At 28 it all hit me. You know, the thing we all ignore and think won’t happen to us until it hits us right smack in the face. You know what I’m talking about ladies- WRINKLES! Your skin is dryer, all of the sudden there are sun spots, and you look like a puffer fish a night after drinking (my least favorite thing in the world). So it is time, ladies, we must revolt and fight against aging! Or at least try our best to preserve all the youthful glow we have left.
But Kristen, aging is beautiful, why don’t you embrace your wrinkles?
STFU. To each their own. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, blah blah blah. Kidding, but seriously. It ain’t for me! I have become skin obsessed and I want to share all of my secrets with you! So let’s jump right in.
It all started for me around 27. I was pregnant with Jaxon and noticed these black lines around my eyes. Holla pregnancy hitting me with melasma (skin discoloration, very common in pregnancy, sometimes it goes away on its own, sometimes it doesn’t and requires treatment). Unfortunately for me, those black lines didn’t go away after having Jaxon. On top of that, I had extreme hollowness under my eyes. I don’t know how or why this happened because I was one of the few moms who got lots of sleep. But I knew I wasn’t a fan. I LOOKED tired. Something had to be done.
Enter filler & botox.
Before tear trough Filler & Botox:
After tear trough Filler & Botox:
What is Botox?
Botox is FDA-approved to temporarily make moderate to severe frown
lines, crow’s feet and forehead lines look better in adults. Sign me up!! After baby #2 and at 28 years old I knew it was my time to invest in myself. It is a very tiny needle injection that is SO small! It hurts more getting your blood drawn. It is a tiny injection that feels like the worlds tiniest needle being poked through a piece of paper, you even hear a little crunch when the product is injected. It takes anywhere from 5-20 minutes depending on your individual needs.
Personally I get Botox in my forehead, crow’s feet & recently played around with a brow lift! #gamechanger
***TIP ALERT***
LIP FLIP!!!! Best thing ever? If you already have natural juicy lips but aren’t ready for lip filler, try a lip flip. The lip flip is a cosmetic injectable treatment that helps to slightly shape the lip slightly outward to create fuller, poutier and more shapely lips. It can be used as a standalone treatment with Botox or in combination with lip fillers for added volume. These are usually 2-4 units injected above your upper lip & a cheaper alternative to filler.
Botox lasts anywhere from 3-6 months depending on your metabolism. Unfortunately if you have a crazy fast metabolism, you’ll probably need Botox re-ups every 3-4 months. I get Botox 3x a year and it’s been the best investment ever! Botox is priced per unit- anywhere from $8-14/unit depending on the spa, deals, etc. The first time I got Botox I needed 45 units because well, I had never had it before! Now I go in for routine maintenance and only need about 25-30 units. I’ve never personally experienced any bruising but it is a possibility. The key is to stay hydrated and not drink the day before so your blood isn’t thin!
Botox really just adds the pretty filter to your face & looks like a freshened up YOU. Yes, YOU! Don’t be scared, you won’t look like Joan Rivers. You will just look like a better version of yourself! So tell your boyfriends IT’S ALL GOOD! He will be very happy 5-7 days later when the Botox settles in.
I go to Dr. Melanie Malone in La Jolla, San Diego, CA for all of my filler, Botox & facial procedures (she is also a Top Facial Plastic Surgeon in the NATION!). What I love most about “Mel” (yes, she prefers you call her MEL #cooldoc), is that she is ALL about the natural look & preserving your natural beauty. She believes in self-care and wants your experience to be joyful. After all this process is much more than looking better. Botox, filler, etc really starts within. Do you come out looking better? 100%. But that new found confidence, that ‘damn I look good’ feeling, is priceless.
What about Filler?
Oh filler. I always say “Filler saves lives” because it can be a total game changer, especially for the 30 & up club. When I went for my consultation with Dr. Melanie Malone, I explained that I had “bulldogs” coming in. You know how bulldogs have those saggy cheeks? She laughed at me because she knew exactly what I was talking about & explained the natural aging process that we go through. In simplest terms, a good portion of our cheeks & mouth area aren’t supported by strong bone structure (notice when you look at a skull on its own it is empty around those areas). The elastin/collagen weakens every year hence our support system for holding these features up is weakened.
Enter filler!
Together we came up with a triple threat game plan: Botox, filler & microneedling aka Vampire Facial treatments.
Microneedling is a cosmetic procedure that provides solutions for issues such as acne scarring, wrinkles, and stretch marks. Also known as collagen induction therapy, microneedling is a non-invasive treatment that utilizes the body’s own healing response to create new collagen and elastin in our skin. We decided on the Vampire treatments to prevent signs of aging as well as to reverse damage or irregularities that already exist in the skin aka my melasma & sun spots (someone kill me for hitting the tanning bed every day when I was 18).
So far I have done 1 treatment of the 6 I will be doing this year. Yes, it is an investment up front but after this year’s treatments I’ll only need to do 1 treatment a year for maintenance. I went in thinking it would be painful and it would feel like I was getting an entire face tattoo. Instead, after I numbed for about an hour Dr. Mel went to town with this little wand that created little pokes in my face & neck. I didn’t even feel it at first!! It was oddly relaxing, actually. Dr. Mel stroked my face with the wand creating micro-holes in the skin’s surface. She then used my white blood cells from the PRP treatment (spinning of my own blood drawn & separating my white blood cells aka the ‘healing cells’) & she lathered my face with it. She then went in again using the same strokes with the microneedling wand & this part basically pushed those healing white cells into my skin.
I’m trying to write this all in simplest form so that you can understand it, ha!
The recovery was easy. I had done laser treatments before and that was a 4-5 day recovery. Microneedling I was a little pink with dry skin for 1-2 days but nothing dramatic what so ever.
Next I go in for filler! And I’m excited. I love filler. Filler is by far the biggest difference I ever saw in my face & gives me the most youthful look. I had an amazing experience with my tear troughs (under eye filler) and I’ll be going in next for my routine Botox & cheek & dermal filler. The cheek filler will lift my cheeks which in turn lift my “bulldogs” around my mouth. The filler creates that structure that holds up the skin. We will also be doing some filler around my smile lines (I am most self conscious about this part). Filler is very similar to Botox as far as the process. The injections rarely hurt & there is numbing cream on hand if you need it! Cost is anywhere from $400-$1000 per syringe depending on your needs. Again bruising is a possibility but don’t be alarmed, it goes away in a couple days (if you even experience it at all).
Last Minute Notes..
Some things to remember is that everyone is different & requires different treatments. We are all beautiful little snowflakes & no two of us are the same! There are a couple things I want you to remember..
- You won’t look like Joan Rivers. If you go to someone who know WTF they’re doing you will only look like a better version of yourself!! You’ll wish you did this years ago. Promise!
- This is an investment in YOU. There is nothing better to spend money on than YOU. As mentioned earlier, the outer change doesn’t even compare to that newfound confidence you acquire. When you’re confident, you can rule the fucking world.
- Dear God please don’t go on Groupon or search for whatever is cheapest. That’s not to say you have to go to the most expensive place, but PLEASE go to a licensed Nurse, Med Spa, or Surgeon office.
- Protect your investment. Just because you got Botox or filler doesn’t mean you’re off the aging hook & good to go. This is something you must protect & maintain. That means NO MORE TANNING BEDS, a gallon of water a day for hydration, & protect yourself from sun exposure wearing sunscreen EVERY DAY (I recommend this sunscreen that has Zinc & acts as a protective layer).
- I go to Dr. Melanie Malone, MD in La Jolla, San Diego, CA. You can also follow her on Instagram. I have nothing but amazing things to say about her. She is among the BEST & I will be SURE to story on my Instagram & keep you all posted on this process we are doing throughout the year!
Feel free to comment & ask questions, or DM me/tag me with your new lovely results! I am an open book & am excited to age gracefully.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk 🙂
Leave a Reply