A filler lift at The SW1 Clinic gave me a slimmer jawline, fuller cheeks, and an ‘eye-opening’ effect (literally)!
I woke up happy today. 10 hours of glorious sleep! But my happiness was shortlived, as I bumped into a friend I haven’t seen in yonks on the way to work.
“Germaine?” I yelled out to her with enthusiasm initially.
“Serene? Wow! You look tired.” She replied.
Yup. That was pretty much all we said for the rest of the train ride.
Maybe her comment was a ‘girl thing’, maybe she never liked me much while we were at school. Or maybe it was an ‘asian thing’, speaking our minds candidly. Or it could really be because at the ripe old age of 25, I had undereye circles so dark that I looked like I just spent a year in a cave.
My Miracle Lift
I was frankly tired of people commenting on how tired I looked everyday, even though I always woke up feeling fresh. I researched on the possible remedies. I could look into lasers, but that could take a while to see any marked improvement. I could try eye creams and probably would achieve the same if I threw the money down the drain. I could go for surgery, but I thought maybe I should save the option for a bigger mid-life crisis later on.
Then I heard about hyaluronic acid fillers and the well-acclaimed ‘filler lift’ from The SW1 Clinic and decided to give it a try. So I made an appointment to see Dr Michelle Lim to have the procedure done.
I was stumped. The results were subtle but I could definitely see an improvement in more than one area even though I would have been happy enough to see just my dark undereye circles alleviated.
Basic math in school taught us that when we added volume such as injecting fillers into one side of the face, the face should look bigger, but this was just jarring my brain.
Instead, the reverse happened.
The whole right profile of my face looked slimmer after injection. That was not all. I could see that my right cheek was more lifted, as was the tail of my right brow, right corner of my mouth and my right cheek was delightfully full but not overfilled. My usually smaller right eye looked rounder, and more open. Best of all, my dark undereye shadows on the right was eliminated by at least 70 percent compared to the left.
My Results
If you look closely at the picture, there are hardly any noticeable pinprick marks or swelling. That was the second amazing thing about the filler lift. Only a total of 4 small injections were made to accomplish the lift. I asked Dr Michelle Lim how this was possible, to which she replied that knowledge of facial anatomy was important to cleverly retract skin, tighten target ligaments and relax certain muscles at the same time. This helps in the design of the look the doctor wishes to achieve with the least possible amount of fillers.
For those of us who are slow in budgets and math, less fillers means less money out of pocket. I couldn’t wait for her to finish up the left side of my face now that I have seen what it has done to my right.
The Emerging Popularity of Hyaluronic Acid Fillers
In recent years, a number of new fillers have emerged in the armamentarium of products used by doctors to treat signs of aging or to improve facial appearances. Hyaluronic acid fillers, in particular, have been gaining a strong foothold because of its demonstrated excellent safety profile. To the patient like you and me, this means there is very little risk of hyaluronic acid filler complications. Like the many different types of moisturizers in the market for different skin problems, hyaluronic acid fillers come in different brands and chemical makeup for different facial needs, from harder fillers designed for lifting areas such as the nose bridge, to the softest watery fillers for skin boosting effects of the skin.
Read More: 5 Tips to Survive a Laser Experience
Another point is, people are increasingly becoming open to getting some quick help to look and feel better about themselves, and to form better impressions at work. Hence the term “lunchtime facelifts”. Doctors are discovering techniques with the most natural effects with minimal downtime.
The truth is, for me, having fillers injected felt about the same as going to the spa for hair removal, or having brow embroidery done. Fillers made of hyaluronic acid today are non-permanent, lasting between 6-18 months, so any regrets one may have later on or any mistakes can easily be rectified by dissolving the filler with a simple injection of an enzyme. Fillers also integrate into your own tissue and help stimulate collagen renewal.
Despite these, caution must be taken to avoid looking pillow-faced, a term that describes the hallmark plumped-out cheeks, a dead giveaway that one has had too much work done.
“It is still possible to emerge after this looking overdone or too perfect”, says Dr Michelle Lim, who recommends seeking treatment from a trusted establishment with years of experience that you can count on.
For me, the successful filler lift did more than just aesthetics. Waking up the next morning and not being told I look tired anymore – in fact, that I look “really fresh today”, put a spring in my step for the rest of the day.
Read More: Beauty Treatments You Need to HUAT in 2018