WHY I WANTED SURGERY
I’ve always hated my chin. ALWAYS. G’bless my parents, a strong & chiseled chin was not in the cards for me. When I was 16 years old I had my wisdom teeth removed, and my mom suggested that I also have a small procedure done to bring my chin forward a bit. It wasn’t jaw surgery…. Just a small tweak of the bones around my chin. I was thrilled.
While I loved the change in my jawline from the adjustment, there was always a fatty looking pocket underneath my chin that made me feel like I looked like I had a doubler. (Double chin, that is). My family thought I was bananas, but I could never shake my frustration.
My sister (Dr. Jordan!) finally got tired of my self-judgement and dragged me to a plastic surgeon for a consultation for liposuction when I was 33. Mr. Plastic Surgery told me that he COULD do lipo under my chin, but it probably wouldn’t give me the result I was looking for. My whole jaw line was a little weak, so he suggested lipo to address The Doubler (if it would make me feel more comfortable) and dermal fillers along the jawline to build up the structure and give stronger definition. He would do the lipo, Jordan or Dr. Dad (in case you haven't put it together yet, Dr. Hollsten is my dad) would do the fillers.
Since I’ve already told you that I was bothered by my chin from childhood it’s clear that I have some nitpickiness about my look. But while the feedback from the consultation with Mr. Plastic Surgery made total sense to me, I wasn’t looking to change the structure of my face- just get rid of The Doubler. But even Mr. Plastic Surgery didn’t seem 100% convinced that lipo was the answer.
Enter FaceTite. When this equipment was first pitched to my sister and dad’s office they were hesitant that the results were total voodoo magic. It seemed too good to be true - no surgery...almost no downtime... sculpt the face. But the more that Jordan and Dr. Dad researched the equipment and procedures, they were convinced that the voodoo magic was actual real working science.
Months after having the equipment in the office Jordan finally convinced me to get FaceTite done on my chin.
I was anxious because I had no idea what to expect the procedure to feel like. I’m a huge chicken when it comes to simple things like Botox…. How in the world was I going to handle a full procedure without IV anesthesia??
So for anyone anxious about what to expect - here’s my day by day journal of my FaceTite journey.
DAY 1: PROCEDURE DAY
I went to work today, business as usual. Jordan’s clinic isn’t done till about 5:30, so we’ll be doing FaceTite when the last patient leaves.
5:00 pm Morgan put numbing cream all over my face, jaw, and down my neck extending down a couple of inches. I’m getting FaceTite done just above my jaw line, just below my jaw line, and (hurray!) a full attack on The Doubler. She added saran wrap over most of my face to help it absorb faster and more thoroughly. I feel silly, but the saran wrap trick WORKS. Bring on the numb!
*The reason for the cream on the rest of my face is for the Microneedling. We always do Morpheus8 Microneedling on patients after AccuTite and FaceTite to make sure that they’re getting the absolute best result from the InMode equipment - I asked Morgan to microneedle my whole face since she would already be doing my jawline.
6:00 pm Jordan takes me back to the procedure room and they start getting me set up. They cover me from the chest upwards with surgical drapes and put a fancy hat on my head. I look so chic.
They clean my skin and ask if I want any ProNox (nitrous) to help with my anxiety. I turn down the offer - I’m super numb, I’m ready to go.
6:05 pm Morgan puts on some sweet tunes for me per my request: Broadway’s Hamilton soundtrack. (No judgement please. We all have our jams - and broadway soothes me.)
6:10 pm I’m singing along to Hamilton and grateful that I opted for warm comfy clothes. I’m nervous and it feels good to be comfy.
6:11 pm Jordan tells me that she’s about to start the numbing injections. I brace for pain, but instead just feel the teeny pressure of a needle followed by a strange (but still not painful) sensation of my skin puffing up from the volume of fluid being injected.
I’m puffed up and getting even MORE numb by the minute from the injections.
Jordan starts the procedure on the right side of my face above the jaw. No pain. No discomfort. Just the strange feeling of the FaceTite probe inside my lower cheek.
As she moves the FaceTite probe along inside my skin I can hear little tiny popping sounds. That means it’s working! Pop away, my friend!
I’m not singing along to Hamilton at this point. Just humming. Don’t want to jiggle too much while Jordan is working. They’re all super nice and nobody tells me to stop.
Jordan moves to the left side of my face…. Then to my lower jaw and my chin… then back to the right to finish up that side.
She’s very smooth, kind, and gentle. I make a mental note to forgive her for stealing my pink sweater a few months ago.
6:40-ish FaceTite is DONE. I didn’t feel any pain from start to finish.
6:42 pm Morgan starts the Morpheus8 Microneedling. She left the numbing cream on my cheeks, nose, and forehead during FaceTite so that I would be as comfortable as possible once we got to the microneedling portion of the procedure.
I don’t feel a single bit of pain while she microneedles the areas that were injected with all of the fluid for the FaceTite bit. The girl’s got skill.
When she moves to my forehead and around the edges in front of my ears I can feel micro-moments of discomfort...but again...no pain.
6:55 pm Poof! Just like that, I’m done!
When I sit up I’m having a tricky time opening my eyes because I opted to wear my contacts instead of glasses. The numbing cream has absorbed into my eyes, so they feel dry and a little sensitive to light. Jordan puts some artificial tears into my eyes and I immediately feel better.
Wishing I had worn my glasses instead.
Jordan wraps a bandage around my head - it’s tightly wrapped from under my chin around the top of the crown of my head to keep pressure on the FaceTite site.
My mom says I look like Eleanor Roosevelt. I take it as a compliment - what a wonderful human.
My eyeballs are a little numb and I feel like my vision is a bit blurry, but my sweet saint of a mother is there to drive me home.
7:30 pm I take a Tylenol to preempt any discomfort once the numbing wears off.
10:30 pm The numbness is gone. Still no pain. Not sure I really needed that Tylenol. While I’m brushing my teeth for bed I realize that the ballooning in my skin from the injections has largely gone away. Hooray! Time for bed.
Read on to My FaceTite Journey to Beauty: Day 2 for a continuation.
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