Hi guys, it’s Dr. Julie Reil, and we’re going to talk a little bit about Botox versus filler versus skin-tightening procedures — and what it is that you actually need.
This is a really common question because everybody cares about their skin, how it looks, and ultimately, we just want natural-looking results.
Your age, your individual expressions, the height of your forehead, and the way you express all play into that customized treatment plan for you, where we decide what’s going to fit you best.
So, come with me, and I’m going to show you some of the things that we offer here at Shiloh Medical Clinic, both in Billings and Bozeman, Montana.
Dermal Fillers
There’s a variety of fillers that we can use, and technically, there are about seven different densities that we can use in the human face — anywhere from the very soft HA, fluffy product that’s just beautiful for a little tiny bit in the lips, to something anchored a little bit deeper so that it recontours the face.
In the end, I think there’s a lot of technology here that can be injected, especially to correct for asymmetry. And that’s one of the things that we, as men and women — just human beings — don’t like to see: our face changing to where we start looking uneven or older than we otherwise are, right?
Some of that is now becoming an issue when people get a little bit too lean or a little bit too thin, working out a lot. So there are ways to give people that little bit of grace by using some of these fillers that are basically identical to the hyaluronic acid in the human face.
They’re not a foreign substance, and that’s why I use the product called Juvéderm, because I don’t like the idea of putting something in that your body could potentially react to.
So these are great for corrections and basically customizing for the symmetry of your face.
Skin Tightening
But let me tell you why I like skin tightening and what our most popular and most in-demand procedure is.
The tried-and-true treatment is medical infrared light skin tightening of the face.
This gets down to the base of the dermis, where specifically your elastin fibers live. We like to call those the rubber bands of your face. You want to tighten up those rubber bands.
What is existing and what’s already there gets tighter, but you’re also stimulating what we call rejuvenation or regeneration of brand-new baby cells as well. This has been proven through histology.
The lovely part of this is that there is no downtime. That means you are not red, you are not tender, and you can go right out to lunch with your best friend and she’d never know you just had a procedure.
I think that has added to its popularity.
It tends to have the peak of its bell-shaped curve right around six to eight weeks, so you see some results building over time. It also cannot over-tone you.
Depending on how much laxity is there, you could do a series of three or a series of six in a year. Most people starting around the age of 50 like to do this about once a year as part of their upkeep, and it’s very affordable.
All of those things add to the positive message that tightening your face is basically very safe, very simple, and it’s actually pleasurable when you experience it. It’s something you enjoy, and you get to basically be treated for the day to something wonderful that has great results for you.
How Skin Tightening Works
If you look at your own skin in cross-section, it’s not until we get to the very base of that dermis layer where all of our elastin fibers are — the connective tissue columns that anchor it to the muscle.
If you tone this layer in here, it’s, in effect, like shrink-wrapping your skin back over your face, creating a tighter, refreshed look.
The pores get tighter, the skin glows, and when you achieve that, generally the areas that bother us — the lines between the glabella or the lines deep in the face — become tighter naturally.
Then we can use some Botox or potentially some fillers just to create better symmetry and make minor corrections.
But in the end, it saves you from trying to do it all with the “one-gun wonder,” as we say in laser medicine.
Trying to make one thing fit everybody is really not how it works in real life.
In real life, we correct for the underlying problem, which is typically that the tone reduces, or maybe we’re thinner, or maybe we’re heavier. We’re basically trying to bring that back into balance.
Then, for the frosting on top of the cake, we can use some Botox so we don’t eliminate all the expression or create kind of a cold or unfeeling look, but instead keep those lines at bay.
We also want to keep ourselves from training our expressions to become so frequently used that we start looking stern, angry, or just not as pretty as we could look, right?
And in men, I think they can even look intimidating if those lines get too deep.
There are ways to use Botox, Juvéderm, and toning so that we optimize the look of you, because we always want to keep it natural, right?
We want beautiful results that reflect who you naturally are, so we aren’t distorting that natural look.
Botox, Filler, or Skin Tightening: Which Is Right for You?
So how do you know if Botox, filler, or some skin-tightening procedure is right for you?
Well, it’s a perfect opportunity to come in and discuss with me, your physician: What are your needs? What’s your age? What’s the level of laxity you’re experiencing? What are the options that are there for you?
Sometimes people think they have to go all the way and do a very intense laser in order to achieve what they need to achieve.
But the truth is that lasers don’t reach as far as the medical infrared light does, and they don’t do it as safely. There are pigment considerations and many things that need to be discussed as well.
The good news is that this is safe. It’s easy to do. It’s something that can’t be overdone, so you don’t risk that. And you can do it in a stepwise approach as well.
You don’t have to dive into the deep end of the pool and change a bunch of things at once, right?
You can see how much you get out of a single treatment and then go from there — the filler, the Botox on top of that if you need it.
It becomes a really nice strategy for aging that always looks natural. You get to maintain the most natural-looking face and your contours, and people just say things like, “Hey, you look wonderful.”
So, come on in to Shiloh Medical Clinic. We have offices in Billings and Bozeman, Montana, and we would love to introduce you to skin tightening for your face.
