If you’ve been following me for a while now, you know I’m not a newbie to fillers/injectables.
I first started with Botox at the age of 37 then had to quit, because, well, Botox quit working on me by the age of 40. Yep, I became resistant to injectable neuromodulators. Don’t worry if you currently love Botox, it doesn’t happen to many people. But it CAN happen and I’m living proof of it.
And yes, I also tried Dysport and Xeomin after the Botox ordeal – but they’re all neuromodulators, which don’t work on me anymore. Hence, why I’ve had bangs cut to cover my deep forehead wrinkles for the past 4 years. It is mega cheaper to just wear bangs, but way more high maintenance than Botox ever was! And I’d give these bangs up in a heartbeat for Botox to work on me again! *Sigh.
So then in March of 2018 at the age of 41, I tried my first round of lip filler and I talked about it over on the blog here if you’d like to see before and after photos and read more in-depth about that experience. I think I’ve gone back for touchups about 4 times since then for the lips. That filler lasts a loooong time for me and I’ve been very very happy with being given the upper lip I never had.
Now let’s get to the cheek filler part and why I did it, what it’s like, and whether I would do it again.
First, let’s get the judgment out of the way.
I do believe there’s a lot less stigma attached to getting injectables now than there used to be. However, there are still those people who when you mention going the route of a needle getting stuck in your face as a treatment option for face enhancement, they immediately assume:
a) you dislike your face
b) you’re insecure
c) you’re super vain
d) you’re doing it to please a man/society.
I can tell you for me, the reason I gave “temporary cheek filler” a try, was for NONE of those above reasons.
And most people that feel this way, are people that have never tried them before. They’re also the people saying, “Oh, you should just grow older gracefully, accept your face for what it is, and not do such invasive things like that.”
Here’s the thing. What is the difference between me trying out face fillers, that are temporary (they fade away), and me doing the following beauty treatments I’ve done for yeaaarrs now that no one has a problem with…
- dying my gray hair since I was in my 30’s. I don’t want to accept my natural gray hair roots, yet, therefore I dye them.
- whitening my teeth. I drink a good bit of coffee and wine, so I need a little help to keep my teeth looking whiter. And white teeth are a more youthful look…point blank.
- applying self-tanner. I love a warm bronzed glow and that’s not my natural skin tone. I don’t want to get real sun because that causes premature wrinkles. So I adjust it with the options given to me.
- wearing false lash strips often. My natural lashes are decent, but I want them longer. Strip lashes are a nice easy option and look great when I want more drama.
- wearing fake press on nails. Same as the lashes, my natural nails are short and stubby. I like them longer and don’t like to deal with chipping nail polish so those impress nails are my jam and give me the longer nails I want in 5 minutes. Boom.
So my point is, I’ve never embraced the “I woke up like this look,” and I feel better about myself when I take care of my appearance and enhance it in ways that make me feel like me.
Why did I all of sudden decide to try cheek filler? I mean I’d love to give you a super deep reason for wanting to do this other than “I just felt like it,” but that’s pretty much what sums it up.
I take REALLY good care of my skin (like a 5-6 steps every single night) and have always been content with how my skin looks with no makeup on. I have minimal discoloration, so age spots aren’t really an issue yet. And my pore size could be smaller, but they’re also minimal and easily disguised with makeup. I take care of these issues with salicylic acid, weekly exfoliation, at home dermaplaning, and using lots of products with Hyaluronic Acid, retinol, and daily SPF!
Where all of the skin care in the world has NOT been able to help me however, is the LOSS OF VOLUME in my cheeks which inevitably has put emphasis on the marionette lines around my mouth.
So I spoke to my longtime and trusted injector Charlotte, at Pittman Plastic Surgery here in Athens about this issue.
Charlotte is the one who did my Botox for years, did and continues to do my lips, and so I trust her wholeheartedly. She knows how conservative I am with these types of things and never makes me feel rushed to make decisions or to do too much at once. If you’re new to injectables, find yourself a Charlotte! Ha ha! Or make the drive to Pittman Plastic Surgery Center – it would be worth the trip.
She suggested trying filler in my cheekbones to help lift that area that had started to flatten, thus taking some of the heaviness off the marionette lines. So that’s what we did.
As you can see in the side-by-side photo below, it’s a good visual of how my face had started to flatten out. But then in the after photo, it’s obvious how with the addition of filler, it gave me a subtle lift which added a more youthful and refreshed vibe to my face.
I of course asked for something in between “noticeably better and lifted, but very subtle.” I’m sure that type of request drives injectors crazy!! Good news about filler, is that it’s pretty much immediate results when it’s put in, so you know where you’re probably going to land with your look.
What it feels like to get cheek filler and does it hurt?
Charlotte numbed me up with a topical face cream for about 30 minutes because I like to be NUMB. She assured me that this treatment would not be nearly as painful as the lip filler was. That was pretty unpleasant. But this cheek filler was honestly a piece of cake. It’s as basic as getting Botox used to be for me. And if you’ve never gotten Botox, it’s like a teeny tiny needle prick sting that lasts mere seconds.
The ONLY weird thing about filler in the cheeks, is you can hear a faint popping sound! Or more like a subtle crunching sound. Charlotte warned me of this, and it did happen. And I have no idea what the sound is attributed to and don’t really want to know. Ha!
She started by drawing onto my face with a white pencil the exact spots where she was going to place the product. Then she did what she described as “Hershey kiss” drops of the product along my upper cheekbone area. Maybe about 4-5 sticks along each cheek.
There are a few filler options out there, but she used 1 syringe of Juvederm Voluma XC per cheek on me.
People are always curious about pricing and what kind of investment injectables are, so here’s the tea. This Juvederm runs around $800- $900 per syringe, depending on your geography and where you live. Yes I know, that’s pricey, no two ways about it.
But remember the old saying, “You get what you pay for.” So don’t go cheap on this type of procedure. Pay the higher price tag for a highly skilled injector like Charlotte. You don’t want the “fast fashion of fillers” I guarantee you! It’s your FACE. This specific product should last anywhere between 12-18 months.
If you are ever considering trying anything like injectables and live around the Athens area, I would highly suggest you go to the face experts at Pittman Plastic Surgery. Tell them JennySue sent you!
