A lot of people are scared of getting dermal fillers in their face and I don't blame them. We've seen enough celebrities who look frozen with very little movement in their forehead and mouth areas. Additionally, I've had a lot of friends tell me they hated their results after dabbling in fillers. They felt like they looked "different" afterwards. There were certain things about the way they charicteristically moved their face that were now gone. While I have to say I've never experienced this problem myself, I can totally understand how this would be extremely frustrating. I talk for a living so it would bug me if mobility in my face was limited or not believable. But at the same time, I want to look great for my age so when I feel I need a little help or plumping, I turn to injectables.
I heard whisperings about a new type of filler to combat the frozen face look. I was eager to learn about it and then in perfect timing I got invited to this event by Galderma!
The main (top) picture in this article is of me expressing different emotions at the Galderma event. It was a lot of fun. They captured pictures of us reacting to different stimuli to show the importance and beauty of natural expression. This was the inspiration behind Galderma's new offerings.
Restylane® Refyne and Restylane® Defyne are two new Hyaluronic acid dermal fillers from Galderma that smooth out moderate to severe lines in the face while supporting a range and flexibility of facial expressions. The results are natural looking with long-lasting effects. You can see an example below provided by Galderma.
If your injectables practioner is not taking before and after pictures of you expressing emotion, they should! Tell them to! This is a great way to determine what looks best in your face as far as how you move your face, and what areas need (or don't need) treatment.
I got to see a patient injected during Galderma's event, which I thought was a nice touch. Many of the editors in attendance were squeamish and opted out of watching the demo, but as you can imagine, I was front and center to observe! Dr. Marina Peredo from Skinfluence in NYC was administering Restylane® Refyne and Restylane® Defyne.
She's wonderful and the patient was very happy with her results.
I was shocked that the patient didn't even flinch once during her injections because even when I'm numbed-up, I still feel a pinch and burn that makes my eyes water and tear. So hats off to this woman for being so strong!
Galderma says that Restylane® Refyne and Restylane® Defyne provide minimal downtime with a "comfortableness in returning to social engagement". I think this really depends on the person and treatment area though. A few weeks after this event, I was treated with Restylane® Refyne and Restylane® Defyne and bruised pretty badly. However, I'm currently taking anti-inflammatory medication for a torn labrum in my shoulder that could've made me more susceptible to bruising. The recommendation is usually to stop taking medication (especially Aspirin) for a few days before your treatment and up to a few days after.
I want to be completely honest about this. I can't say you will be mark-free the next day or even a few days later since I was not. Also, if you get injected in a more vascular area, you're more at risk to bruise. Make sure to plan accordingly depending on how you know or think your skin will react. And if you do bruise, here are two products I absolutely recommend and which I use religiously for quicker healing (they reduce markings in 3-4 days):
- Arnicare Gel from Boiron
- PREVedem from NeoCutis (this works really well when applied before a treatment)
I was remarkably impressed with Dr. Peredo's presentation at the Galderma #BeforeAndLaughter event and had the opportunity to interview her. I was determined to ask her more about Restylane® Refyne and Restylane® Defyne in order to provide as much information as possible in this article. Skinfluence is her practice on Manhattan's Upper East Side. The office has lavish chandeliers hanging from its ceilings and well-placed furniture with accents of silver and gold. The style is modern with a feminine touch and everything is superbly clean.
Dr. Peredo's staff is kind, knowledgeable and exceptionally accommodating. This made a lot of sense to me because this is the vibe you get from her as a person during casual conversation. Dr. Peredo was born in the Soviet Union and had always wanted to be a doctor. She was told she would never get into medical school as a foreigner and because of her accent. But she's always been one to defy the odds and do what people told her she could not.
Dr. Peredo proved her naysayers wrong. She received her medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, completed her internal medicine internship at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center and her dermatology residency at New York Hospital-Cornell University Medical College. She's also currently an Associate Clinical Professor of Dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, where she teaches residents and fellows and was 3-time recipient of the teacher of the year award.
When I asked her why she got into dermatology she said, "I'm seduced by beauty!". While in school, Dr. Peredo got really into dermatology trends and was hooked. She considers herself an artist (as I feel she should) and it's a big reason she trains other doctors and practioners on how to inject the right way. Treating the face and other areas of the body is an art. Just because you're a doctor doesn't mean you're going to be good at aesthetic procedures. She tells me: "You have to be an artist. Art is the ability to see what’s not always visible to others." I can't tell you how much I love that she said this.
Dr. Peredo has been using Restylane® Refyne and Restylane® Defyne and feels they are new tools for her art. She likes them because post-treatment when you’re smiling and animated, it doesn’t look like you had anything done. They give her the ability to treat the lower part of the face without unnatural puffiness that has been a common complaint in the past with fillers.
She uses Restylane® Refyne for the treatment of fine lines and Restylane® Defyne for deeper lines and folds. They're both approved for facial wrinkles and folds, such as nasolabial folds. Even though both products have looser cross-linking (which clinicians say will result in a faster breakdown of the product), Dr. Peredo says her clients are enjoying their results for up to a year.
I asked Dr. Peredo who are the best candidates for Restylane's new offerings and this is what she said: “Probably patients who are filler naïve but are good candidates. People who didn’t have the best experience with filler and didn’t like how it felt, or believed it was too drastic.” She believes Restylane® Refyne and Restylane® Defyne provide a great entry into filler. So, if you're a newbie to the world of cosmetic treatments, this might be for you!
My interview with Dr. Peredo then shifted into how women are changing the way they feel about injectables and being more honest and open about what they're doing when it comes to anti-aging treatments. She agreed there's a movement happening and that women are less likely to feel ashamed or hide their treatments from their friends. Dr. Peredo said Christy Brinkley is a great example of celebrity endorsement. "She does it in moderation, in small amounts but more frequently to stay looking fresh always."
Dr. Peredo thinks the fact that a lot of derms and plastic surgeons are posting treatment procedures and before/after pictures online and on Instagram is a good thing. As long as it’s not DIY filler she's on board. We laughed about this because apparently some people are posting DIY injectables on Youtube, which is pretty scary. She says, "Education is important. I appreciate my patients who have done their research and know what the want. It’s harder treating patients who just come in not knowing what they want. The educated consumer is always our best costumer because then we are speaking the same language."
I highly recommend Dr. Marina Peredo as a dermatologist and loved meeting and interviewing her. She's a gem. A few days later I was thumbing through New Beauty Magazine and flipped to this feature on her.
Let me know if you have any questions about Restylane® Refyne and Restylane® Defyne and I will do my best to answer them. Keep in mind, I'm not an expert on Galderma injectables but I can definitely give you my personal opinion based on the research I've done and the one treatment I received. Thanks for reading!