Carpe in the press: You ask, we poke no more of these days. Aestheticians on fighting wrinkles: “Because it has such a natural effect, ‘skin boosters’ also attract many men.”

With Madonna’s appearance at the Grammys, the debate flared up again: what on earth has she done to her face? “In our profession, unfortunately, it is usually the failures that attract attention,” say doctors Ingrid Van Riet and Silvie Van Eycken. A conversation about “injectables” – botox, fillers or body fat – and a promising newcomer: skin boosters.

Criticism of the rejuvenating procedures Madonna underwent sounded rather hypocritical in a culture that does not tolerate wrinkles and demands that women stay young forever. The singer hit back, throwing in age discrimination and misogyny. Right she is. But we also understand critical thinking. She doesn’t even look like herself anymore.

“Indeed, it could all be more subtle,” say Drs. Van Riet and Van Eycken, both estheticians and dermatologists. “However, we can achieve very beautiful, natural and subtle results. With small procedures, we can help someone look really good, in a natural way. We would never go as far as such an extreme, American puffy face. The problem is that successful cosmetic surgery is invisible and you only see and remember the slips.

Actress Courteney Cox already admitted that she was too has gone far with plastic surgery and fillers. She said she no longer saw for herself what natural was. Do you see customers who are in your optics go too far?

Van Riet: “As doctors, our job is to notify the patient that something would not be a good idea or a treatment is not necessary. We do the same with each other. I have been using fillers and botox myself for 20 years, and colleagues are my mirror and sounding board. You want to look good, but you don’t want to have fewer wrinkles than your daughter. (laughs) It is
important to understand what the client wants, what she sees when she looks in the mirror. Often people stare blindly at a wrinkle and think a filler will solve everything. It’s our job to assess whether that’s the right approach.” Says Dr. Van Eycken, “Our clients want to look fresher and rested. And that’s also the only reaction you may get from those around you: ‘You look good, been on vacation?’

Not, “What did you do to your face? The “you ask, we fill” attitude is out of date. As a physician today, you have to keep the whole picture in mind, not just the piece that annoys the patient. We have become a bit of an artist. Will it look nice if you fill in the nasal lip crease? Perhaps some filler on the cheekbone deren to elevator the cheek is a better solution. You have to guide the patient to the most natural-looking solution. There is an evolution toward softer treatments and more natural, even results.”

Yet we continue to see very extreme faces, such as the "transformed" face of Donatella Versace.

Van Riet: “You don’t understand that! What doctor does that? We don’t know what’s going on in Donatella’s head, but people with low self-esteem or dysmorphic images need a practitioner to slow them down. Sometimes a woman sees only imperfections and thinks that only a series of procedures can help. But filler over filler, lifting after lifting: then you get the opposite of what you want to achieve.”

Botox behandelingen

The most visible exaggerated effect Must be the pursed lips. Often in very young girls.

Van Eycken: “Pity about sausage lips. Cosmetic surgery as a visible status symbol: we don’t share that vision. Those patients are not our target group and we very rarely see them. Rather, we see people who want to undo the effects of extreme surgery. They want their ‘filler mustache’ to disappear, which is perfectly possible.”

Van Riet: “We do lip treatments, of course. With age, wrinkles appear around the mouth and the lips get a little smaller. But our patients specify: I don’t want any of those
fat lips.”

Botox and fillers are mentioned in the same breath, but botox is probably the best-known treatment.

Van Eycken: “Botox is often someone’s first treatment, the incoming treatment. It is a muscle relaxant that temporarily stops the signal transmission from the nerve to the muscle, and therefore extremely suitable for all expression wrinkles: the frown on your forehead, the laugh lines around your eyes…. The advantage is that the effect is there immediately, and after a while it disappears by itself from the body.” Van Riet: “You must not freeze the face: people must be able to keep smiling, blink their eyes, move their foreheads. We have what we call a ‘baby-botox’: minimal use, relaxing some dots here and there, for a natural, invisible effect. “

Baby-botox? How old are those customers?

Van Riet: “Thirties or so, not teenagers, lol. Young women who have the beginnings of a frown, who preemptively use botox to address first lines or get a subtle brow elevator.”

As a negative effect, one signals muscle atrophy. After long-term botox use, the muscles slacken and die, resulting in a deep wrinkle. Just what one does not want.

Van Eycken: “In theory, that reasoning is correct: if you immobilize a muscle for a long time, it dies. But then we are talking about very long-term and very frequent botox use in quite high doses. If you pursue an extremely frozen face and keep it up for decades, it could lead to atrophy, but I have never seen such a patient. On the contrary. There are patients who want to relax the Masseter muscle – the cheek jaw muscle – to make their jawline less prominent, and so then you have to go to great lengths to achieve a little atrophy.”

Other side effects could include: headache because you don't have your forehead can move more and suddenly address other muscles, swelling, asymmetrical result....

Van Riet: “Supposedly there is an asymmetry, you can easily add a prick with botox to restore the imbalance. The headache usually disappears after a few days. Swelling, to me, is not so much the result of botox, but of poor administration. In the hands of a skilled physician, botox is completely safe.”

The impression is that with fillers it is more often goes wrong. Perhaps that is a remnant From the time when people still injected - now banned - silicone.

Van Riet: “We have learned a lot about fillers and the quality has changed tremendously. Today, hyaluronic acid fillers are used. Hyaluronic acid is a substance native to the body, completely safe. But: there is a jungle of brands. You really need to know the subject matter. You can also buy very bad fillers that attract a lot of moisture, are too compact, form globules, move too much or just not enough…. Even within one brand, there are different textures. As an injector, you have to know your material: use the right filler and inject it in the right place. For the corners of the mouth, for example, you want a filler that integrates well into the skin and moves with it. For the cheek arch, a more solid one that stays put.”

People also used to inject body fat.

Van Riet: “We use lipofilling much less now because there are equally performing fillers on the market. Body fat was an ideal product for around the eyes. We also used it on people who were severely emaciated or needed some volume in the face. The advantage is that fat is a natural compo-advantage is that fat is a natural component with some hormones and stem cells in it. It noticeably improves skin quality, with a long-term effect.”

As a side effect of f llers, one identifies discolorations.

Van Eycken: “If the filler is applied too superficially, the patient gets blue discoloration, because light from outside reflects on the filler. We call that the Tyndall effect. We see this most often around the eyes, because the skin is thinnest there.”

Once they talked about the "liquid facelift which consisted solely of fillers.

Van Riet: “Such a liquid facelift came down to overfilling the face, whereas you can’t solve everything with fillers. You can’t tackle large skin folds with them, we have to be honest about that. If the skin gets a little saggy, you work better on skin quality than on filling. We then like to switch to skin boosters. Then you can also stay within the natural contours of the face. It’s often more about restoring balance to the face “Cosmetic surgery as a visible status symbol: we don’t share that vision. Rather, we see people who want to undo the effect of extreme surgery and make their ‘filler mustache’ disappear” rather than to fill.”

What are skin boosters?

Says Van Riet, “Collagen stimulators are inserted into the skin that firm and rejuvenate from the inside out. The skin becomes firmer and with higher density, so it shows fewer wrinkles and will sag less. Because it has such a natural effect, the treatment also attracts many men. I expect a lot from skin boosters in the future.” Van Eycken: “Another new method is PRP therapy – platelet rich plasma – in which a concentrate of one’s own platelets is injected into the skin by micro-needles. People call it a tad dramatically the ‘vampire facelift.’ It stimulates the skin’s repair process, it gives a beautiful and natural effect, also really a technique of the future.”

Can we stop time that way?

Van Eycken: “We don’t pretend to stop aging, but small procedures here and there can help you look your best in a society that asks a lot of you anyway.” Van Riet: “People don’t necessarily want to look younger but good for their age. They want a look that matches how they feel. No gloomy frown lines when they are actually cheerful and friendly. No tired face when they are full of energy.”

To inject

Lipofilling

In the process, fat is injected which, through
Of a mini-liposuction from one's own body
is met. It gets in the face
used to compensate for volume loss (at
emaciation, for example). Ideally
circumstances, the injected fat
part of the tissue and is the result
permanent. Because the fat cells used
contain stem cells, the skin improves
look. Used less due to the advent
Of good f llers. Price: from 1,200 euros.
Potential negative effects: the
transplanted fat may die off or create a
cause infection. Because the result
is usually long-term, any
'mistake' difficult to correct.

Botox

Is a muscle relaxant and paralytic
biological poison that is very suitable for
address expression wrinkles: the frown on the
forehead, the smile lines.... An injection
should be repeated after about three, four months
become, because botox dissolves on its own in the
body. Price: from 150 euros for a smooth
forehead. Potential adverse effects:
headache, blue discoloration or a
asymmetrical result.

Fillers

Contain hyaluronic acid, a substance found in the
connective tissue, nervous system and skin is located. The
is used to smooth out wrinkles and to
give more volume. Fillers break down more slowly
off than botox; the result lasts for a year to
fourteen months visible. It also used to be
worked with permanent f llers and body -
foreign substances such as silicone, but that is off
councils. Price: from 250 euros for the lips,
from 300 euros for a tear trough, midface,
cheekbone, jawline. After treatment, a
thickening or bruising occur. If not
well injected or of poor quality
can cause allergic reactions, swelling, a
Inflammation or granulomas (hard balls)
performance.

The experts!

Doctor
Ingrid van Riet

Dermatologist – Esthetician

Doctor
Silvie Van Eycken

Aesthetic physician

Article written by The Latest News. Check out the article here!

Parkeren bij carpe clinic?
Parking at carpe clinic?

Discover gift certificates
At Carpe Clinic!

Surprise your loved ones with a Carpe Clinic gift certificate and let them choose from a range of great treatments.