Sheila Magazine

sheila I beauty imagining the swelling is worse than it is. I drove one-handed, while holding an ice pack to my mouth to keep the swelling on my lips down. When I arrive home, I cop a few jokes from my teenage sons. The swelling in my lips goes down a lot overnight, and takes a few days to settle. The biggest hurdle after the treatment is going back out into the world and facing everyone I know. When I finally did decide to go out and see people who knew me, I could have sworn they were staring straight at my lips and eyes and wondering what I had done. It felt a bit like cheating on a test, and thinking that everyone knew. But I think this was all in my head, as nobody really asked. In the past few weeks I have had so many comments from people I know saying that I look really well. People say I am looking a lot younger, but none has asked directly if I have had work done. The procedures didn't change my look, I can still close my eyes and wink if I want to and people can still tell if I am angry, sad or happy … so, in other words, I am not at all frozen- faced. My mum and both my sisters were so impressed with the results they are itching to have the same done. My only regret with these two procedures is that I didn't have them done sooner. #1 THE VERDICT: botox and fillers work brilliantly when administered by expert hands. 78 SHEILA MARCH 2012 My visit to Assure Medispa cost about $900 but prices vary depending on the level of treatment required. I will definitely visit for a top-up and I imagine that this treatment will become a routine exercise. Assure Medispa Suite 216, 25 McCourt St Subiaco 9380 0380 2 ROADTEST I had heard, and even written, about platelet rich plasma treatment (PRP) about a year before I became brave enough to give it ago. While the process sounded painful and invasive, I was intrigued to find out for myself why there was so much hype surrounding this treatment that has been used in Europe for decades. The lure of a long-lasting, natural treatment combined with the endorsement of a trusted professional was just too strong and somehow I managed to push to the side fears of the many needles required to WHEN THE doctor returns my knees BEGIN TO SHAKE rejuvenation this procedure could bring. Dr katina Elfis tells me the pain is minimal thanks to the use of some numbing cream which will be applied liberally over the entire face. While she waits for the cream to take effect, Dr Elfis expertly inserts a needle into my arm and removes a few vials of blood. She is gentle and I hardly feel anything. I've had much more savage complete the procedure. I arrived at the surgery, heart racing but excited about the possible With the big four zero in sight, our journalist guinea pig decides it's time to bring in the big guns. experiences of the same procedure in hospital or when I have gone for a blood test. So far so good from my end and I try not to think about what lies ahead while Dr Elfis takes the blood to spin it in the centrifuge. The intense spinning removes red blood cells from the plasma. The accepted theory behind this procedure is that the plasma contains lots and lots of goodies that, when injected into my face, will work their rejuvenating magic. It is thought that the plasma contains large doses of bioactive proteins known as growth factors that are pivotal in the repair and regeneration of tissues. These special proteins also initiate new blood vessel formation, bone regeneration and healing, connective tissue repair and encourage overall wound healing. Growth factors released from the concentrated platelets activate resident stem cells and dormant skin cells. This stimulates new collagen and hyaluronic acid production and epithelial cell regrowth, resulting in a dramatic improvement in skin health and appearance. Forget the science – put simply, PRP equals souped-up skin regeneration. When Dr Elfis returns, my knees begin to shake and I can feel my teeth are about to chatter as well. But my fears are ill-founded because as soon as she begins injecting, I know her claim of a virtually pain- free experience is correct. Within 20 minutes, she has expertly put all the plasma back into my face. There's no slap-dash needle-here and needle-there approach. Dr Elfis carefully assesses each area of my face, asks me to frown and contort my features and then decides

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