All About Natural Lift

Posted: Thursday 8 September 2011 09:11am

We spoke with Dr Naomi McCullum to ask her about the new Natural Lift package.

Younger You: Why is it different to other anti-ageing treatments?

Dr Naomi: Restylane products are different to Botox/dysport as they are not  muscle relaxing injections. Restylane/Perlane/SubQ are types of dermal fillers. A dermal filler treatment involves injecting hyaluronic acid gel into wrinkles or folds to fill them, or is injecting it into areas that need more structural support to enhance beauty or to improve age appearance.

Restylane products are the gold standard in dermal filler treatments due to their great longevity, excellent lifting ability (ie results) and safety profile. They have been used in Australia for over a decade and have a history of 10 million treatments performed worldwide.

WIN a Restylane Skincare Collection worth $530

Check out our Before & After Natural Lift gallery

YY: What is included in the Natural Lift package, in terms of dosage?

Dr N: The Restylane Natural Lift Package includes:

*2 x 2ml Restylane SubQ
*Restylane 1ml
*Full set of Restylane Skin Care, including;
Restylane Cleanser 100ml
Restylane night cream 50ml
Restylane night serum 15ml
Restylane eye serum 15ml
Restylane recover cream 25ml
Restylane Hand Cream 50ml
Restylane Day Cream SPF15 50ml

YY: Can you talk us through this diagram, what dosages should go where.

Dr N: When every face is different, there is no such thing as “correct dosages”, as it varies so much depending on the person’s face! For example, there are some patients who will have very underdeveloped cheeks who could benefit from 8mls of subQ and there are those who will only need 2mls to get a great result. Also, the person’s expectations will effect the dosage. There are patients who come in and say “I don’t want a single soul including my husband to have any idea that I’ve done this” vs the patient who comes in and says “” I want you to do everything in your power to take as many years off me as possible” obviously these two patients will be treated differently.

Area 1 is often an area where botox/dysport is used

Area 2 Frown: Is often first treated with botox/dysport and then if after the muscles are relaxed, there are still folds/lines then Restylane can be used (I limit this to 0.5mls in this area due to risk of necrosis).

Area 3 High point/arch of the brow. This may be raised with some botox/dysport. Also this area really loses projection with age so some Restylane injected along the lateral brow gives a gorgeous, youthful appearance when light reflects off it. Men need to stay away from this arched feminine look (Warney and his cosmetic doctor, please take note!). A horizontal brow is a more masculine look.

Area 4: Crows feet: Have great results treated with botulinim toxin.

Temple: WIth aging comes volume loss in the temples. with cheek filling, this look can be really exacerbated, so don’t be a “peanut head” and fill your temples with Restylane. Dosage depends on amount of temple volume loss

Periorbital area: I love to fill this area as the hyaluronic acid gel really stimulates the collagen in this fine skinned area.

 Area 5: Tear trough: I like to do multiple Restylane treatments (up to 3) of small amounts (<0.5mls) to treat tear troughs.

Area 6. Nose filling: This treatment is very close to my heart. Whether it’s a virgin nose that can be reshaped or a post-rhinoplasty defect that can easily be improved, this treatment has a very high satisfaction rate. This area is similar to the tear trough in that I like to have the option of multiple treatments. I had an episode of necrosis of the nose over 6 years ago, so I am very careful in this area and limit doses.

Area 7. Cheeks. When someone looking at you is making a subconscious decision about your age appearance, cheeks are arguably the most important factor in that decision. Hence it is one of the most important areas to treat. Patients are often oblivious to this area of aging. They, for example, can focus on a couple smokers lines instead, which noone can see. In my cheeks, I have a combination of SubQ and Perlane. I was treated last December with 4 mls of subQ. This area is where there is definitely no “one size fits all” because faces vary so much.

Make sure cheek injections go out far enough towards the hairline. I cannot stand when I see a cheek injected and it looks like the doctor just ran out of product half way to the hairline from the cheek.

Area 8: Nasolabial fold: Some people argue that this shouldn’t be treated as it is only a symptom of the cause, which is volume loss in the cheek. They make a point, but I like to treat both areas, the cause and the symptom. There’s no need to be flat like an alien, though

Area 9: Smokers lines. I typically use Perlane here, small amounts,  others may use Restylane, Restylane Touch etc. They are all good

Area 10. Vermilion border: This area is so important to keep lips looking youthful. Doctors all have their favourite products for this area. I can put any Restylane product in there and make it look natural and younger, but i just tend to use Perlane because I’m able to get the biggest result out of it, which makes it good value for the patient.

Area 11: Smile lines. People get these little lines in their 20s, so I try not to make a big deal out of them because having them doesn’t make one look that old. However, it’s really nice to get some dermal filler right underneath where the muscle pulls the skin in, to support that area so the wrinkle doesn’t end up too deep.

Area 12: Lip corners: This is an awesome area to treat. I like to keep this really full as it is an early sign of aging, when the mouth corners start to turn down:( This is also the area that I inject to improve lips from an aging perspective rather than to give a patient big lips. As people age, their lips collapse in on each other at the sides and injecting a tiny amount of filler in each corner of upper and lower lip borders makes a subtle but beautiful difference.

Area 13: Lower lip body. The lips must be examined for proportion, size, profile(including projection of upper and lower lip), aging, border etc.   Many believe the proportion should be 1:1.618 (upper lip to lower lip) ie the “golden ratio”. The profile must always be considered when planning lip injections, amateur injectors often don’t consider this and can leave patients with a strange appearance.

Area 14: Chin: a few things in this area are of importance.

* the chin itself on profile if underdeveloped, can be injected to make a more perfect profile. Also in most patients over the age of 40, the chin loses tissue and should be injected to maintain a youthful appearance.

* the chin crease can be injected

* If there are jowls, the jawline can be straightened using an injection into the hollow next to the jowls.

* the marionettes can be injected to lift them

YY: Thanks Dr Naomi for talking us through this exciting new product.

For more information, check out the Q-Med website.

by Dr Naomi McCullum

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