Cosmetic Enhancement Procedures
When my quest for youth resulted in shock horror!
If you’ve ever taken the time to read a post on social media regarding anything related to the Real Housewives franchise, then chances are your algorithm will have assumed that you are intrigued by all things glam, drama, high expense, and, in this case, cosmetic surgery.
If this sounds like a portion of your feed, you may have, in recent months, been fed posts relating to Brandi Glanville, former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member, detailing her recent unpleasant experience with drastic changes in her facial appearance.
For those of you who have yet to stumble upon this online chatter, I’ll give you a brief rundown.
According to the 52-year-old reality TV personality, she became unwell following a filmed girls' trip away, which resulted in noticeable facial disfigurement. Glanville has spoken out about the high stress that accompanies working within television and believes this could have played a part in her poor health and aesthetic downfall. With suggestions of it being “a parasite jumping around her face.”
If you go beyond the content of the posts, of which there are many, and read the comments, then you’ll be quick to discover most of the opinions seem to believe that Brandi’s new face is the result of cosmetic injectables gone wrong, coupled with lifestyle choices taking their toll.
Brandi has been open about having procedures such as fillers and botox in the past and yet maintains her own belief that this health challenge is unrelated. Recent photos reveal her face with uneven skin texture and tone, scarring, Asymmetrical features, hollows, inflammation, and at times, appears to be incredibly painful.
Ok, so here’s the thing. I have my own personal experience relating to this subject.
My first experience with injectables was when I landed a job working as a receptionist in the rooms of a Plastic Surgeon. He was a well-respected surgeon known for his subtle techniques and, notably, his impressive charitable work, traveling to third-world countries to perform corrective surgery on children with disfigurements. I was only 21 at the time, any fine lines that appeared on my youthful face were certainly not of importance or bother to me, a privilege of being an 80’s baby.
One afternoon, I discovered there was an added perk to working within this industry: when there was leftover product from the drug representatives, the girls in the office would excitedly line up for their free injections. I was standing at reception about to go to lunch when my new boss, the Surgeon, asked me to frown. I politely obliged with my best grimace, and he then smiled kindly and said, “Well, it’s here if you want it.” I nervously declined, feeling somewhat perplexed as to why someone as young as me would need such a thing. I went on to learn that Botox was seen as a powerful preventative.
Fast forward 13 years, now as a full time Mother of three, I had well and truly dipped my toe into the world of anti-aging. By this stage, it was indeed big business, and the work was certainly not as advanced with the subtle techniques available today. More was more.
One morning a month since my most recent filler injection, I noticed one side of my cheek was fuller than the other. I brushed it off thinking it was perhaps hayfever as I did suffer from allergies. Over the course of the next couple of weeks, my formerly slim face started to morph and shape-shift into what I can only describe as a monster from a horror movie. My face was swollen in places I had never even had filler; I had dark bags under my eyes, my eyes themselves were disappearing into my face, both cheeks were humongous, one considerably more so than the other sticking out in a rigid shelf-like manner. My face was rock hard to touch, a frightening stranger staring back in the mirror, and as you may imagine my distress levels were rather high.
By this stage, I had, of course, come to realise that this was more than a bout of Melbourne hayfever, I had visited my GP, gone back to the Skin Clinic where I received the treatments, and no one had any definite answers to give me; they just looked extremely concerned. Don’t you just love a compassionate medical professional scratching their head with bewilderment, ugh. I was eventually referred to see a doctor who had dealt with similar reactions to cosmetic filler. She believed it was likely and infection from bacteria entering the sight whilst being injected, she felt it could also be a reaction from my body rejecting the foreign substance. Under her guidance, I was given antibiotics for an entire year, as well as a strong dose of steroids. With time, albeit far more time than I would have liked, my face began to return to its former, far less alien-like, appearance.
Getting started on cosmetic procedures is a slippery slope; you start to lose sight of how your face really looks. Seeking “improvements” in one area only highlights other areas of the face that require plumping up or ironing out, a vicious cycle that can play serious havoc on your self-esteem. Not only is it expensive, but the perceived self-improvement’s often questionable, and has the potential to go wrong, I can confirm it is certainly not without risk.
In a strange way, I am, however, grateful for the reaction I had all those years ago; it presented as an early self-check-in alarm. I steered clear of any needles for 24 months, and became more focused on feeling good rather than looking good. So now, yes, I do get occasional anti-wrinkle treatments, however my focus these days is more on quality skincare, plenty of movement, and a balanced diet. I am also extremely selective when it comes to whose chair I choose to sit in. Less is certainly a whole lot more.