I Tried Botox and I Liked It!

I tried Botox and I loved it!

I tried botox at CosmetiCare …and I liked it!

I always said I would NEVER do any kind of plastic surgery or beauty-type procedure. Even non-invasive ones. Mind you, I said that when I was in my mid-twenty with no wrinkles, and when I thought I was fat… but was 40 pounds lighter than I am today.Do you ever want to go back in time and punch yourself in the face?
Me too.Moving on…
You may have seen on instagram, I was chosen to be a CosmetiCare Mom! I get to test some of their most popular treatments, then give my opinion.
I tried the HydraFacial first and it was amazing!! I noticed my deepest wrinkles looked more shallow for about 2 months. But I wanted to try something a little more daring.Botox? Well, that’s daring. Let’s do it!I arrived for my appointment terrified.
Like heart-pounding-out-of-my-chest terrified!!!
They have coffee in their waiting room and that helped.
Even though it is a “medical” spa, the waiting room is cozy, it could use some magazines though. I’ve never had to wait very long so they probably don’t really need them that bad.

I was so nervous when I was called into the procedure room, but my medspa provider, Suzanne Rogers, was so comforting and encouraging. Each staff member at CosmetiCare is so friendly! She has been doing this for 15 years (yes folks, that was my first question) and walked me through the whole process. Even when I passed out.
Yes, you read that correctly.
 We’ll get there.

Suzanne warned me the Botox shots would hurt a bit. But they were fast and didn’t hurt me at all. It felt a little like acupuncture, and only took a few minutes.I had decided to be even more daring and try Juvederm at CosmetiCare too. Juvederm is a smooth gel filler that plumps out wrinkles. The gel is hyaluronic acid and is so safe you can drink it. Suzanne said by adding some filler around my cheekbones the bags under my eyes would be much less noticeable. This was really stepping out of my comfort zone.The Juvederm injections were a little more painful (but nothing crazy) and the gel made a funny clicking noise as it is being injected. This is when I started getting a little woozy… and my hand started to feel a little tingly. I told Suzanne and she got me some ice and had me lay flat for a few minutes. Then I was good to finish.So, did I actually pass out? No.
Did I start to blackout? Yes.
I was seriously so so nervous.Now that I’m almost a month out from my CosmetiCare medspa experience I have no idea why I was so worried or why there is such a stigma on botox. Seriously. I have friends who started saving for their boob jobs as soon as they found out they were pregnant with their first child. A huge majority of women don’t bat an eye about going under anesthesia, getting cut apart, then adding implants. It might be an Orange County thing (and if it is, then it’s coming to your town in a few years), but sometimes it’s hard to spot a woman in her 40s without implants. And I mean, how many people are seeing your boobs? Padding would do the same thing. But, botox? Something you can do in minutes. Never! And a gazillion people see your face every day!
That doesn’t make any sense.And on a lighter side, make-up/skincare and hair color are common-place for 99% of women and there is no stigma on that at all. Think about the chemicals going on your body every single day. (Well, not on mine because I use this.) That gives me a little more grace for the botox. (At least that’s what I tell myself!)I’ll lay out my pros and cons for my CosmetiCare treatments of botox, then Juvederm below.

Botox ($400):


Cons –
-I got poked and injected with a drug.
-My forehead felt numb for the evening.
-I can’t make my forehead wrinkle anymore. (Is that really a con?)

Pros – 
-The pokes didn’t hurt at all.
-It took minutes. (Still less than a hour if you count waiting and drive time.)
-I can’t make my forehead wrinkle anymore! And because I can’t make my forehead wrinkle the lines on my forehead aren’t getting deeper and deeper every year.
-No injection marks or downtime.
-Lasts 4 months. (But I’ve heard it can last 6ish on some people.)
-It really works! Although it costs $$, since it works, it’s well worth it. More than the expensive wrinkle creams which don’t yield quick or effective results.Final thoughts on Botox – 
I loved it.

I’m considering making it part of my “don’t-let-yourself-go” routine. It lasts 4ish months, but I feel like if I do it every year it won’t break the bank and will keep my wrinkles from etching deeper into my forehead as I get older. A preventative measure.

Juvederm ($800):


Cons – 
-You get poked and it hurts.
-It almost made me pass out.
-It makes a creepy clicking noise… and although Suzanne warned me… it was weird.
-My cheekbones were sore for over a week. Everything looked great from the outside but I was little sensitive to the touch.

Pros – 
-Injections don’t take long.
-The results last a year. YES, A YEAR!!!
-Looks so natural. People will say you look good or well rested, but they won’t guess you had injections.
-No injection marks or downtime.
-It will get rid of the bags under your eyes and keep your face looking fresh, not droopy.
–It works.Final thoughts on Juvederm – 
I’m so happy with the results for the bags under my eyes. I might start doing this yearly or every 18 months in a few years.I can’t stress enough with both the Botox and Juvederm, that it actually works! You know how you go to the gym to get skinny. You shell out a monthly membership and childcare, work your behind off hours a week, and eat organic kale, all in the hope that you’ll look better in your jeans… in 6 months. With these CosmetiCare treatments you shell out some money and in one hour you have your results. It’s the best. Ever.With that being said (typed), if you go to some random place you might get a botched job, or have a bad experience. I highly recommend CosmetiCare in Newport Beach. Dr. Michael Niccole has run this family owned business for 33 years. They know what they are doing and you really feel like you are part of the family when you are there for your appointments.Below are some before and after pictures of my botox-ed forehead. They were both casual and I’m making the same facial expression so you can easily see the difference. I’m so expressive with my forehead that make-up was starting to build up in the creases by the end of the day.
(I don’t have any great afters of my under eye bags. I’ll try to remember to take one soon.)

And I can still look surprised… just a younger surprised.Here is us on the Tower of Terror at Disneyland.
Though I think the people behind us, not my Botox, really steal the show!