As an individual I invest heavily in my learning, I completed my time served bachelors and post graduate degree in education up north and then whilst in the south indulged in my masters degree and now back for the fourth time dancing with the field of pharmacy.. I have always invested time and money into my aesthetic training and where once it was very focused on ‘treatments’ now my training is more aimed at spending time with those who I hold in high regard… I enjoy days watching them work, injecting alongside them and being able to talk through a patient and assess them together: to me that’s what I love now!
Why is this relevant? Throughout all my training, I have never once been taught that injecting more is better.. In fact in the last couple of years I have had the privilege to train with some of the industry’s finest and Individuals I personally hold in high regard and as we discuss this topic it’s always clear that the key is a natural result where anatomy is ‘respected’, natural movement and proportions considered and most of all where the right product and method of administration is always paramount alongside safety!
So if we are to respect the anatomy and work within the parameters of natural proportions surely this is entirely built on the individual! In the early years of my practice I am embarrassed to admit that I did offer a celebrity themed filler package.. I look back now with shame because it contradicts who I am now.. If I am honest, I followed suit because I was busy watching what everyone else was doing and not being true to who I was- this is the confidence aspect I think.. but it is so wrong and directly contradicts the very basis of who I am so yes, this practice does not happen anymore I am pleased to say and over the years I have evolved and become a practitioner I am proud to be, an authentic one who adheres to my own High standards and ethical boundaries.
How can two people with completely different bone structures, proportions, size, aesthetic pasts, medical history and basic aesthetic goals have the same prescriptive 8ml package sold in the limelight of a celebrity title.. and don’t get me started on the 8 point face lift.. another formulaic approach to treat the same areas of the face in the same way regardless of the individual.. now don’t get me wrong! The concept is brilliant: each ‘point’ serves a purpose- each one clearly an area what through the ageing process can demonstrate a need to be rejuvenated -so the problem lies not in the areas of suggested treatment but in the manner in which we teach students to approach them..
The truth is this.. I have had patients whom I have treated with 3 syringes over multiple areas of the face and they have achieved a result that is mind blowing! A more youthful structure, harmony amongst structures and seem less anatomical transitions.. where I have created the same on patient two with 11 syringes!
As practitioners we have a responsibility to be the standard, to set the dialogue and therefore we need to move away from these packages that encourage pumping unnecessary amounts of filler into the face as if more is better! We are teaching patients that more is better, almost as if the more filler you have is a symbol of a successful treatment when it is just the opposite.. in my opinion when we start going down this crazy route of ‘excess’ we increase the risk profile and also for problems years down the line.. because let’s be fair at times the quality of the fillers used in these big bulk packages are definitely not the highest standard..
Take home message for patients: less is more.. a practitioner should NEVER agree to a 5ml, 6ml .. package without conducting a thorough assessment first and talking through the areas of your face they are treating and providing an explanation as to ‘why’ not just because a course I went on told me to treat those ‘set points’ ..
Take home message for practitioners.. we need to change the message, we have a responsibility, we have a duty or care to our patients that is beyond profits and volume! We need to focus on the practitioner we want to be, and the practitioner our patients deserve.. 11ml treatments absolutely have a place, but volume should never ever be a driving force for our treatments- allowing that is a recipe for disaster, complications and poor results for your patients and a protocol for Hyaluronidase down the line.
Insta: @larossaesthetics
