Tried And Tested: What It’s Like To Get A Cosmetic Consult
Women are bombarded with insane beauty standards from an early age: ranging from how to look better, thinner, have more luscious hair, how to fix your skin, how to become more desirable, how to dress for your body shape… the list goes on.
Whether it was through magazines, film and TV, or social media, we’re constantly inundated with ads and messages about ideal body types, beauty, skincare routines, and little tweaks and tucks we can be making to become a more desirable version of ourselves.
There’s a lot you can do to change your look in the modern era: from Facetune to Snapchat filters, you can become a glossier version of yourself in mere seconds. And these days cosmetic procedures are pretty damn normal: from reality stars getting candid about them, to friends dropping phrases like “preventative Botox”. If you’re a woman in your late 20s or early 30s, chances are you’ve thought about Botox, filler, or have a friend who has dabbled.
It’s important to remember when comparing ourselves to people on Instagram or in the celeb world, that they’ve probably all had some help along the way. And if you’re someone who’s looking into getting a cosmetic procedure, it’s also important to get the facts and make sure you’re going to someone you trust.
Which is how I ended up booking into Contour Clinics in Sydney to visit Dr Josh Wall for a consult.
Personally, my journey into beauty has been a slowish one but cosmetic work is something that has always been on my mind, particularly as I age. I’ve been watching and writing about reality TV for eight years now, so it wasn’t so much a matter of if, it was a matter of when.
When I was working at BuzzFeed, an interview I conducted with a couple of famous musicians stood out to me. “What’s the one bit of advice you’d give to your fans?” I asked the band. “Preventative Botox!” one yelled out enthusiastically. It was the first time I had heard the phrase uttered and it got me wondering: is preventative Botox actually a thing and is it something a woman in her 30s should be looking into?
“Yes, prevention is always better, easier and more cost-effective than correction,” Dr Josh Wall told me. “There are two different types of wrinkles or crease: dynamic and static. Dynamic lines are ones that appear when you move, and everyone has these. Static lines are the ones that are etched into the skin and are present regardless of movement. Starting anti-wrinkle injections early is a great way to remove these static lines and also to prevent new ones.”
So at 31-about-to-turn-32, had I left the preventative part too late? Was it time I dabbled with a little bit of Botox?
Now, this wasn’t my first cosmetic consult in my life, but it was the first one where I sat down and had my face properly evaluated to talk about all things ageing, what I didn’t like, and what could potentially be tweaked if I did want to proceed.
Contour Clinics is on a different level with their technology: when you first walk into their (very beautiful) clinic, the first step is to get photos of your face. This means when it comes to the consult part, you’re walked through a digital alteration of what things would look like if you chose to get filler, Botox, etc. Basically you can see the results before committing to the whole thing. Pretty cool, right?
The whole consult process isn’t pushy: it can be as simple or complex as you like. I initially had inquired about getting PDO threads but after doing some reading about it, I quickly realised it wasn’t for me. And when I brought it up with Dr Josh, he was totally honest about the fact PDO threads would be a waste of my time.
The ‘Zoomface’ effect
The age of Z00m calls, constant FaceTimes, and playing with Snapchat filters when I was bored in lockdown had a double effect for me: in some ways it made me more conscious of what I wanted to change, and in other ways I became so much more accepting of my face, realising I just wanted small tweaks compared to the extensive procedures I used to contemplate. For example, I went through a big phase in life wanting to go get a rhinoplasty, before realising that a little bit of filler in my chin could even out my side profile and I wouldn’t have to, you know, break my nose to get there.
“In this age of social media and taking selfies, people are now aware of all their angles. So, it makes sense that the most underrated treatments are ones for the side profile of the face,” Dr Josh told me. “These include chin filler, which we use to correct and project a weaker chin. A lot of people come into the clinic with a concern about the shape of the chin and this treatment makes a world of difference to their side profile.”
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And as it turns out, I wasn’t alone with using my lockdown time to get to know my own face, with Dr Josh Wall stating that the cosmetic industry has been booming post-lockdown.
“The main reason for this is ‘Zoom face’: when people are at work, they see themselves in the camera’s screen and become self-conscious. It’s only becoming a thing now because people can see their face staring back at them so much more often these days.”
“Also, because video conferencing usually involves chatting, people are seeing their faces in action – meaning, they witness themselves having animated expressions, or frowning expressions that cause wrinkles, or even ‘resting bitch face’ while idle, which makes them appear tired or drawn.”
As the owner of a resting bitch face that’s constantly staring back at me in G-chat meetings, I suddenly felt seen. And what I was also seeing from my increased screen time was more fine lines developing around my eyes.
Some studies have shown that blue lights can case damage to the epidermal layer of our skin – with the short wavelength of the light increasing the production of free radicals in our skin, which leads to ageing. You know how skincare experts are always recommending wearing sunscreen regardless of whether it’s sunny or not? It’s because the main source of blue light in our lives is the sun. While our screens emit just a fraction and studies are still being done into the actual effects, it’s something worth keeping in mind.
Which brings me back to Botox, as someone who has spent two years squinting at my screen and being Constantly Online.
Biting the Botox Bullet
Here’s what it was like to actually get Botox for the first time.
1. It was fast and not painful.
Seriously. A couple of sneaky jabs around the frown lines and forehead from Dr Josh and it was all done and dusted. The hardest part was trying not to sneeze (my forehead is very sensitive as it turns out).
2. It’s made my makeup sit better and for longer.
One thing I had noticed before getting Botox was that makeup was starting to settle into the creases of my forehead. After a week, as the Botox took effect, this was no longer happening. In fact I was getting compliments on how good my skin looked and though people could maybe tell something was different about me, they couldn’t figure out what.
3. It’ll take some getting used to initially.
I am quite an expressive person when I’m not staring at myself in sheer boredom on a Zoom call, so getting Botox was a quick way to learn that I tend to raise my eyebrows a lot. Like a lot. The first week or so of doing this, or trying to frown, was a really weird feeling. But I still had movement to quizzically raise my left eyebrow if someone said something I disagreed with, and that’s all that matters.
4. It’s really fun doing the before and after shot.
Take my word for it. You may think I’m not raising my brow in the second shot but I am trying really hard.
And a reminder again: getting any sort of cosmetic work if you want it isn’t a shameful or embarrassing thing.
As this video by Contour Clinics shows, your fave celebrities have probably had even more work than you’d possibly realise and I think that’s super bloody important to remember next time you log onto Instagram or watch one of your fave TV shows.
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