Some of you may remember my first experience with Botox Cosmetic about six months ago. I loved the result, but found if wore off quickly and was apprehensive to try it again for that reason. Plus, the cost was high, around $400, and I am only working part-time these days while I look after my family and husband. I decided I would do it again in the future when I can afford it. My conclusion was: Botox is great, but expensive.

So imagine my happiness when Dr. Braun at the Vancouver Laser and Skin Care Centre reached out to local bloggers and offered me a tour of his facility and a complimentary procedure! There are very few perks of being a citizen journalist, but I’m not above accepting a free lip gloss or tickets to a show, so why should this be any different!? So in the spirit of full disclosure, I received the treatments I describe below free of charge.

The Vancouver Laser and Skin Care Centre

Located near Vancouver General Hospital, this clinic has been operating since 1996. Doctors Martin and Susan Braun are a husband and wife team who started by opening Canada’s first Laser Hair Removal Clinic, but have now branched out to offer a myriad of aesthetic medicine and skin care procedures. See their website for a full list of services.

The Consult

All patients are treated like VIP’s when they come to the clinic. After filling out some medical forms, I was taken into a room by one of the clinical consultants, Kylie. Here she took some “before” shots of my face, and also performed a “Visia Complexion Analysis Report.” The report is a series of eight photos taken by a special camera. Each photo shows something different about my complexion. For example, I learned that part of my skin is dehydrated. I also saw UV damage, which is greatest on the left side of my face (driver’s side!)

Kylie then took me to the consultation room where she talked to me about Botox and its many uses. Medical Botox is used to treat excessive sweating, headaches, and even jaw pain (TMJ). Cosmetic uses for Botox are mainly for relaxing facial muscles, thereby preventing the growth of new wrinkles. My main concern is the deep and growing vertical wrinkles between my eyes. They call these wrinkles “the number eleven”. I want my number eleven to stop growing, and certainly not multiply. I also loved the “brow lift” that I got from Botox the last time. By relaxing the muscles that pull the brow down, the brow is more easily lifted by other muscles that are not injected by the Botox.

Reality check: There is nothing wrong with wrinkles or flat brows. However, after much soul searching (and experimentation) I have come to learn that small cosmetic “fixes” can go a long way to improving my self esteem. Case in point, I knocked out all my front teeth as a child, and needed extensive dental work done. My adult teeth grew in damaged, and I needed even more work as an adult. Recently, I chose to have cosmetic veneers put on some of my healthy teeth to help mask the damage on my false teeth. I’ve never regretted it. I love my smile now, whereas before I always tried to smile with my mouth closed. You get what I’m saying right? I’m not trying to look like Donald Trump’s next wife (#godforbid). I’m just trying to look more like the natural “me.”

(me with Lucy — see my “number eleven?”)

Back to the consult. Kylie also went through a standard four-step skin care routine designed by Dr. Braun. Products are available from the clinic at very reasonable prices (most under $30). I will save my review of these products for a future post as they deserve a full run-through and testing before I can report if this routine is better than my current “Clinique” routine. Kylie gave me some samples, and I’m going to buy some full size products when I go back for my 2-week check-up next month.

After Kylie answered all my questions, Dr. Martin Braun joined us in the consult room. I liked him immediately –- he is very approachable and easy to talk to. I was already “sold” on the idea of getting more Botox, but he went through all the standard information with me anyway. He also said that he could most likely reduce the look of my permanent wrinkled “number eleven” with a small injection of the cosmetic filler “Juvederm.”

(sample photo, not me!)

The Treatment

We then moved to the treatment room where I said good-bye to Kylie and was joined by a medical assistant.

Dr. Braun first applied 40 units of Botox to my brow. He does this with a very fine needle, but you can’t see it because it’s above your eyes. He freezes the area first with ice, so you hardly feel it at all. He makes a series of injections in a few different spots. Compared to a bikini wax, this pain is nothing.

The cost of this treatment would be approximately $400 (similar to the price I paid for my previous treatment). The price per unit of Botox depends on how much you get: the more you get, the less Dr. Braun charges. The range is between $13 to $8 per unit.

It takes seven to ten days for the full effect of the Botox to be visible.

Dr. Braun then proceeded to inject me with the Juvederm. Juvederm is most often used below the eyes to puff out the cheeks and plump up the lips. It can also be used to hide deep wrinkles, like the ones between my eyes. Some people even use Juvederm to hide deep acne scars, or any facial scars.

This procedure hurt a little bit more. As Dr. Braun injected the filler (a naturally occurring carbohydrate, hyaluronic acid) he used the needle to gently lift the skin. Wrinkles are formed when the skin is pulled down by small fibres. By breaking these ties, and filling under the skin with filler, the wrinkle is immediately lifted. There is some slight bruising and tenderness that I expect will last a few days.

I will be posting some photos in a couple of weeks in a follow-up post. I know I’m going to like it! I can already start to see the brow begin to lift.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at podcast {at} lipglossandlaptops {dot} com. You can also contact the clinic yourself directly. Listen to our next podcast for more about my Botox and Juvederm experiences!