With the popularity of non-surgical procedures skyrocketing around the world, it was only a matter of time before people tried to circumvent the system.

But what are you willing to risk just to save a few dollars?

Injectable fillers like Botox and Juvederm have become extremely popular for those wanting to turn back the clock on their aging bodies. They have provided a relatively simple and inexpensive way to remove wrinkles in the face as well as lift problem areas they may have loosened up due to the aging process.

Even though this process is simple, usually painless (when performed by a professional), and inexpensive, there are still people out there trying to find a shortcut.

The bottom line is, even though you might be able to find injectable fillers available for cheaper online, please do not buy them in an effort to use on yourself, your friends, or your family.

You Never Know What You’re Getting

The first concern with buying injectable fillers online is that you never know what you’re getting.

The website you order from may seem legit and have, what appears to be, legit reviews and testimonials, but all of that can be easily fabricated. Unless you have the ability to have the product tested in a highly sophisticated medical lab, you’re never going to know what’s truly in the product you’re purchasing.

And this is something that you’re going to be injecting directly into your body!

Too Many Options to Choose From

There are online retailers out there that do provide legitimate product that you can purchase for personal home use, but which do you choose?

We mentioned Juvederm and Botox earlier in this article, but those are just two of the many different brands of cosmetic injectable fillers available. If you have no experience with these products, it’s going to be very difficult to know which one to choose for which application.

You also may have to worry about allergic reactions or your body rejecting certain products. Not knowing exactly what is in the different products can lead to complications that wouldn’t have been an issue had you consulted with a trained medical professional.

You Don’t Know What You’re Doing

Say for a minute we forget the two reasons above as to why you shouldn’t buy dermal fillers for yourself online. The most important reason why you should never be buying these types of products online is that you are not properly trained in how to use them.

Even if you were 100% sure that the product you were buying is the exact same stuff your doctor purchases, that still does not make you qualified to start injecting something into your body.

It’s not a very smart thing to do.

If you think that buying your own injectable fillers online is going to save you some money, you’re going to be pretty upset when it costs even more money to correct the mistakes that you made.

Even if you just want to buy the product yourself to then have your doctor inject, you’d still be better off allowing the doctor to order it as they know exactly what products to order and can oftentimes get them for cheaper than you can online.

If you see a product for a much lower price than what your doctor says they can get it for, you should be cautious. There’s probably a reason that it’s priced that cheaply and you don’t want to find out what that reason is after you’ve already had it injected into your body.

And in most cases, a qualified doctor would never inject anything into a patient that they haven’t personally ordered for their office. You’d never find a doctor who would implant a breast implant you brought in, so why would you expect a doctor to inject Botox into your face that you bring in.

They don’t know what’s in that bottle either, and by injecting it into a patient they run the risk of being at fault when something gets infected or problems start to occur.

Just because you’ve seen a few videos on YouTube about how to use dermal fillers, does not make you qualified to start injecting product into your own face.

Please be smart when it comes to this sort of thing. If you start taking shortcuts, you’ll end up hurting yourself in the end.

The bottom line is, you should always listen to your doctor and the professionals within the medical field when it comes surgical and non-surgical procedures.

The internet is a great tool to help give you guidance, but if you’re not qualified to understand exactly what a study or an article online is talking about, you should always talk to your doctor before moving forward with anything that could potentially harm you.

Injectables are very safe and painless, when done by a properly trained professional. They can still be extremely dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing.

If you have any questions or concerns about non-surgical procedures or injectable dermal fillers, please contact us today to setup a consultation. We’d be happy to discuss the different options available through Dr. Adams Plastic Surgery as well as our AYA Medical Spa, both located in Dallas, TX.

There’s always going to be the debate of plastic surgery vs. non-surgical procedures when it comes to rejuvenating your skin. It’s impossible to walk into the beauty section of your local store and not find a cream or a moisturizer that claims to help you look younger or help take years off your face, but how do these compare to surgical methods and non-surgical rejuvenation techniques that you can get from a Medical Spa.

The obvious benefit of using creams and lotions that you can buy at the corner market are that they are relatively inexpensive and you don’t need to see a doctor in order to obtain them. You also don’t have to deal with any pain. But those luxuries come with a price, and that price is that those methods tend not to work quite as well as advertised, or at least not as well on everyone.

We all have different skin, so a product that may have worked for a friend may not work on you. But it’s a great first step if you’re not looking to spend a lot of money on a treatment plan.

Surgical Skin Rejuvenation Procedures

There are a number of facial surgical procedures that you can have done to help rejuvenate your face while making you appear younger, but these are going to be the most invasive options.

Face lifts are the cornerstone for most facial plastic surgery procedures, but there are also things like otoplasty (ear surgery), eyebrow lifts, and eyelid surgery that can all enhance your face and give you a more youthful appearance.

But can you get similar results for non-surgical procedures? The short answer is probably not, but with the advancements in technology, non-surgical treatments are becoming more proficient and doing the work that surgeries do.

Non-Surgical Facial Rejuvenation

There are quite a few options out there in regards to non-surgical facial rejuvenation. There are skin care products, peels, injectable fillers, skin resurfacing, skin tightening, and light therapy, which can all be beneficial to your skin when used correctly, by skill professionals.

Our AYA Med Spa in Dallas, Texas offers a variety of these non-surgical skin rejuvenating techniques, all performed by highly skilled technicians.

And while we do offer all of these different types of non-surgical procedures, we’re going to be looking at light therapy as a skin rejuvenation technique in this article.

Light Therapy for Skin Rejuvenation

As we mentioned above, there are many different non-surgical methods to help rejuvenate your skin. You may just start with medical grade creams or skin care products, which could get you the results you desire, or you may have to step it up and move up to peels or light therapy.

The methods in which you attain your desired skin will be based on what you are looking for in terms of outcomes.

There are two main types of light therapy that are used for skin rejuvenation, IPL (Intense Pulse Light) and BBL (Broadband Light) .

Broadband Light uses advanced dual-lamp technology and a broad range of wavelengths to deliver targeted heat to the skin. It is essentially the next generation of IPL therapy. The treatment bursts the skin with high intensity light to help tighten and create a more event tone and texture.

It’s great for age spots, uneven skin texture, freckles, rosacea, scars and even small blood vessels. It really can work wonders for evening out the color of your skin by removing redness and brown spots that occur due to aging and sun exposure.

Intense Pulse Light was one of the original photo rejuvenation technologies that helped people regain their youthful skin. Intense pulsed light penetrates deep into the skin and causes collagen and blood vessels to constrict, which can help reduce redness and wrinkles. It can also be used to remove unwanted hair as well.

IPL is still used by many, but BBL is the next step in light therapy technology and can help with a wider variety of issues.

Does Light Therapy Work for Skin Rejuvenation?

Yes.

If you’re looking to reduce age spots, remove redness or brown spots, or smooth out your skin, light therapy is a great non-surgical solution. But it’s not a permanent solution.

We recommend a combination of medical grade skin care products in addition to light therapy treatments to ensure that your skin stays as youthful and vibrant as you desire.

Exposure to the sun and aging are going to continue to cause discoloration and wrinkles as you continue to age, there’s just no denying this. So by keeping up a skin care regiment that combines both medical products as well as light therapy, you’re sure to keep your skin looking as healthy as possible.

If you’re afraid of surgery, or don’t feel that your desire to have perfect skin warrants such procedures, there are plenty of non-surgical skin care options available.

Contact us today to setup a consultation to find out how laser light therapy can help bring that youthful glow back to your skin!

Botox is one of the most popular non-invasive surgical treatments on the market. If performed in the offices of a Board-Certified plastic surgeon, it’s excellent for lessening the appearance of wrinkles, frown lines, crow’s feet, and treating a wide variety of other issues.

It can take upwards of two to three weeks for you to see the full results from your Botox injections. By this point in time, all bruising and swelling should have subsided, and you’ll be able to see the reduced appearance of facial lines and wrinkles on your face.

While you’ve probably heard that Botox doesn’t require any downtime after you’ve gotten the procedure, there are a few recommendations that surgeons suggest you follow for the best chances of success.

Botox Recovery 

Before we begin our list of tips, we’d like to talk about the recovery process from Botox. After you’ve gotten the procedure done and left the surgeon’s office, you can go back to your regular routine or lifestyle—with a few exceptions, as noted down below.

The procedure itself does not require anesthesia of any kind and can be performed in as little as 10 minutes. This means that you won’t need to arrange for transportation to and from the offices of your Board-Certified plastic surgeon, nor will you have to sit around the waiting room until the surgeon discharges you.

5 Things to Avoid After Getting Botox

1. Potential Side Effects

A tiny portion of the people who get Botox could experience a hypersensitive or allergic reaction. They might have short-lived, mild flu-like symptoms such as headaches or nausea. This is completely normal and should subside after a day or two.

In much rarer cases, a stronger allergic reaction might develop. If you start to notice any of these symptoms, call the offices of your plastic surgeon, and they will be able to advise you. 

2. Don’t Lay on Your Face

You should avoid lying down on a bed or couch for at least four hours after you walk out of the plastic surgeon’s office. The Botox that was injected into your face needs time to settle in and take hold. This helps prevent it from moving from the injection area to nearby muscles.

Once you do lay down, be sure to sleep on your back—and only your back for a day or two. If you’re a side or stomach sleeper, you might find this position a bit awkward. You want to avoid your face touching the pillow or mattress because it could potentially affect the treatment areas.

3. Don’t Touch Your Face

The Botox injections you received at the offices of the Board-Certified plastic surgeon were precisely administered. The Botox itself needs time to “settle in” after it’s been injected.

If you were to massage or rub the treatment area, it could potentially result in the Botox physically moving to nearby muscles and having an unintended—and undesirable effect.

This is why you shouldn’t touch your face for at least 24 hours after the procedure. It could also cause skin irritation if you start to scratch at the injection areas. This can contribute to such side effects as bruising and swelling. Avoid the temptation to scratch or itch, no matter how hard the urge arises—you can do it!

4. Don’t take NSAIDs

NSAIDs such as Aleve®, Motrin®, and Advil® can cause thinning of the blood, and this in turn can cause bleeding or bruising at the site of the injections. Ask the person who’s administering the Botox to let you know what over-the-counter painkillers you can take in case you start to feel a little pain. Alcohol can also cause your blood to thin and have the same bruising or bleeding effect. Try to refrain from all alcohol at least 24-48 hours after the procedure.

5. Don’t Get a Facial

The area where the Botox was injected can be a bit sensitive for the first 24-48 hours after the procedure. It’s strongly advised that you refrain from getting a facial, chemical peel, or microdermabrasion for a few days after the procedure.

Once the treatment area is healed up and the Botox has settled in and is doing its thing, you can then get a facial performed. Be sure to let the person performing your treatment that you recently had Botox and show them the exact locations of the injections.

Botox in Dallas

While Botox generally doesn’t require any downtime, you should pay close attention to the above five tips for the best chances of success. Take it slow for the first few days and try to avoid any physical contact with the injection areas. Over the next two to three weeks, any swelling and bruising should disappear, and you’ll notice the reduced appearance of wrinkles and facial lines.

Botox can help smooth out wrinkles, smile, and facial lines that you don’t like. If you’d like to schedule a Botox treatment session, give the offices of Dr. Adams a call at (214) 965-9885 or schedule an appointment via our website.