Episode 6 - The Truth About Botox and Dermal Fillers

In this episode, we’re diving deep into the transformative world of Botox and dermal fillers—treatments that many women are turning to as part of their self-care routines. If you've ever been curious about what these enhancements can do for your appearance and self-esteem, this episode is for you!

As a mother navigating the complexities of mum life, I understand how the demands of parenthood can leave us feeling a bit less like ourselves. I’ll share my personal journey with Botox and fillers, highlighting the impact these treatments have had on my sense of identity and empowerment. Motherhood can change our bodies, and it’s important to feel confident in our own skin.

We’ll explore the key differences between Botox and dermal fillers, discussing how each treatment works, the benefits they offer, and the potential risks involved. I’ll also explain the role of hyaluronic acid and botulinum toxin in these procedures, shedding light on how our bodies naturally process these substances. With my firsthand experience, I’ll provide you with honest insights into what to expect, from the initial consultation to the final results.

Additionally, we’ll touch on the latest trends in the industry, such as “baby Botox” and subtle tweaks that focus on enhancing natural beauty—perfect for busy moms who want to feel refreshed without drastic changes.

Join me for an engaging conversation that blends personal stories with professional insights, empowering you to make informed decisions about your beauty and wellness journey. Whether you’re considering these treatments for yourself or simply curious about them, this episode promises to be both informative and inspiring.

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Transcript

So this week, we're going to talk about something that has been asked about a million times, not just for a podcast episode, but by clients in general, in first face appointments, and also by people on the internet or people inquiring when they're getting a treatment. What is Botox and what is filler on what is the difference. So today, in this episode, we're going to jump right into it and get into all the nitty gritty of what these two treatments are, what they do, what's the difference, and how they work in your bodies. And hopefully, if you are interested in getting these treatments, this gives you a bit more information. And also, if you're a practitioner, if your client is interested, and you are sick of repeating yourself 10,000 times, then maybe send them this podcast, and hopefully it will give them a little more clarity. So Botox is short for botulinum toxin, and it is a neuromodulator that temporarily relaxes facial muscles. So what that does is it smoothes out those wrinkles that are most commonly found on our foreheads, around our eyes and around the mouth. On the other hand, dermal fillers, these are injectable substances used to add volume and fullness to the skin, the most common type and the most probably popular type that if you were getting it done or your practitioner was injecting it into you, it would be hyaluronic acid, and that is naturally found in our bodies, particularly in the skin and connective tissues. It plays a crucial role in keeping the skin hydrated by attracting water and providing cushioning. So that's what gives you that plump effect, especially in your lips, let's say where it's probably most commonly used. So how they work? Botox works by blocking the nerve signals to the muscles so when the muscles can't contract, this overlaying skin appears smoother and more relaxed. Botox is broken down naturally in the body by enzymes, and I'm getting a little bit scientific here, but it's called the enzyme is called proteases. Its effect of the Botox generally wear off after about three to six months. So for long term results, obviously you need to go for regular top ups with dermal fillers. On the other hand, the approach is slightly different. When Hyaluronic base acid fillers are injected, they instantly add volume and structure to the skin. This hyaluronic acid is eventually broken down by an enzyme called hyaluronidase, which is also naturally present in the body, depending on the formulation of the filler and the area treated. Results can last from anywhere between six months to two years. Now, if you've ever had too much filler injected, or you did like look of the effect, or if you've had a reaction to it, you might notice your practitioner will dissolve it, or they say, We can dissolve it, and what they're using is the actual enzyme, called Higher hyaluronidase, to do that. So what are the key differences between Botox and dermal fillers? First, let's look at the purpose. The purpose of Botox is primarily used to reduce dynamic wrinkles, those caused by muscle movement, basically. And those ones on your face, for example, are typically crow's feet and frown lines. You know, our Levin says, as we call them, and like I said, the crows feet around the eyes. But dermal filler, on the other hand, is something that we use to add volume to the face. So you would say for static wrinkles, those the ones that are visible even when your face is resting. So when you got resting bitch face and you look a bit angry or you look a bit frowny, those are what we call Static wrinkles. What we can do then it's almost like the creases on your face. So you'll come to me, for example, and a client will say, Simi, I think I need both hooks. I've got wrinkles in my 11s. And the 11s are basically those two lines between your brows, which look like they're there even when you're absolutely fine. That's almost like a crease. So filler, and this is a really, probably terrible way of describing it, but in that respect filler is a little bit like poly filler. So you've got those creases we're filling it out to smooth it anti wrinkle, or Botox, on the other hand, is what we'd use prior to that where, say you're only getting the the ones, the elevenses and the ones lines on your frown area where you're actually just frowning. We need to relax the area, first smooth the base, then you still have the creasing, ie, the static wrinkles. That's when the dermal fillers would come in to then flatten it, if that makes sense. So you've got a smooth canvas all around. So the duration of the effects. So Botox, like I said, usually, lasts three to six months. And I can get a little bit more technical about that, as to basically, it peaks after two weeks. So your practitioner may say, oh, you know, let's see how it looks in two weeks. And you may come back for a top up, or you may need a top up. Over that time, it gradually peaks in effect, and it kind of doesn't drop then. But what it does is it stays static for a little while, and then your body, ie, the enzyme I mentioned earlier. Starts to dissolve it and eat up, let's say naturally. So that's why, why you mean, may need to come back for regular top ups, because it's not that you start looking worse, but let's say you had really prominent crow's feet, and I do. And if you're watching the video version of this, I'm squinting in the camera now, and you can see, you know, I'm nearly 36 and I'm starting to feel it around my eyes. What I might notice, if I had Botox around my eyes, is around, let's say, 12 weeks from my initial treatment. Oh, the lines are coming back. Basically, I'm not looking worse, but I've just got used to looking better. So then those wrinkles start looking more prominent. After you've had a treatment. It's not that, oh, I need to keep on top of it, to keep the wrinkles gone at all time. Because a that's not natural, and B is probably not scientifically possible, because we are going to have movement in our face no matter what, and aging and gravity and all that stuff, and loss of collagen, wrinkles are going to fall, are going to form in other ways, but in terms of perhaps slowing it down, which is where you may hear the term, oh, it's a preventative measure, you know, it's one that you should start getting done a bit sooner, let's say late 20s, early 30s, to allow your wrinkles to look less prominent over time. And if you did get it done in your 60s, 70s, you may see a huge difference straight away. And that's entirely up to you if you prefer that look, but I always advise use it as a preventative measure if you were interested in getting it done. So like I said, I've had it done around my eyes. Now I'm hitting my mid 30s. I'm starting to notice it a bit more, but I get used to looking better. That's the key. Your wrinkles don't come back worse. You just get used to looking better so they can feel like they look worse, but you've just looked better for the last 12 weeks or so, and that's why it suddenly feels like such a big difference. That's my personal experience. Okay? And then with fillers, they can last anywhere from six months to two years, depending on what fillers used. For example, personal experience. I now have no filler or Botox in my face. The last time I had it done was, I think, 2000 18,019, obviously, prior to COVID, prior to getting pregnant, etc, etc. So I really started to notice the movement in my face. Now my lips, luckily, I've always had fuller lips and around my eyes, like I say, is where I've really noticed it. So with filler in my lips, I actually have a slow metabolism. I have an interactive thyroid, if you know what that is. Basically, my metabolism is a lot slower. So for me, filler lasts a super long time. I had nose filler, I kid you not. I think in 2017 18, and that's what you call a non surgical rhinoplasty. And what I did was I had it done to smoothen out the top of my nose to make it look more flat. And I really honestly, kid you not, my nose still hasn't changed. That's how long that filler has been in there. Again, obviously the type of filler used was a lot different to the one that's in your lips. There's a density difference. There's a hyaluronic acid molecule difference. There's a lot that goes into it. But for lips in general, I'd say I have clients that probably come about six months on average, and then they may need top ups, and then we can use a lot less product. For example, when you go to a practitioner and they say, Oh, I'd suggest the 1.1 mil, if that's what they offer. They're not trying to oversell you, I promise. But one mill is, I think, about half a teaspoon worth of product, and half a mil is obviously a quarter of a teaspoon. I could be completely wrong, but off the top of my head, even so, worst case scenario, it's a teaspoon versus half a teaspoon, which is literally nothing. But the reason they say a 1.1 Miller or mil, or one point or one mil syringe, is because that really helps you give the most natural results. And if you're saying, like thinking, Simi, what the hell you're talking about, that's more product, sometimes you need more for it to look less. Because if we've just put, let's say, the half mil in your top lip or your bottom lip, it's going to look uneven. Using that 1.1 mil, or the full one mil syringe, helps balance out your full lip. And your practitioner can see things that you can't. So yes, you look at yourself every day, but your practitioners looking at you from a non biased kind of objective point of view. So they're looking for the symmetry rather than or, you know, this side you might sleep or you don't realize you've got less volume there. Again, a lot of people don't know that. I said to clients, oh, you sleep on the left side of your face. And they're like, looking at me like, What the hell man? And I'm like, Yeah, I've stood outside your window last night jokes, tall jokes. But what I can see is you may have less volume on that side of your mouth, on your lip, or you may have more wrinkles on that side that you sleep on. So I know you're going to need more Botox on that side, for example, they're not stalking you a promise. So they look at you objectively. And again, it's not a sales tactic. Sometimes you might need the one mill to get your lips back to being symmetrical and even. And then in the future, the six months, the three months to 12 months, whatever you prefer, is when you get the half mil top ups, if needed. So yeah. That's a little bit of a deep dive into why these different amounts exist and what they're for. Now, again, look away. Turn your headphones off if you're a little bit squeamish. But talking about the injection technique, Botox is usually injected straight into the muscle. We call it intramuscular when we're when we're doing it, and it's used by a tiny little needle, usually an insulin needle, tiny little things. It feels like a little quick prick in and out. I mean, I'm sure we've all had our fair shares of quick pricks, but hey, that's a conversation for another day. Anywho fillers are a lot more obviously in depth. We're kind of building the loss of volume so it's not a quick in and out. And sometimes I've had clients ask me, How many injections is it going to be? I could start on your lips, and I realize I need to add a little bit more there. I need to go back. I need to go here or again in your cheeks, for example, like I said, the cheek that you sleep on, I couldn't say to you, oh, I need three injection points on either side, because the side that you sleep on may need an extra one or two, but think of it as we're just building that loss of volume. So yeah, it will be uncomfortable. And if you are interested in my kind of deep dive into numbing cream, which I talked about in my micro blading episode, again, that will be quite relevant here, because numbing cream, again, is it allowed? Is it not allowed? But the good news is a lot of fillers these days contain lidocaine, which numbs it from the inside, so the initial kind of prick could be a bit uncomfortable, but it numbs from the inside, so you get a lot more of a comfortable treatment all round. Now onto the serious stuff, so risks and complications you may see this again, jumps onto the medic, the non medic argument, and medics have kind of jumped on this bandwagon. No disrespect to them. It's a very good sales and marketing technique. But risks and complications can happen to anyone. You know yourself, if you've been to the doctors, sorry, you've been for a surgery, let's say NHS, or whatever, you have to sign a form. You know. These are the risks, blah, blah, blah, you know. And there's always something at the bottom, very low potential risk of death, and you still have to sign it, just because it's a doctor, it's a surgeon, it's no different for us. You have to cover yourself, and you also, as a client customer, you need to know what you're getting in for and what are the potential risks and considerations. So first and foremost, nobody, absolutely nobody, should be getting this treatment if you're under the age of 18. And personally, if you are 18, I probably would turn you away because you probably well, most people don't need it. Let's be honest. We don't need these things, but we want them, and that's a conversation for another day. But obviously you have to be over 18. You cannot be pregnant, and you cannot be nursing, breastfeeding. So if you're on those kind of life journeys motherhood. Just had a baby, you are still breastfeeding. You do not need this. There is not enough studies, or not enough research into the effects in your bloodstream and your milk that you're passing on, etc. So just, just, please, just don't do it. Please, promise me you won't do it. And if you're a practitioner, do not do it no matter what. Right. I'm literally pointing my finger at the camera here, if you can see it. Yeah. You can see it. So let's get into what the risks are. Okay, the most common kind of obviously risk, I guess, would be bruising, and that's for both Botox and dermal fillers. So Botox your usual injection sites, let's say around your eyes, forehead. You can get little lumps or swelling lumps straight after the procedure, they usually go within a couple of hours. The most common, probably negative effect is bruising around the eyes. The eye area the skin is so thin it's so vascular, that means that there's a lot of kind of arteries, capillary, not, sorry, arteries, but blood vessels around that area, and if you nick it, which can happen to any of us, a doctor or not, can give you a bruise. That bruise can be a little prick. That bruise can be a black eye. Honestly, there's no way of, kind of, really knowing how it's going to show up on your skin, but you will, potentially, 90% of the time, get a little mark around your eye. I think, in my experience, whether it's a bruise, a little blood, it's like a little wound, a tiny little wound, it's, I mean, wounds probably the worst word to say. But you know what I mean? And if you've had it on, if you do it as a treatment, you know what I mean, it's quite it's quite a bloody area. I'll be honest, there always is a little bit of bleeding, not much, but a little pricks worth of bleeding. And that comes with its own kind of swelling and redness and then potential bruising. But the good news is, the bruising doesn't last forever. If you are getting this treatment for Botox and fillers, I wouldn't do it the day before your event. First off, because fillers comes with swelling, so the first couple of days, you can feel a bit like, oh my god, what have I done with Botox? Obviously, you won't see the effect for up to seven to 10 to 14 days anyway. So if you haven't got an event or you're going somewhere, there's no point getting it done the day before. The other risks to consider with Botox, for example, you might have seen people talk about spot brow or a droopy eyelid, or even an unable uneven facial expression that sift. Practitioner has maybe ejected too much or injected it in the wrong area again without going too technical. Obviously, touch wood. I have not had that yet. And if it does happen to you, there are ways to counteract it. You know, your practitioner can provide you with a little bit more Botox on the other side, or they can provide you with eye drops to remedy the droopy lid and things like that. But it's not the end of the world, although it's not pleasant. I totally, totally can understand that. And if it is injected there in the wrong place, and there is no way to kind of counteract it, you are stuck with that for the duration of the Botox, which could be up to 12 weeks plus. So that is something to think about for fillers, okay, lumps where you don't want them to be, in really rare occasions, you can potentially block an artery or a blood vessel, and that will cause more severe complications. You may have seen something called necrosis. That's where the oxygen kind of gets blocked to get to that area of your skin. I've seen it in people who've had nose filler before, and then the tip of their nose almost falls off because it's black and it's dead, essentially, very, very, very, very rare. And again, between you and me, a lot of medics, again, no cap, I understand why you do it. A lot of medics push this and that. Oh, this is why you shouldn't go to your beauty therapist for your fillers. Absolutely not true, because I've seen complications happen to medics too. But again, conversation for another day. So whatever you do, make sure your practitioner is qualified and insured, and again, have a consultation with them. Chat to them, get to know them. Get to know what they specialize in. If you want that pixie nose look that lifted tip cool, if you want just a natural Oh, my nose looks a bit wonky. I want to straighten it like I had cool. But always make sure you do your research. And that doesn't mean that they have to be medic. I did a big chat about this in my previous podcast episode. If you are interested, excuse me to know my thoughts about that. Oh, okay, so as I mentioned, Botox preventative. So age wise, late 20s, at the earliest, 30s, 40s and onwards. Then let's say for filler, where you've got loss of volume, it has become a bit of a vanity thing, where I want big lips, I want a straight nose. I want a pixie nose, etc. I want cheek bones. Moly mirror, your prime example, herbivores and afters of filler, that kind of age. I've seen a big trend with the younger girls, and it does make me feel a bit cringe inside, because I'm like, you haven't even developed into who you are as a woman yet, and yet you're putting all this stuff in that you don't need. However, 40s, 50s, plus you've got that loss of volume that's something that you cannot control. Your collagen production slows down once you kind of hit your late 40s, early 50s, towards menopause. So yeah, these little things come in handy, and that's where I love this term treatment, and that is what I specialize in, subtle tweakments. So little play on the word tweaks, little play on the word treatments. That's become a bit of a new trend. And on that, you've got baby Botox. So it's just less Botox, but kind of more spread out. The thing with these treatments, yes, it is an injectable, but it's almost an art form, too. So just because you've got a medical degree, let's say and you are a doctor, do you have that creative, Arty side? You know it's a marriage of both of them, because not all faces are the same. Your face is not the same as Kim Kardashians, no disrespect, I'm jealous, too. I wish I look like her, but at the same time, your left side is not symmetrical to your right side, so what I would do on your left would not necessarily be the exact same that I would do on your right. So there is a small amount of art and creativity and improvisation that's involved. So just remember that too. Another thing you've got something called Lip flips. So you are concerned about, Oh, I'd love to have a bit more of a fuller top lip, but you don't want to go down the filler route. Something called Lip flips out there too. So if you've seen that term, you're using Botox to just relax the muscles, which in which, in effect, kind of upturns your top lip, less invasive quicker. And you're not really injecting anything in there. It's just, like I said, softening those static muscles. So that's another consideration. Think about. Not everything is black and white anymore, and I think that's a good thing, because these treatments can be tailored to you and what you want. So I've yapped on enough as usual, bit more technical again this week, I'm thinking to kind of bring these deep dives into treatments and services every few weeks so I can keep it relevant to what I actually do, because otherwise I could go on a tangent, as you know. So always, always look into what your practitioners got for their qualifications, make sure they're insured. Obviously, befores and afters are key, and also your research and what you want and price is not necessarily reflective of that people have offers on, and that's fine, but cheap doesn't always necessarily mean bad, and I hold my hand up to that because my prices are very reasonable, and doesn't mean I'm I'm bad, and also expensive because they're a doctor, etc, etc, doesn't really mean that they're going to be amazing. I had one client who came to me again for her non surgical minor plastic this was up in the Northeast, and she was a health visitor, and. And she'd been to a doctor who was well known at the time for esthetics, and he was charging, I think, five, 600 pound for what I did. And I think my prices then was under 200 and she was literally in tears at how happy she was for her results. She sent me a beautiful essay in a text. Loved it. I've still got it somewhere. I printed it out and put it in frame, but that just shows you, sometimes it's actually listening. It's listening to your patient, if you are a practitioner, but also it's making sure your client can hear what you want, because with esthetics and like I said earlier, not one size fits all. You know, Russian lips might not be for you. Pixie nose tip might not be for you. Smooth, no free, no wrinkles, smooth, forehead that might not be for you. So make sure your practitioner can tailor the treatments to you. And as a practitioner, make sure you aren't just a one trick pony, because, like I say, everyone is different. Their faces are different. They're not even symmetrical. So you can't just do repeat the same on one side as you would on the other, for example. So I'm actually sat on my bed today a bit different. While my grandma's bed, which is why there's a colorful kind of explosion behind me if you are watching a video. But as always, thank you so much for joining me on my sofa. I hope this was of some value to you. If you did find it interesting, or you only got you've got any points for me to consider, or you've got any questions, if you are considering this treatment or as a practitioner, you want to discuss anything, please drop me a DM. My Instagram is always open, and as always, stay beautiful, stay glowing. Take care, and I will see you in the next one. Bye.