I never intended to have hyaluronic acid gel injected into my face, but the physician said he could smooth my nasolabial folds. I love it when a guy talks dirty to me.
“How do you know they need improvement?” I cooed.
“Those are your laugh lines around your mouth,” he answered. “You must laugh a lot.”
Well, yes I do. But I’ve earned every line on my face and I was hesitant to try to cover up the damage from six decades of living out loud. And the procedure involved needles. I hate needles.
I was a speaker at the recent Bloggers at Midlife Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. The trade show featured demonstrations of Restylane® Lyft with Lidocaine from Galderma. A few women were chosen for the injections, and I obviously appeared to be the perfect “before” candidate. A team of goddess-faced professionals consulted me before showing the tray of syringes and gave me some literature to read.
As noted on the website, the FDA-approved procedure implants hyaluronic acid gel into the deep dermis to superficial subcutis to correct moderate to severe facial folds and wrinkles, such as nasolabial folds, and improve subcutaneous to supraperiosteal implantation for cheek augmentation and correction of age-related midface contour deficiencies in patients over the age of 21. Lucky for me, I was barely over 21.
The demonstration came at no cost, so I decided why not? Like a brave, wrinkled soldier, I assumed the position on the table.
“As long as we’re here, could you perform liposuction my entire body?” I asked.
“We don’t have enough time or big enough equipment,” he answered. What a joker.
The procedure took about 15 minutes. He injected the gel into the lines around my mouth, muttering that he was a great sculpture and I was his work of art. I felt more like a massive lump of pottery clay.
Then he injected the solution along my cheeks. I’ve been blessed with a round balloon face, so I’ve never seen my cheekbones. I assumed they were in there somewhere. After the injections, I could immediately see the definition on my face. A few more glasses of wine and I would look like Sophia Loren.
A few hours after the injections, I could see that my marionette puppet mouth was less hinged. I could pass for a glamorous 50-year-old. After age 60, it’s all relative.
I appreciate the complimentary lift, and it’s interesting to see the slight contours in my face. I’ve read that some women curtail their laughter so they won’t develop laugh lines. That’s a sacrifice I’m not willing to make. For now, I’ll keep laughing and see if the lines return. We’ll see how interesting my nasolabial folds can become.
Disclosure: I received the complimentary procedure in exchange for this serious, scholarly post on my blog.
Love it! You are a goddess, before and after!
You were braver than me! I honestly felt a ballroom sized conference room was not the place for any kind of procedure so, I demurred. I’m sure it would have been helpful with the lines on my face, but I prefer a sterile environment for anything involving needles.
Glad it worked for you.
b
How have your cheekbones enjoyed their introduction to the world? Any chance you’ll be posting before and after pictures? After laughing at your write up, my laugh lines may need more touch up.
Enjoyed reading this serious, scholarly post. Keep an eye on those folds, though. Plenty of laughter may cause recurrence–and so what?
This is awesome. I love your writing style and hell yes I would’ve jumped in his lap to try that sh*t for free. Go on with your contoured cheeks you little vixen you!
They applied a topical anesthetic – but I could feel the prick. It was more irritating than painful.
Was it painful? I hate needles too!
~Sheila
Making the Most of Every Day
As a man, sometimes I find it difficult to understand why women would forego some of the pleasures in life just to avoid wrinkles. Can someone enlighten me?
You had me at nasolabial fold 🙂
People are sitting around me at the airport wondering why I am laughing so hard with tears in my eyes.
LOVE!
Michelle
I found the article very amusing because the author was making fun of herself, a difficult thing to do.
I had a hard time checking on my dictionary though for nasolabial or whatever.