One of my patient’s biggest fears is …duck lips.  Not only are they concerned with the look, but they think their husband will flip out!  So anytime I am working around the lips with any procedure, patients always say, “I just don’t want duck lips.”  I reassure them that will not be the final outcome and explain that despite fillers being the cause of the duck lips, a considerate amount of people still believe Botox will give them duck or sausage lips.

I continue to explain that duck lips are not from Botox.  They are from a BAD filler job!  It’s from over correction and lack of appreciation for lip anatomy.  And just like bad Botox can give the product a bad name, a bad filler job can give fillers a bad name.

Strangely enough, in some parts of the country duck lips are “accepted “.  It’s almost seen as a status symbol.  We sometimes refer to them as “Boca lips” as that tends to be the trend in Boca Raton.   For us that have still the normal concept of beauty, it does not seem normal.  However, people from other parts of the country see this trend and feel like they should be on the bandwagon. (My hands are folded and placed in my head).

In my opinion, augmentations should be conservative.  Enhancement should be customized to the individual with proportion of facial anatomy taken into consideration.  I like to restore what has been lost and slightly enhance based on the patient’s proportions and age.  The majority of my patients feel that they have lost their lip volume as the years have gone by and have developed lip lines.  With the FDA approval of Restylane Silk last year, the restoration process has even expanded.  I still continue to use the original Restylane or Juvederm for patients needing or desiring lip volume, but have incorporated the silk to smooth out the perioral lip lines.  Prior to silk, the lines were much harder to target.  With the incorporation of this product, patient satisfaction has significantly increased.

And while I will occasionally use Botox in the perioral area to prevent constant contraction of the perioral muscle which creates the lip lines, it will never give you the duck lip look.

My advice: stay with an injector who has a conservative approach to lip augmentation and restoration.  Even though the products are dissolvable, they are expensive.  Don’t let just anyone do your lips!

#Botox

#Ultherapy

#Juvederm

Are you living with regret? What do you wish you were doing?  What do you wish you did?

Ultimately, fear and the inner voice hold us ALL back from living an intentional life.

What is an intentional life?  According to John C. Maxwell, it’s a “life that brings you daily satisfaction and continual rewards for merely working to make a difference in the lives of other.”  To me, living intentional means to live with purpose!

Living intentionally makes me think about wanting to improve myself. That’s a good purpose, right?!?  Shouldn’t we all want to be better humans?  But it makes me think of the people around me who refuse to grow. They are consumed by their ego. They want things only their way. They refuse to listen to suggestions. They want to be the ones who are always talking. They are never responsible for anything going on and need to point the finger to someone else. They are too comfortable where they are, but probably unhappy because of it. They are not willing to have the uncomfortable conversations. They are not willing to listen to others about their weaknesses. They are obviously not willing to improve as a human and think THEY ARE GOOD ENOUGH!

Does that sit well with you?  Do you want to be ONLY good enough?  Not me!  I know living intentional will be uncomfortable. I know it will give me some grey hair and wrinkles. Thank God for hair dye and Botox! While the discomfort will be there, I know it too shall pass! On the other side of the uncomfortable will be a fulfilled soul. I mean isn’t that why we are here in earth school? Our souls want to grow and be fulfilled.  Right?

As Marianne Williamson often discusses, living a life based on love (not fear) is like a muscle. The more we use it the more it will strengthen!  Make love (not war) your purpose! 😍 Ha!

What I know for sure is that when we stop protecting our heart and live from it, it will steer us in the right direction and the brain along with the inner voice will get out of the way.  Living intentionally will cause you to help others.  And by helping others get what they want, you will get what you want according to Zig Ziglar.  So what is it that your heart truly wants?

I encourage each of you to do something intentional today. Embrace that little uncomfortable twinge. Notice where it is coming from in your body. Acknowledge it and rock it like a baby. Then immediately after you do the uncomfortable thing, notice how much stronger you feel. Don’t ask yourself how you feel hours after. That will give time for that inner voice to question what you did. Ask it, immediately after! 🙂  I would love to hear about the little uncomfortable acts you reached for!

#Loralee #TampaUlthera

As we approach the holiday season, IPL can become popular to erase the evidence from the fun in the sun over the summer! And while it can have remarkable results, the question becomes “Is it going to cure the pigment issue”?

First, one must understand where the pigment comes from.  Mottled pigment comes from aggravated melanocytes deep within the layers of the skin. Melanin is pushed up to the surface over time. Melanocytes become irritated from various triggers including hormones, heat, tanning, and more.  If triggers are still present, significant improvement will be difficult despite how many treatments are performed.

Second, IPL is a light based laser.  There is no true beam, so it covers more surface area than other lasers.  There is no ablation, so there really is not any downtime.  In an IPL treatment, the light is converted into heat to target set wavelengths (colors) via the use of filters.  The target is where the heat is absorbed.  In the case of pigment, the setting would be filtered to target “brown” wavelengths .  Once targeted, the brown spots that fall within the set wavelength spectrum darken. Over  a couple weeks, they eventually shed and the skin is clearer.  You may be wondering for how long?

So, while the IPL beam has the ability to potentially reach portions of the melanocyte and clear the melanin in those areas, as mentioned above, if there is a trigger such as tanning present, the melanocyte will continue to “cry” melanin.  If the patient is avoiding all triggers, the results could last for years.  Most of the time living in Florida, I recommend something to help remind the melanocytes not to “cry”.  I like to be more aggressive during the summer with hydroquinone creams and use the cooler months for maintenance with hydroquinone-free creams.

If you are thinking about an IPL for the holidays, this would be a great time to consider since it may take 2 weeks to clear the treated pigment.  I am also offering IPL for $325 for the month of November to help get your holiday glow started! “Tis the season to be beautiful! 🙂

#PeaceLoveBotox #Ulthera#Loralee

Sounds like a Lifetime movie, but it happened to me!  Has it happened to you?

Is that really you looking back? Which you is you?

   I was with a group of friends at Fleming’s.  When one of the ladies returned from the restroom, she said the have the best “skinny mirror” here.  Another replied, “Oh, I’ll have to make a break to the restroom soon and try it out!”  I felt lost in the conversation even though I had been following it from the start.  I had to ask, “what is a skinny mirror?”  One proceeded to explain that a lot of restaurants are using these mirrors in the restrooms.  “They make you look really good and really like your outfit” she added! I immediately thought about the mirror at Season’s 52.  I always liked that mirror and could not figure out why!  I remember always thinking, “I did not realize how nice this outfit really is” when I walked past it.  I was beginning to feel so deceived!  She then told me retailers are using it too.  She said Ann Taylor uses them.  I asked about Anthrolpogie.  I had just shopped there last week and even subconsciously made a comment to myself in the fitting room that they really have great angles with the lighting in here to make everything look good on you! She confirmed that “yes, they use them too!” Deep sigh came from me!

Am I the lion or the kitten?

How did I get so far and not know about these mirrors?  All the other women knew about them.  I was a little disappointed in myself for not being in the know, but I was more disappointed in this concept.  I mean there are two sides here.  The mirror company claims their mirror makes you look 5-10 pound lighter and gives you self-image confidence.  I get it!  Fake it until you make it…kind of! Maybe the mirror will inspire you to work out more, but what if you are like me and don’t know about the “secret skinny mirror?”  What if I think the dress or bathing suit looks good on me and then I catch a reflection of myself in a window while at the public pool….and I am not digging it? Yikes!  Do I curse the store?

Louise Hay does a lot of “mirror work” to help you learn to love yourself again, but you are actively involved.  With the mirror work, you stand in front of a mirror and repeat affirmations to yourself a couple times a day.  Overtime, your self-esteem and self-love improve.  So, the mirror can help your self-esteem, but with your participation and actual rewiring of thoughts.  What if we had a real mirror and just put some affirmations on the mirrors in these bathrooms?

For me truth is a huge deal.  I don’t like being deceived.   Authenticity is my moral compass!  So, while I like the idea of the mirror, I would prefer to know it’s a little artificial. I am one who likes to know all cards I am being dealt…Don’t sugar coat it!

So WARNING, there are skinny mirrors out there!

Don’t be deceived, You Are Beautiful!

#PeaceLoveBotox #Loralee