My Botox With Dr Max Malik at Elate Health.

Some photographs from 3 weeks upwards after.

I make no secret of my thought on ageing, in that I will do everything in my power to avoid that whole ‘looking old’ thing as time creeps on. I also make no secret of the fact that I’m a bit partial to botox, having had my first injections a few years ago; I admit it, I love the stuff and have had nothing but good experiences with it. I see it as a preventative measure as well as a curative one for the few lines/wrinkles I already have developing and visible when I frown/smile etc, so that they don’t further develop and become deep set, staying visible whilst I’m not frowning or smiling… which would give me a big reason to frown even more.

I should add that whilst I’ve had Botox a number of times before, I haven’t been a rigidly regular user of it. However now I’m heading towards my mid-thirties, I’m thinking that I should up my treatments as if this can prevent more invasive treatments later in life, then for me, it’s worth doing.

Dr Max Malik, owner of Elate Health is a highly trained doctor (who just happens to train other doctors too), specialising in facial aesthetics, with clinics on the prestigious Harley Street in London, and also in the Birmingham area, with more locations coming soon. This is a guy who can give you a brow lift under local (not general) anaesthetic, who can sculpt your face using non-invasive procedures and generally make you look like the best version of you with minimal interruption to your normal life – so less invasive treatments are always preferred, unless absolutely necessary. He’s a wizard at his art with over 20 years of experience in medicine; and, having seen some of his before and after images from previous clients I’m thoroughly confident in his skills to make dramatic and positive changes that look totally natural.

Before treatment - ignore my unkempt brows, I was trying to grow them out. Forced faces to show extent of movement.

So, when I was presented with the opportunity to visit Dr Max back in September, I quickly accepted and off I trotted to visit him at his Birmingham clinic to see what magic he could work. The clinic is a modern, clean environment and Dr Max has his consultations up quite a large amount of stairs – although I’m sure this could be worked on for those who have more limited mobility. Whilst in his care, I was injected across my forehead to give my brows some lift, something I felt worked extremely well and would be quick to have again, rather than jumping in with a full brow lift – at least until I felt I needed a bit of extra oomph. ;-) I was also injected in-between my brows to combat my Glabella frown lines, and around the area to rid me of crow’s feet that I was beginning to notice when I smiled. Something that, whilst not extreme was really starting to affect my confidence quite a lot, especially when I noticed them in photographs.

The treatment wasn’t overly painful, with fine needles being used to inject in precise locations, obviously this also depends on your sensitivity to needles and pain, but I felt it was totally bearable. It was also over very quickly, so if you do have an aversion to needles, at least it’s over with pretty quickly.

Around 10 days after treatment.

As usual with Botox, I started to see results after about 3-4 days, with my muscles slowly starting to freeze, I love this part – it’s great to see the movement decrease, and I found myself checking the mirror each day and pulling faces, to see how much I could move the areas that I’d had injected. Full results are to be seen up to 14 days after treatment, where you’d normally go back to your practitioner for them to check their work, correct any asymmetries, and top up Botox where needed. Unfortunately I was unable to get back to Max due to illness, so I didn’t have my top up… but I was still quite pleased with the results I had, feeling whilst I think a top up would have been beneficial to my end results, that I had definitely benefitted from the injections regardless of having not had the usual top up.

More from after treatment 4 weeks+ - the top right shows some of the lift of my brows, along with the forehead line reduction.

My apologies for the lack of after photographs of any close up or non grainy quality, these were due to my technical issues, however I hope you can see that I do look more rested in them, despite the quality and at times, some funny face pulling.

If you’re in, or available to get to any of his clinic locations, then I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him to you. More information on treatments, and Dr Max are available on his website, here.




There has been a delay in posting this (and a number of upcoming articles) due to both technical issues, and also having been through a sexual assault, which if you follow me on Twitter you'll have probably seen me tweeting about. Hoping that I have my mojo back now, and that technology starts to hate me slightly less. x

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

The Botox Diaries - Frown Line Day 16.... & Forehead Day 1!

I haven’t updated on my Botox on here for a little while as I thought that rather than posting slight changes every day, I’d just post the final effect as it could have been a bit dull for you all to see so many (weird) frown-y photographs of me! So here are photographs of my frown line, or lack of today. You can also see the actual movement I have in that area  in the video (at the bottom of the page) as I think that whilst I look incredibly odd on it, it is actually quite useful to see!

I went for a check up this morning in Worsley with the lovely Dr Martin Kinsella (Re-Enhance Clinic, Hale) who said the ‘Botoxed’ area looked great and didn’t need a top up. He did however give me 2 injections into my forehead in a bid to try to conceal the dent that I acquired last Christmas when I fell onto my head. My forehead lines weren’t incredibly prominent to start with, but they should still also see the benefit from the small amount of Botox that was administered in the area. I’ll keep you updated with my progress!

 This photograph is brutal and taken in brutal light too, sorry!

I’ve got to say, I have been impressed yet again by Martin Kinsella, his knowledge, skill and the way he works and would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending him to you if you’re thinking about having ‘work’ done, which is why I am going to put a permanent link to his site in my side bar.

I’ll be visiting his main clinic sometime in the not too distant future, so will be sure to tell you all about it when I do! :-)

See more reviews of his Clinic on Wahanda.

TriPollar STOP Age (For Face) Trial - Part 1 - The Pre-Trial Post!

I’m really lucky to have been given the chance to test a very interesting piece of kit from TriPollar. Their Stop device claims to turn back time and reverse the signs of aging, bringing about a fresh, younger look without the use of professional treatment... sounds good, doesn’t it?!

The device comes in 3 colours and is only about 13 centimetres tall; it actually wouldn’t look that out of place in a modern room as some kind of ornament, and I quite like that it’s not big and bulky too as it makes it easy to store.

I’m not very clued up on the technical side of how this works but from what I can gather it stimulates your skin to produce collagen and thicken the dermis, thus creating firmer, tighter skin - if it works, then I honestly don't mind how it gets the job done.

Tripollar recommend that I spend 12-15 minutes, 2-3 times each week for 6 to 8 weeks using the device for the best results, so I’ll be starting my treatment this weekend and posting weekly on my progress and thoughts along the way.

I’m actually really excited to try this, as whilst I’m not aging too badly (apparently, well I have been told twice recently that I look at least 5 years younger than my actual age – which is 29, almost 30) I do feel like I am starting to see fine lines and other changes that I’d rather not be seeing so I’m hoping that I can reverse it, stop it progressing, or at least slow it down rather than try and cure things when it’s too late.


Further information from the website:

The Claims:

"STOP Facial Skin Renewal Device is Painless, Effective and Easy to Use:
Non-invasive, relaxing treatment
Creates a noticeable clinical effect from the very first treatment
Significantly reduces wrinkles and fine lines
Improves skin texture
Long lasting anti-ageing results


STOP Non Invasive Anti-aging Treatment Results Speak for Themselves:
Very satisfied with immediate treatment results - 95% Agree
Very satisfied with long term treatment results - 91% Agree
Noticed skin lifting effect – 86.4% Agree
Noticed skin texture improvement – 77.3% Agree
Noticed improved skin smoothness, reduction in wrinkles and fine lines – 63.64% Agree


* Self assessment of 23 women in clinical trial


How TriPollar Facial Contouring & Skin Tightening Treatments Work at Home?

As our skin matures and is subjected to environmental effects the connective tissue (Collagen fibers) begins to break down, causing wrinkles and other signs of aging.


The TriPollar RF energy penetrates the skin layers to selectively heat the skin tissue and the extra-cellular matrix (ECM) where the collagen fibers are embedded. The local heating causes an immediate contraction of the collagen fibers, and at the same time increases the metabolism of the fibroblasts thereby accelerating the production of new collagen and elastin fibers.


The contraction of Collagen fibers and the regeneration of the collagen and elastin deposits tighten the skin layers creating smoother, healthier and younger looking skin."


The device is currently on offer at Boots, for £211.65 – it’s not cheap, but if it works then maybe the price would be justified.

http://www.boots.com/en/TriPollar-STOP-Elegant-Clinical-Skin-Renewal-Device-Black_1015167/

Darphin Age Defying Dermabrasion!

Advantages: Exfoliates brilliantly whilst still gentle on skin, smooths skin, basically it does what it says it will.

Disadvantages: Price.

Darphin is a French company that was established in 1958 by Pierre Darphin. He is said to have revolutionized professional beauty care with unique, luxurious aromatic-plant based formulas and his personal belief was that pleasure is a critical catalyst to enhancing personal beauty.

These days Darphin say that they integrate breakthrough cosmetic and dermatological technology with extracts and essences of aromatic plants by using exacting combinations of these finest aromatic essences. They also still maintain the belief that pleasure plays a bit part in beauty; that feeling beautiful and looking beautiful are inextricably bound which is why they design every product to be delightful to use both in the feel of the product but also the scent – which is where the extract and essences come into force. Aromatherapy seems to play a big part in this company’s ethos.

 

I decided to try this product because on paper it ticked a few of the requirement boxes: exfoliating – check, anti ageing – check, still gentle on the skin – check! As you may have noticed with some of my reviews I am on a bit of an anti-ageing mission, trying to find good products to help my skin fight off those nasty horrible lines and wrinkles as I get older so that I can try to prevent rather than cure them further down the line; so this really appealed to me as my skin can be quite dry and needs a lot of exfoliating usually. A lot of exfoliation products can be quite harsh on the skin so I was very interested to see how this fared, whether it would still be quite harsh but exfoliate well, whether it would be gentle on the skin but not exfoliate well or whether it would just do as it claims it would.

From the box: 

‘Institute-inspired, anti-aging dermabrasion rejuvenates as it polishes skin to perfection. Natural exfoliants (Silica, Pearl, and Lava) make this delectable, creamy complexion-slougher gentle enough for sensitive skin; powerful enough to help reduce the look of pores, age spots, discolorations and to visibly smooth lines and wrinkles. Scoop a small amount on fingertips and massage in circular motions over damp skin (or dry skin for greater exfoliation). Avoid eye area. Rinse off with luke warm water. For optimal results: follow with application of the Youthful Radiance Camellia Mask. Dermatologist tested.’

Inside the box there is the jar of product itself, a little spatula to ensure the product stays as sterile as possible, a consumer card that you can send to Darphin to receive beauty advice (if you want it) and a leaflet stating other Darphin products (peels and masks) and short snippets of information about each of them.

  
The texture of the product feels very gritty (like a very fine grit though) when you rub it between your fingers (and on your face) but not so gritty that it hurts to use it. It’s also quite creamy though, which I think is partly what stops it being too rough for your skin.

I tend to apply it to my dry skin with slightly damp hands so that the product gives maximum exfoliation but is also able to be spread across my face easily; thus using a little less product but also so that the products goes on easier. I spend about 5 minutes massaging it into each bit of my face in an upwards circular motion, getting into all areas including around the nose especially to make sure that all parts of my face get the benefit of using this product.

 

Rinsing this product off is easy but you need to make sure all remaining product is removed and no gritty residue is left on there.  

 
After using this product for the first time my skin was a little bit red for about 10 minutes after but it felt so smooth, and so healthy. I used my Eve Lom day cream to moisturise after and then applied my makeup as usual. I noticed that my makeup went on a lot easier, probably because there was no longer any dead skin loitering around ready to ruin any foundation and powder I applied.

 

After using this product continuously (twice per week) for about 4 weeks I noticed my skin felt in much better condition overall, it seemed plumper and more refreshed too. The difference in using this compared to a normal exfoliating face washes was huge, as normal ones to me always seemed to leave my skin feeling like it could still take a bit more exfoliation but not anymore use of the face wash as they always felt quite harsh and made my skin quite sore.

I found some of the claims on the website and have decided to respond to each one individually in order to show how the product lives up to each of them.

 

Refines skin texture: I think the texture of my skin has improved dramatically since using the product. I don’t think it has felt so smooth since before I was in my teens.

Visibly reduces the appearance of wrinkles: I didn’t really have any wrinkles to start with, I do have a few fine lines threatening to appear though and whilst it hasn’t made them disappear, I do feel that my skin condition has improved enough overall to make them a little less noticeable. 

Diminishes the appearance of dark spots: I didn’t have any dark spots (that I could see anyway), but my skin can be quite blotchy at times and this seems to have diminished somewhat since using this product.

Promotes a luminous complexion: My skin is much more luminous these days; it no longer looks dull because of dead skin cells that are still there that regular exfoliating face washes have left behind. 

The product does cost a lot more than I would usually pay for this kind of product at £48, but I really think that sometimes you do need to spend a little bit more to get the kind of effect that you are aiming for; especially when it comes to skincare as you only get one chance to keep your skin naturally in good condition. It is currently being sold on jasonshankey.co.uk for £43.20 for a small saving.