Face shaping..... it only takes 5 minutes.

I have been busy with multitudes of tasks - events, training sessions, functions, patients, kids - you name it, at some point, I feel like I need to either clone myself or grow extra 4 arms but then I'd be too weird. During one of my training sessions, one of the doctors I was training asked me to teach them masseter hypertrophy botulinum toxin A injection technique.

Before I go to detail, masseter hypertrophy is a term to use when your lower cheek muscles are enlarged. What is so important about this? This is one of the reasons that makes a person's face more rounded and they feel that they lose the sharpness of the jaw angle. As Asians, most of us tend to have a square face due to a few reasons i.e. the anatomical structure of our skull which is rounder compared to caucasians, and our diet and habits which includes chewing of nuts and pacifiers when small, and also teeth grinding problems (bruxism). It also helps to reduce bruxism so this is also another indication besides beauty. Other causes of the face appearing to be more square would also be excessive fat around face area and enlarged parotid glands hence eliminating the angle of the jaw. 

So how to know whether its due to muscle or other tissues? Just do a simple test. Clench your teeth and touch your cheek in front of a mirror. If you feel a stronger bulge when you clench I can assure you that it will most likely improve with botulinum toxin injections. 

A lot of people will ask me, is it safe? Yes, if the doctor knows what he/she is doing. The common side effect from the injections is feeling of heaviness of your lower jaw which usually makes you feel lazy to chew or eat. Occasionally you may have some temple muscle spasm if the injections were too high, and the other thing is your jaw may feel loose or weaken. This feeling usually lasts between 1-3 months, and subsequently you will regain normal feeling. But what is more exciting is that you will start seeing a more slimmer face as fast as 2 weeks and it will stay up to 1-2 years depending on a few factors:

1. How strong your muscles were to begin with.

2. Your eating and chewing habits.

3. Dose given during the 1st visit.

Personally, I prefer to give high dose of 200-260 units of dysport (Cost between RM 2500-RM 3000)  - or botox (different units) during the first sitting and review my patient at 1 month, then 3 months and then decide whether more is needed. Usually after 1 session would be suffice, unless the patient has habitual chewing or bruxism then they would need to repeat every 6 months. Some doctors prefer low doses but multiple visits.

The best results are seen in the younger age group, because of better skin turgor. In more advanced aged patients, sometimes they will complain of loose skin, as the muscle bulk disappears. However, this can be fixed by skin tightening procedures like RF or laser tightening. Another issue that usually pops up is that when the jaw is reduced, some patients will notice their chin appear to be smaller. This can also be fixed by putting in fillers for chin. 

How many injection points? There are many techniques but for ladies, I prefer 3 points, men usually 3-5 points depending on muscles size. This procedure also helps to fix facial asymmetry due to uneven muscle size and another benefit is the compensation of your upper cheek muscles make your cheeks look fuller after 3 months. So, because of this, I'd normally tell my patients who want to augment their cheeks to wait 3 months after this procedure to avoid the cheeks to look over done. In most cases, I don't even need to inject the cheeks anymore.

It is painless, simple and takes 5 minutes and results can be seen as early as 2 weeks. Oh, I forgot to mention, I just had mine injected less than 2 weeks ago and I am already noticing the difference. Also loving the fact that I don't feel like eating much so its easier to maintain my weight after the HCG diet I just completed. Will definitely post up my own photos for you to see the difference.

Interested to know more or to do the procedure? Please contact the clinic for an appointment today at 03-21440080 or email info@faceworksclinic.com for more questions.