Almost every new patient that I see who is interested in having a little lost volume replenished says exactly the same thing to me. It goes along the lines of “But I’m scarred of looking overfilled – like some of the women I see”.
It stands to reason that if these patients have come to see me despite a fear of looking overfilled or unnatural in some way, then many more are just too scared to even take that step. Recent market research has shown this to be true. In fact the major factor holding most people back from seeing a cosmetic clinic is a fear of looking unnatural or wrong in some way after treatment.
To be honest, it is a reasonable fear. All of us have seen women, sometimes friends or even family members, who have had a less than ideal result from their treatments. It’s enough to put anyone off.
I believe this usually happens for two reasons. The first is that the treatments have not been performed within a framework of harmony and balance. The treating doctor or nurse sees that the patients lips or cheeks have lost volume, and recognises that this is something that they can rectify. So they go ahead and volumise these areas without thinking about how this will affect the overall appearance. The result can be full or overly full lips or cheeks sitting on an otherwise volume depleted face. This destroys any balance and just looks plain wrong.
The second reason is that practitioners sometimes get persuaded to do more than they should by patients who have seen how good a little volume looks, and erroneously believe that more will always be better.
One thing to remember is that for every face you notice that looks overly filled or done, you have probably seen dozens that have had good work done. You notice the “bad ones’ but you don’t notice the “good ones”. You wouldn’t not get a haircut just because your friend had a bad haircut would you? But you might avoid their hairdresser – right?
At Envisage Clinic we have always prided ourselves on keeping everything looking natural. I often say to patients that we want them to look better, but we don’t want them to look done. If we don’t feel a particular treatment is right for you we will tell you. In fact I am constantly telling patients that I don’t think they need more treatment – even if they are keen on the idea.
Please don’t let fear hold you back. Come and see and me or my team for an obligation free, complimentary consultation. You may be surprised to discover how inexpensive it can be to take a few years off your face, but keep it completely subtle and natural, so no one will notice.
Dr Christopher Leat – Envisage Clinic
