Nu Cosmetic Clinic – Face Facts – Botox & Fillers
Every week at Men Style Fashion, the increasing advent of the male aesthetic and the importance of a beauty regime become more apparent. It is fair to say that today´s man is on something of a ´Renaissance journey’. I myself included.
Today I write the third and final instalment of my articles on ´male facial rejuvenation’. The previous two articles have been focused on the background of the male cosmetic industry, then on my ´tried and tested´ experience with Nu Cosmetic clinic and my application of Botox.
Now I return, after the four month period, for my ´top up review´ for Botox. This is what happened.
As usual, I was warmly greeted by Pankaj Kishmore at the Rodney Street premises, in Liverpool city centre one wet and windy Tuesday morning. Already, several clients were in the waiting area (two of them males) for consultations. Many new products and services were proudly posted along the walls, amongst which I noticed a promotion for male (and female) hair transplantation, by the renowned Dr Vikas Kunnure. This, in itself merited further research (but not a tried and tested from me, as thankfully I have more hair than Elton John will ever have. Well, just now.)
I was led into the consulting area where I was received by Jane Halpern the cosmetic nurse. It was Jane who had administered the Botox treatment to me previously, and with her calming yet informative manner, I was relived to be under her instruction once again.
Jane began nursing in 2003 within a private hospital in Merseyside. She believes that there have been great changes from this time, for various reasons. Jane saw people at entry level within the industry being trained and educated by actual surgeons. Back then, cosmetic surgery was a much more secretive, underground and expensive domain. Many more decisions and much more time would go into cosmetic procedures as they were less of an impulsive decision with less emphasis on peer pressure.
Historically, the recovery time would be at least several weeks for most surgeries, with many more associated risks. But today (for procedures such as 4-D Vaser Lipo sculpture) the recovery time can be within hours. Overall, cosmetic beauty today is a less risky and intimidating industry than it was years ago.
Jane has managed to sustain an organic success within her field due to a strict adherence to her professional philosophies and also down to the fact that she always seeks to ´under promise and over deliver.´ On these both counts, I cannot dispute her services.
After completing my medical checklist and updating my treatment history on my clinical file, my re-analysis began. I must admit, I was a little apprehensive as to the feedback and suggestions that would be given from Jane. Before, as I mentioned, when I heard the word ´Botox´ images of Ab-Fab styled fashionistas who could only move their eyes and lips sprung to mind. This, I discovered, was thankfully no more than a retrogressive stereotype. I am sure than even in these days of ethical surgery and consultancy that this ´profile´ does exist somewhere still (hopefully within the dark and obscure depths of downtown NYC.) Or Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD).
From my past experience can quite confidently reaffirm my claim that the treatment I received was 100% natural looking and 100% successful. I was, in all honestly quite happy with my appearance as of late, but the hand of age slowly creeps in and slaps everyone when they least expect it. First thing in the morning, or before I laid me down to sleep, I was not of the youthful radiance I have once cut in my 20´s. This Botox (Allegran) treatment had, for sure left me with a ´new outer freshness, a new outer glow´. Many men also are forming this opinion and taking the leap forward to reverse the aging process in a domain that was exclusive reserved for the female demographic. ´BROTOX´ is now big business.
So to continue with my treatment assessment. Botox had an excellent result on my skin. There were no scars, nor ´drops´ or excessive paralysis. All Jane´s claims had been gratefully verified. The next comment was valid, especially for me. As you grow old, everyone develops lines in various places, at various frequencies and various depths. Now, Botox is very successful, but only to a certain ´line depth´. Once, the line depth is crossed, and then regardless of the type of Botox, or the number of injections, there will still be some degree of ´line appearance´ present. So, if you balance this against the advent and frequency of the smaller and finer lines, this means that in proportion, the smaller lines will diminish, but the deeper lines will still slightly show. Common sense.
The aging process was reversing for me, but it was all in proportion. Especially between my eyebrows, where although most of my lines had decreased dramatically, there were still two obvious ´11´ lines. This is what Jane said;
´Botox can soften lines and wrinkles; however some deeper lines can still be obvious even after the muscles responsible for causing these lines have been relaxed. Repeated use of Botox may minimise these lines over time but often dermal fillers are used in conjunction with Botox to bring about a more aesthetic result.
In the case of Charles, static lines were still present at the Glabella, the area between the eyebrows, sometimes referred to as “11s” due to their appearance as two thick vertical lines. So after consultation the decision was made to add in a soft hyaluronic acid filler (Juvederm).
Treating the glabella requires caution as it is possible to cause permanent damage due to occluding the blood supply. It is important to place the product at the correct depth using a steady injection technique, observing for any blanching that could indicate occlusion of blood vessels.´
Jane Halpin
A logical summary and course of action for my third and final action would then be to continue with the Botox ´top ups´ which had such a great result on smoothing out the smaller lines, then introducing a small amount of ´Juvederm´ fillers into the two lines between my eyebrows with the hope of smoothing them out.
The treatment was commenced pretty much in the same manner as before. I laid down on the bed, whilst Jane talked me through the importance of correctly marking the areas for Botox treatment, to ensure that a maximum coverage was achieved, without an excessive ´uplift´. The course of injections were not very painful, as before a slight entry sting was felt, but then after, the sensation quickly disappeared. Again, she reminded me about the importance of ´going with the force vectors ´so the facial muscles are all working with and against each other. This sounded more like an art than a science, or procedure. I believe it could have been all three.
The Juvederm experience was a continuation of this treatment type, with a series of longer more specific injections between my eye brows to gently ´infill´ the deeper lines. ´Fillers´ are a different entity than Botox in their mechanics, as they do not paralyse, but instead they infill. Many media stories of past described horror scenarios of the infills ´slipping´. This was something that Jane assured me had no change of happening. In the event of a negative reaction or result, the procedure was easy to reverse by injecting an enzyme of Hyaluronidase. Also, short sharp localised doses of filler applications would mean that not only a more uniform result would be achieved, but with a lesser risk of damage to the skin (blood vessels) and visual ´lumps´ which could potentially extend a treatment recovery time.
Both procedures were complete within thirty minutes. The´downtime´ involved nothing more than marking the ink spots from my face. The advice was as before, to try and keep upright for several hours, and not to fly on the same day as the treatment. Apart from that I was good to go. I did have a few red spots and the lines between my eyes were slightly swollen, but I was assured that this would disappear within several days, which it did.
After the procedure, I thanked Pankaj once again for his excellent care and Jane for her excellent treatment, and made my way back into the city centre.
One week on, and what can I conclude. Well, the skin around my eyes and forehead is much smoother and youthful looking. As an additional compliment, my two heavy set lines between my eyebrows (they called the angry 11´s) had practically vanished. For me, once these were gone, I could actually see a REAL noticeable difference in my appearance, as did my friends on out next night out. Maybe it was down to a confidence issue, or maybe it was that due to Nu Cosmetic Clinic, I actually did look as good as they had claimed, and left it.
Nu Cosmetic clinic are currently offering a range of Christmas promotions http://www.nucosmeticclinic.co.uk/special-offers/. So, if you are interested in Botox, fillers or any other range of male cosmetic treatments, then visit their website for a free no obligation consultation in your area while promotions last.
