this again, she would actually do a dental block within the mouth as is done at the dentist's office.

I don't think I'll need to be considering that. Looks like I'll be aging gracefully.