“The timing can differ significantly for each patient. I encounter individuals with hands that appear stunningly youthful at 60, while others in their 30s may not share the same youthful appearance. A crucial factor is your body’s natural tendencies. Some are blessed with inherently smooth, full, and beautiful hand skin, whereas others may not be as fortunate. Hence, pinpointing a specific age isn’t feasible. The determination hinges on various factors: body composition, volume loss, sun damage, pigmentation issues, and texture concerns.
Volumizing the hands yields impressive results and works remarkably well. However, as we restore volume to the hands, people begin noticing other aspects too. Consequently, I’ve employed an array of procedures. Laser resurfacing and photofacials have proven effective. I’ve integrated Retin-A usage into treatment plans, along with micro-needling for hand rejuvenation. This comprehensive approach is vital because while we might have an overall appealing appearance, our hands can easily reveal our age, becoming a noticeable giveaway.
In essence, there isn’t a universal age when hand rejuvenation is necessary; it’s an individualized assessment. Our hands can age differently due to various factors, making a personalized approach critical to achieving the desired outcome.”
“That’s an interesting question because there weren’t a lot of Master injectors when I started. Um, and again, when you start doing injectables, even if it’s just like botox or, when I was starting, was collagen, um, when I started there really weren’t any training programs for this sort of thing. She just kind of learned; in my case, I was mostly trained by the dermatologist I was working for at the time. Um, and it’s terrifying the first time, you know, the first few times you see patients on your own and you just got to make a decision, and you’re, you know, it’s very intimidating, uh, when you’re first beginning.
And being a master injector basically means is, I can globally treat the entire face with whatever it is, fillers, injectables, Botox, that sort of thing. Um, and then, we’ve, no one would recognize if something’s not happening like because all these things have complications. And so, I think the most important thing is, you know, as a master injector, you know what they are, you know your facial Anatomy by heart, you’re able to avoid a lot of things and early intervention if you do see something happening. And it’s also you just lose, I would say, when I’m starting to work with new patients there’s always, you know, we create like a whole roadmap as far as we’re going, what we’re doing. Um, and so, I no longer have like anxiety of any sport when I start injecting a patient, just because you know what you know, and you know, it’s hard to explain that in a way, but there’s just something about it. It’s more than ten thousand hours everybody thinks, so ten thousand hours you become an expert. I’m like, oh no, I still learn something new every day. Um, and I think that’s the other thing, is like being a master injector, we’re constantly learning and constantly training, you’re constantly on top of new treatments, procedures, techniques, you know, that sort of thing.”
“Well, that’s an interesting question because there’s a lot of um debate around injectables. Uh, there’s a lot of fear, there’s a lot of overuse, and that sort of thing. So I think we’re very fortunate to have, you know, fillers and injectables like Botox, Dysport, and all, you know, all the things that we have now. Because when I began in this industry, there wasn’t a lot of options. Um, but I think everything needs to be used consciously and used in a very considerate way. Because, you know, in looking at a patient’s entire global appearance, um, and, you know, you can always add more but you can’t always subtract things. So I think it’s important to really hone in on what the patient’s goals are, what your aesthetic goals are for them, and what you together decided you want to achieve with the patient’s cosmetic outcomes and take it from there.”
“Yes, I mean, definitely. This can give them a peek in the window, you know, for certain things, especially with fillers. But also, injecting the masseter muscles with either Botox or Dysport can kind of slim the jawline a little bit. Doing a little bit of Botox or Dysport in the brow to elevate the brows a little bit. And of course, skin treatments. Everybody needs a skin treatment, everybody needs some kind of Retin-A, maybe some photofacials. Everybody can have better-looking skin, so that’s kind of gender-neutral in my opinion.
But there are a lot of things that we can do, especially if someone wants a stronger jawline. We now have a new filler out that’s specifically for jawline contouring, so that’s pretty cool. There’s definitely a lot of options, and it’s, again, not going to get the patient 100% there, but for some patients, it’s enough to take a little bit of the edge off of their anxiety with their appearance.”
“Certainly, the variety of offerings we have now is far, far, far more reaching. When I first started in this industry, Botox was not FDA approved for cosmetic use. We were using it, we were injecting it, it was off-label. But that’s the reason there weren’t training programs and you know, and that’s the thing. Also, at the time I began, collagen was the only dermal filler that we had, and you had to test patch patients and wait 30 days to treat them to make sure they weren’t actually allergic to the product. Lasers were in a very early phase, photofacial was just being developed by the dermatologist I was working with. You know, so many things have changed. We now have so many offerings. We didn’t have skin tightening, we didn’t have microneedling, we didn’t have a lot of things, and now we’ve got a filler for every nook and cranny. You can fill areas of the face, hands, earlobes, you know. So many options. And when I started doing fillers, we were only filling the nasolabial fold area and the lip, and now we’re doing cheeks, temples, tear troughs, and jawline contouring.
So, it’s really turned into a very exciting industry, and there are still a lot of changes coming. I think patients are much more open to learning about non-surgical options. I think the media has helped somewhat with that in terms of making it very approachable. You’ll see companies like Allergan and Galderma direct marketing to potential customers out there in television ads. So, it’s become a source of social media. Social media has completely blown the cosmetic industry onto the page.”
“That’s an interesting question. There are a lot of great skincare products out there. I tend to lead more toward medical-grade skincare that has a lot of science behind it. One of the brands that I find works well, especially when integrating it into treatments in my practice, is the SkinCeuticals line. It’s very well studied, but it’s not the only line out there. So, I will draw from several different lines. You do want to stay within a medical-grade, and that’s why it’s important, if you’re going to get core products like any antioxidants and actual anti-aging products, you want to be getting them from a plastic surgeon’s or dermatologist’s office because we have access to medical-grade skincare.
The problem with over-the-counter products is they can only contain four percent of any active ingredient, so everything else in there is fillers, petroleum, water, and a bunch of other stuff. And some of that stuff can be actually very irritating. So, if you know what’s in your products and you understand the science behind something like vitamin C and how it penetrates and does what it does, you’re going to get a lot more bang for your buck. And the products don’t have to be hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Certain products may be, but at the same time, there are very high-quality products that are in the medical-grade skincare line that I feel are very reasonable. And you use so much smaller quantities of them because they tend to be more concentrated.”
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