A Sculptra story

This is a set of Before and After photos for Sculptra from UK website.

I went to school with girls who look like this woman so I think that is why I find her photos so striking. I have seen many women age the same way as her: in some ways, her face still looked youthful but the way she was losing volume was sucking all of the life out of her face.

In her after photo, her face is so soft and gently rounded that, in one way, she has subtracted 20 years from her appearance, and yet she still has the confident look of a mature woman. She certainly doesn’t look “done”.

I found this article in the Coventry Telegraph online. It may or may not be the same person but her story and her experience with Sculptra are really illuminating.

“I’m really pleased with it. I makes me feel better about myself because I know I look better.

“I think it has affected other areas of my life too. I’ve got more confidence and probably wear more colourful, fashionable clothes now.”

And she understands it might be viewed as an expensive remedy.

“It is expensive, but it does last a long time. When you think about how much you might spend on these miracle anti-wrinkle creams which don’t work you may as well pay extra for something which actually makes a difference.

“Every time a new cream came out I’d buy it so I had a bathroom full of these potions which were useless, now I just use a basic moisturiser.

This woman had 3 sets of Sculptra injections in 2005 and a top-up in December 2007. This photo was taken in November 2008.

You can expect to do maintenance of one set of Sculptra injections (1 – 2 vials) approximately every year after the initial series.

Dr. Rose Jeans
Advanced Rejuvenation Medical Spa

Hillary Clinton’s Rejuvenation

This article is reprinted from our newsletter of January 2, 2009. To subscribe to our newsletter, please click here.

The last US presidential election focused a lot of attention on what the various political women had done to improve their appearance.
I heard rumors that Hillary had had some work done but I hadn’t seen any images that were close enough that I could really see a difference.

(Source of Before Image here; After picture was taken at the Glamour Magazine Women of the Year 2008 event.)

I did some searching and came up with these images. The one on the left dates from December 2007. I was shocked at how crepey her skin was. And look at the loss of volume in her cheeks! Her forehead is furrowed and her eyelids are very crepey.

The photo on the right was taken in November 2008. The volume is miraculously restored to her face. This can be achieved with Sculptra or fat grafting. It would depend on how much downtime Hillary could afford — Sculptra would be more gradual but has minimal downtime.

This effect could also be achieved with dermal fillers but it would take a lot of syringes to get these results. However, the results are instantaneous so Hillary might have gone for it.

The texture of her skin is much improved but still lined. This suggests to me that she has undergone fractional laser resurfacing, which would be a Pixel treatment here.

I also suspect she has had her upper lids lifted (blepharoplasty).

I can’t tell whether or not she had some filler in her lips, given the difference in facial expression. If she did, it was done with a very light and subtle hand.

To me, this is the epitome of looking great without looking “done.” Hillary Clinton is such a vibrant woman. Her “after” appearance reflects the inner woman.

Dr. Rose Jeans
Advanced Rejuvenation Medical Spa

Here’s why you don’t want a facelift

The old understanding of facial aging was that the skin and muscles of face become stretched and lax so the treatment of choice was to tighten them up. The ideal way to tighten the skin and muscles was to cut out the excess and pull the remainder tighter, in other words, to do a facelift.

We have a much better understanding of facial aging now. We know that the support structures of the face, the bone, muscle and deep fat layers, are shrinking as we age. If you pull the skin tighter over a shrinking framework, you get a smaller and more gaunt-looking face. I always get a picture in my mind of Helen Gurley Brown, the iconic editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, whose face got smaller as she aged.

This article from the Style blog of The Plain Dealer does a really good job of explaining how restoring volume to face does a much better job of making look younger but still look like yourself.

“You don’t want to change your looks,” says Dr. Anthony Griffin, director of the Beverly Hills Cosmetic Surgery Institute. “And actresses and celebrities really don’t want to do that, though some inadvertently have.

“Face-lifts make the face tighter, and when you pull on the skin, it gets flatter. You don’t look like yourself anymore. Some actresses we’ve seen pictures of have had disastrous results.” …

“Face-lifts change the whole ratio and proportions of the facial features, which is why some actresses are hardly recognizable,” Griffin says, who predicts that in 10 or 15 years, face-lifts will be passe and rarely done. 

Using dermal fillers, like Teosyal and Juvederm, and volumizers, like Sculptra, creates a very natural look. My clients tell me they look in the mirror and remember when they used to look like this.

Here is an example of how Sculptra builds up volume around the mouth:

These photos show how restoring volume in the midface (the cheeks below the eyes and above the base of the nose) really restores a younger appearance to the face:

You can look like a more youthful version of yourself without resorting to the knife. Each treatment has advantages and disadvantages but they are both a lot less risky than having surgery.

Neither Teosyal nor Sculptra is permanent but a facelift isn’t permanent either. You generally need to have another facelift about every 10 years.

I’m really excited about the natural results I can achieve with Teosyal and Sculptra, and the longevity of these products. The injection techniques that I use can last for several years.

Dr. Rose Jeans
Advanced Rejuvenation Medical Spa

Are your hands giving your age away?

 I have met some wonderful vivacious women whose faces looked 10 or more years younger than their actual age but whose hands totally gave the game away.

The features that make us judge hands as being older include the brown discoloration of sun spots (some people call these age spots or liver spots), a dull rough skin texture, thinning of the skin and loss of tissue in the hands giving a skeletal experience.

A manicure helps to keep our hands looking younger but if you think your hands are giving away your age then you need the treatments below.

1. Chemical peels
   Medium-depth chemical peels help your hands by reducing sun spots, stimulating collagen formation and improving texture.
2. Uncross-linked hyaluronic acid injections
   Pure, uncross-linked hyaluronic acid adds 1000x its weight in moisture to your skin resulting in a plumper and more hydrated appearance.
3. Intense pulsed light (IPL)
   Shots of light target pigment in the skin, eradicating sun spots.
4. Pixel fractionated laser
   The Pixel laser stimulates new skin cell and collagen formation, resulting in thickening of the skin and improvement in texture and the appearance of sun damage.
5. Sculptra
   Sculptra injections stimulate the skin to make collagen, thickening and tightening the skin. Fat transplantations can do the same thing if you don’t mind a more surgical approach.

Dr. Rose Jeans
Advanced Rejuvenation Medical Spa

P.S. To read my analysis and recommendations for Faye Dunaway’s hands, please click here.