Ahh.. the taboo topic of facial fillers… These first came into popularity by Kylie Jenner, when she came out publicly with having lip filler. Now, there are all different types of injectables that both men and women are able to use to fix anything from those pesky marionette lines to those purple eye bags.
Now, fillers do not have to be such a scary thing to confront. In fact it is quite the opposite. Sure it can be a bit nerve racking thinking about a needle going into your face but I promise that you cannot even feel it.
First things first, you need to decide what you want to get done. I know it sounds super clique but it is important. You shouldn’t just go out on a whim and decide you just want to get fillers because everyone is doing it. Well I mean technically you could. I wouldn’t judge haha. But it is your face! You should definitely make sure that if you are going to get anything, that it is something you have been wanting for a while.
For me, I knew I wanted to get my under-eyes done since I was in high school. No amount of eye cream could get rid of the major puffy- purpleness I genetically inherited. But there was no way I could afford it or even convince my parents to spot me a few hundreds to get it done.
So once I moved to NYC I started saving and decided that I would find a place I know would ensure that they would not botch up my face.
One day while binge watching Netflix during quarantine, I came across the series “Skin Decisions” (highly recommend watching). To give you a quick overview, it is about one celebrity doctor and nurse that have their own practice in the Los Angeles area. Throughout the episodes they work on patients that want to gain their confidence back that they felt they lost as the years progressed.
I fell in love with Dr. Nazarian’s work and I knew right then and there I had to make an appointment as soon as possible. Now I ended up booking my injections with her in office nurse Corie (who injects Dr. Nazarian herself) since it was WAYYY cheaper.
As soon as I walked in and met with Corie, I told her my under-eyes are what I wanted to get injected first and foremost but I was open to any other recommendations she could make. Instantly, she noticed that my face had lost volume and I had that “tired” look. So she suggested an additional syringe of filler in my mid face to lift it and look more “refreshed”. Then to make sure my face was balanced and I did not have a “peanut head” as she called it we added another syringe to my temples. Lastly, she noticed my jawline/lower face had some tension in it and said I had TMJ. Usually a few units of botox will fix this issue by easing the tension. People also use this as a way to slim down the lower part of your face. We started off with a small amount and split it on each side. In total we used a total of 3 syringes of a filler called Restylane Lyft and 30 units of Botox.
For the filers I noticed a difference IMMEDIATELY and let me just say, I almost started crying when I looked in the mirror. It was me but more awake! The botox took a few weeks to see the difference. If you are injecting it to ease the tension of your masseter muscle then it will take two weeks, but if you want it to slim the face then it will take three weeks.
HOW LONG DOES IT LAST?
Fillers normally last anywhere from 9-12 months, depending on how well you want to keep up with it and botox is the trickier one that lasts between 3-4 months (for me it was about 3 months).
The photo on the left is before fillers/botox and the one on the right is about a month in a half after I was injected. Even with makeup on you can see how much more heavy the bottom of my face was before botox.
WHAT DOES IT COST?
Now the part that y’all have been waiting for! HOW MUCH IS IT! I know when I was researching different injectors, I noticed that hardly any mentioned their prices online. It was a tad bit annoying because I wanted to know how much I needed to save up before going in. You would either have to call and ask or send the office and email/dm and it can be a bit intimidating. Trust me I hate calling and asking these questions! But let’s break it down. Each place has their own price ranges depending on who their clientele is, where they are located, and what type of filler they are using. Since I chose a place in Beverly Hills, it was I had to dish out more than expected.
Restylne Refyne $850.00
Restylane Defyne $850.00
Botox $16.00 per unit
FINAL THOUGHTS
After going through the experience of getting injections done on my face I can truthfully say I would definitely do it again. I am a big advocate of doing what makes you happy
