K guys...I'd like to start out this post by warning this is a JUDGEMENT FREE ZONE! Haha. If you are anti all facial injections/plastic surgery this is NOT a post for you :)
Paige here getting real about getting old. I'll be the big 3-0 next year (the oldest Salty) and although I'm all for "accepting yourself for who you are" and "loving the skin your in", I'd really love it if my skin looked like it did back in 2010 :) SO I've made a few adjustments or, injections to try and make that happen.
My sisters, and mother as a matter of fact, were initially against me doing this post for fear of us all coming across as fake b!*$%es, so I'd like to make it known that I am the ONLY one of us dabbling in botox and fillers at this point :) We'll see how they feel in a few year though! Anyways, I've been doing some new things with skincare and using some new great products that I love and want to do a new skincare post soon, but first I felt like I had to give you guys full disclosure and let you know what else I'm doing! I also wish I had had a blogger to refer to when I was decided what to get done! So here you go. And if you have any questions feel free to ask away in the comments!
I'll just come right out with it. I've had:
-Lip injections (twice) about six months apart
-Botox in the jaw (more on this later), on either side of my nose (this too), and a little in the forehead
-Voluma in my cheekbones and smile lines
Lip Injections
Yes, I gave into the Kardashian nation stereo type and plumped up my lips (a LITTLE)! Like I said...judgement free people! I've always had thin lips, but I felt like they'd gotten even thinner over the past 10 years and I wanted a little plumpedge. Sue me :) Haha anyways, the first time was about a year ago right after I had MJ. I had asked for it for Christmas (is that weird?) and went and got it done from a plastic surgeon downtown (Salt Lake). I won't say who it was because I didn't love them, and I'm not sure if it was the doctor who did them or just my body's reaction the first time but they were super swollen and lumpy for quite a while.
Here's a picture of what they looked like right after:
After a while they calmed down and I liked them. Here's a before and after picture:
The second time I got them done, I had a way better experience. I went to Regan at
(apparently now known as Beatuy Lab?) who specializes in the Mini Lip Plump. It's $350 and the perfect amount of plumage! My lips hardly swelled at all and looked great the next day. Search the hashtag #lipsbyregan on Instagram to view his work. He was the best! Below is what they look like now compared to before I had anything done. When I got them done the second time, it was about 6 months after the first time, and I still had some left in there. It's been about 5 months since the second time and they still look great!
Botox
Ok I don't really have before and after pictures of the botox because it was mostly preventative or in areas you can't really tell from pictures. Also, I wasn't planning on doing this post! Sorry. The main reason I did botox was because
had a deal going on where you got 20 free units of botox with one purchase of a filler. For the injection virgins; botox basically freezes the muscles where it's injected preventing wrinkles, while fillers actually fill out already existing wrinkles and add volume to the face. Anyways, I got this deal because I really wanted to get Voluma (a filler that I'll talk about next).
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I got botox in my jaw, on either side of my nose, and in my forehead. I got it in my jaw because I grind my teeth at night, and it helps soften the muscles so I can't do it as bad (nothing too exciting there). I got it on either side of my nose to help lower my smile (great if you have a gummy smile). I wish I had a good laughing photo of me to show you so you could see what it looked like before, but I don't. You'll just have to imagine a horse...jk haha. It wasn't THAT bad. Lastly, I got the remaining botox in my forehead to soften those lines!
Voluma
K guys, now on to the big guns ;) Probably my BIGGEST complaint about my aging skin was my smile lines. I've always had them due to genetics, but over the past few years they'd really started to bother me because they'd gotten deeper even when I wasn't smiling. I was really afraid of getting them filled in however because I'd seen/heard so many horror stories! Then a friend of mine told me about Voluma, which is a fairly new filler used to enhance the cheekbones which helps lessen smile lines. It also lasts for 2 years! Basically a perma contour without makeup, and softer smile lines for 2 years...yes, please!
Needless to say, as soon as I heard about this magic, I needed it. It's expensive ($900) so I started saving and scheming right away :) I ended up convincing my husband to let me do it by saving for part of it, and him "giving it to me" as my combined birthday and Mother's Day present. So anyways, that's how I got Voluma! Woohoo! And I love it. It's subtle yet amazing.
I went to Melissa at Amara to get my Voluma because a friend recommended her, and she was great! It's so important to go to someone you trust for Voluma because they are basically shaping your face and need to know what they're doing! I highly recommend Melissa but don't think she works at Amara anymore. I tagged her in my Instagram post if you'd like to reach out to her!
Below is a before and after of Voluma:
Disclamer: I feel like the above before and after shows very dramatic results, and although I love it, I don't think it made AS big of a difference as the picture makes it seem. I think the two pictures must just be from slightly different angles and the lighting is worse in the first. I can tell a big difference though and love the results!
Well there you have it. Everything I've done to my face thus far to try to cling to my 20s :) If you have any questions or are thinking about getting any of these things done yourself, feel free to comment below or email me at saltyblondes@gmail.com!