Conversations in the treatment room

“Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin. That or a kick-ass red lipstick.”

–Gwyneth Paltrow

My lip injection.

Today is my day off from work but I’m strolling into the golden towers that house Cosmedica, Montreal’s beauty mecca, for a different reason. Scurrying through the elegant lobby, I do a mental check of my appearance; I like to keep it professionally casual in case I bump into patients… Today it’s a little challenging as I’m toting my two year old while balancing on my heels and sucking on a Freezee. At 31 years old, I’m the one sucking on the Freezee and not sharing. At the clinic, between us girls, frozen goodies are our preferred method of minimizing bruising post lip injection, and a darn good excuse to have Haagen-Dazs.

before-nadine-lip-injections

After a flurry of greetings and hugs, we gather around in Isabelle’s injection room to watch the transformation take place. With a wink and few expert injections with her Restylane syringe, Isabelle plumped my lips just the way I wanted. Her special “hydrated lips” technique only requires an economical half a syringe of product, enough to give that sleep-swollen lips look you wish would last all day, minus the puffy eyes. As our other nurse Val explains: “hyaluronic acid (Restylane) occurs naturally in the human body, it is the main component in our skin and is also used by the body to lubricate and prevent injury to our joints. Because it already exists in our tissues, there is very little risk of any allergic reactions.”

There is already anesthetic mixed into the Restylane so the procedure was very bearable. I’d do ten of these over a Brazilian bikini wax! Then again, who needs Brazilian bikini wax when Cosmedica offers virtually painless laser hair removal by LightSheer Duet. That’s a topic for another day…

immediately-after-lip-injections

I would like to thank Aurelie who giddily exclaimed: “ouch, I know exactly how you feel right now!” Thanks. Without Val bouncing around my two year old, this whole thing would not be possible. Thank you to Dr. Benchetrit, of course, for taking good care of us. Special thanks to my beloved colleague Isabelle, Montreal’s top injector nurse who really knows her way around a needle and helps me wear my red lipstick even more proudly!

one-week-post-lip-injections

Nadine Harvey

Medical esthetician at Cosmedica