I’ve mentioned before that I am constantly sending clients (both of the celebrity kind as well as civilians) off to have a little youth put back into their faces, or for those who are not aging yet, a little enhancement here and there.

Most people these days are familiar enough with neuro-toxins like Botox to knock out fine lines and wrinkles, and hyaluronic acid based fillers like Juvederm to fill up the bigger creases, such as the nasolabial folds (the parenthesis lines from the outer nostril that curve out and around to the outer lip), make the pout more smoochy, or fill sagging tear troughs. But most don’t seem to know too much about facial re-volumizing with Radiesse, the injectible fountain of youth.

image courtesy of The Blume Skin Centre, Scottsdale

As we age, lose large amounts of weight, endure major illnesses, etc, we lose volume in the face.
The face loses its youthful girliness, and starts to look more skeletal.
Cheeks get sunken, temples curve in, the brow bone loses the flesh density that lifts the brow forward, folds in the skin become more pronounced, and the skin itself loses elasticity and collagen, and begins to sag.

No amount of killer skin care products or kicked up makeup tricks make much difference at this point.
Girlfriend starts looking old, often long before her time.
(check out the faces of workout fanatics and marathon runners, even in their early 20’s)

see the hollow on the temple, flat browbone and skeletal look to the cheekbone, creating a sag to the skin. Nasolabial fold is prominent, and gravity is pulling skin downward from the inner corner of the eye.

Many practitioners choose to chase the wrinkles and just keep filling them up with  hyaluronic acid products, which at some point over inflates the face, and leaves the client looking like Cindy Lou Hoo.

Others choose to revolumize the cheeks and temples, lifting that which has fallen, and infusing instant youth.

image courtesy of The Blume Skin Centre, Scottsdale

There are a few product options available.
The most spectacular option that I have seen (consistently,and in many many clients) is with a product called Radiesse.

see the temple filled out, the brow lifted and fleshed out, the cheekbone fleshed out, at the same time lifting the nasolabial fold naturally. The face immediately looks younger and more vibrant. More impressive than anything is how natural it looks!

Radiesse is different from other fillers in that it is not a hyaluronic based product, but instead is a calcium based gel that actually builds a scaffolding under the skin, providing structure, stimulating your own collagen to grow, and giving it something to bind to.
This makes the results last a long, long time.

The official company line is that it lasts over a year. Women who have it will tell you it lasts much longer than that.

The results are spectacular, instant, and totally natural looking.
As in no-one will be able to tell you had a little tune up.

There is still time to get yourself fine tuned before all those last-in-picture-frames-forever holiday pictures start snapping away too.

If you are anywhere near Arizona, I send everyone to The Blume Skin Centre in Scottsdale. Their work is the best I’ve ever seen, and they even have a Radiesse specialist who does a Saturday morning clinic, so you can roll into work on Monday looking fabulous!

image courtesy of The Blume Skin Centre

see how the skin appears to be dragging downwards in the picture above. There is drag on the skin under the eyes, nasolabial folds look pronounced, outer corners of the mouth are noticeably dragging downlwards.
With no lift to the face the skin lacks vitality – there is nothing for the light to bounce off of.

image courtesy of The Blume Skin Centre

after re-volumizing with Radiesse the skin lookes plumped up and invigorated. The pulling under the eyes is noticeably diminished, the nasolabial folds start to lift up and out, also raising the outer corners of the mouth.
And she looks natural, not plastic faced.

If you are not somewhere near The Blume Skin Centre in Arizona (I have clients who fly in from as far away as Calgary – they’re that good!), make sure you research your practitioner really well. Look at before and afters, and if possible look at some of their clients.
Also look at the girls that work there. If their faces look funky, too tight, inflated or unmoving, it tends to be a giant red flag.

You can read up more on Radiesse HERE
Check out The Blume Skin Centre webite HERE