Filling my cheeks with RADIESSE

Plastic surgery is something I never thought I’d try until my 50s or 60s, but as more and more recipients popup daily, it began to poke my curiosity. So a couple months back when I was invited to a botulinum and filler party, rather than responding,”it’s not for me,” I attended!

First of all, imagine walking into a Real Housewives of New York gathering wearing hot pink Nikes, black leggings, and a purple sweatshirt with a screenprint of Katharine Hepburn; you’re going to feel out of place. And this isn’t me bashing the Upper East Side plastic surgery demographic, but helping you understand my POV and two things – 1) I’ll try most things at least once, and 2) heels, like name dropping, is an overused social identifier. At the end of the day at some point we all want to feel, and be seen as, our most beautiful self. If that means poking, prodding, filling, or numbing on the occasion, so be it.

As I’m blessed to not have enough furrows and frowns to warrant XEOMIN, I opted for Radiesse cheek fillers. I already have prominent cheek apples, but what would it look like if elongated that prominance towards my eye socket? It would give an almost natural contoured effect 24/7 (for the next six months).

Injections were painless, and this comes from someone who doesn’t mind the pinch of needles. So if the mere sight of needles, let alone the feeling, has you crying, close your eyes, squeeze the arm chair, but relax your face. Your immediate look is just your bodies reaction to being “attacked”, a similar reaction to scraping your knee or getting a shot. The results were instant, although they won’t be the same in the next few days; your cheeks should depress to the proper filled size. It was sore and felt tender, like bruising, over the next few days. You will be able to feel the hardened fillers until they gently wear away.

Here are some images for you to compare and contrast my before and after. [Click images to enlarge]

Now, my experience will be, or should be, different from yours if you’re going in solo. There were many of us receiving some sort of treatment that day, so with the allotted time, they had to see and inform everyone before the procedures. Some questions weren’t able to be answered that day, others didn’t come to mind until days after, and others were more situational, that until you were in that moment, it never would have crossed your mind. For instance, I recently set up a consultation for a HALO treatment and assumed I would be a prime candidate. I’ve had these fillers for almost a couple of months now, so they’ve just become a part of me. It wasn’t until asked, that I remembered. Quickly, I was informed that I have to have had them for more than three weeks, before being able to receive treatment.

Can you imagine wanting to get your face ready for a major event and later find this out? I’d be so pissed. Which leads me to always ask the most unthinkable questions and prepare for responses you just don’t want to hear.

I’ve done a bit of the leg work on that and asked Dr. Stephen T. Greenberg of Greenberg Cosmetic Surgery (the doer of my injections) some questions. Something you may notice in the answers is basically ASK YOUR DOCTOR. If you doctor doesn’t know, or can’t really answer your concerns, find someone else.

Can you tell me about Radiesse?
This year marks the 10th anniversary of RADIESSE – it was approved for use in the face 10 years ago and approved for use in the back of the hands in 2015. RADIESSE, a unique calcium-based filler, is injected during a treatment that is done at a physician’s office. RADIESSE is the first and only filler deemed safe and effective by the FDA to correct lost volume in the hands.

What is the typical recovery period?
Listen to the advice of your doctor, but there is no downtime with injectable filler treatments. After your appointment you should be able to go about your day as normal.

Immediately after how should you care for it, what can you do or not do?
I tell my patients to take it a bit easy the day of an injection treatment– maybe just light exercise instead of the most intense gym classes. However, for the most part, you can do whatever is your normal daily routine. If you have any bruising you can use make-up to cover it up.

Are there products you should stay away from with Radiesse?
Speak to your doctor about best practices before and after injections. I tell my patients not to take aspirin or any blood thinning vitamin, etc. for a few days before having any injections to avoid bruising.

What makes it different from fillers?
Many fillers, like BELOTERO BALANCE, are made of hyaluronic-acid (HA), which naturally exists as a component of the skin However, RADIESSE, is made from calcium hydroxylapatite. Over time, the benefits of RADIESSE continue by stimulating your own natural collagen, providing additional structure after the initial effects of RADIESSE have diminished. The treatment’s results are both immediate and long-lasting, providing wrinkle relief for up to a year or more in many patients.

Where are the most common places people have the fillers injected?
RADIESSE is popular with both men and women for use in mid to lower face i.e. folds and cheeks. Additionally, RADIESSE can be used on the back of the hands to reduce the appearance of tendons and veins in the hands.

Who is RADIESSE not for?
Do not use RADIESSE if you have a skin infection until it is healed, if you have an allergy to any component of the product, if you have a history of severe allergies, if you have a bleeding disorder, or if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.