A silhouette face lift is a popular choice for women who don’t want to go under the knife. It is relatively pain free and there is no down time allowing many to have the treatment in their lunch hour. I’ve always been quite hard on myself, looks wise. Like most women, I don’t like what’s staring back quizzically at me in the mirror, and all the old teasing taunts from my elder brother, my family and the belligerent bullies at school come back to haunt me. “You’ve a face like a moon”, “When you smile you look like the Cheshire Cat” “Rainbow wants to know where you are Zippy,” “Your eyes are funny colours” “You look like a pig” “You’ve such a chubby face”.
As I grew unsurely into my late teens I reluctantly began to accept my undesirable looks until I was told unceremoniously I was, “no oil painting” by a honest boyfriend, and then “ugly and bland” by an outspoken gay friend. I’d suffered from severe anorexia in my early teens, nearly losing my life through it but although I was far from cured, I was healthy and overcoming this and was determined to accept myself.
It seemed that no sooner had I accepted my features, then they begun to sag a little and have wrinkles. Creases at the sides of my eyes, a little droop of the jowls. In my head, I felt I was just settling into my 20’s, in reality I’m nearly 40 years old. As an on again, off again smoker, the signs were bound to show.
Taking Control of My Face Again
I decided to be proactive. I had Botox and Dermal fillers and these satisfied me for a while but they didn’t target the jowls that kept drooping and staring back at me as if they were about to flap and clap. I couldn’t have more fillers to lift them, as I have a round face, and it would seem to add even more weight, and so I investigated the Silhouette Soft Facelift, or the Rejuvalift, as it’s known in a sophisticated clinic close to where I live.
I had offers from Dr Leah, Dr Pam Benito, and more to fix my concerns, but after meeting most, Dr Pradnya Apte of Skin Southwest stood out to me, for many reasons, some of them probably personal!
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Why Skin Southwest Stood Out
The clinic is close to our offices, this makes follow ups easy. Dr Pradnya Apte is a Lancashire lass and although she’s highly qualified she is one of the most down to earth people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. I knew, in an instant, that if I had any concerns, she wouldn’t be offended, she’d take feedback on the chin and accept my neurotic tendencies to ask the same questions again and again.
Visiting the clinic for a treatment was like visiting an old friend, even after just one meeting. I had made the right decision. She instantly put me at ease and we talked about our professional and personal lives like two friends chatting in the breeze. As I was honest with her, she was honest with me, and she quickly identified my “hate spots” without me having to say a thing.
I tried Botox at the clinic in Exeter first before committing to the Silhouette Soft or Rejuvalift. It was quick and entirely painless, and gave great results. I was impressed.
The Day of the Silhouette Soft Facelift
The day came for the rejuvalift and I was told to put the afternoon aside. For some reason, despite having a thread lift, fillers and Botox previously, I was terrified. I’m not quite sure what came over me, suddenly I felt as though I was having a panic attack. I was shaking uncontrollably and couldn’t focus. This is before any needles came anywhere near my face, this is as I was settling down to get comfortable. Dr Pradnya Apte and her assistant were surprised I was so nervous, knowing my history, but they didn’t judge. They put me at ease, showed me the equipment, explained the process step by step and even held my hand. They opened the window for air, gave me water and a few paracetamol. Within ten minutes I relaxed and enjoyed the rest as they got to work on my face.
As my face had been anaesthetised, I felt nothing but the odd tug. I wasn’t even uncomfortable let alone in any pain. As you can see from some of the photos we laughed through most of it, and we all kept making vows not to make each other giggle, as it wasn’t helping the treatment to progress.
The Sunday Woman photographer, the very talented Susie Quick, from Little Red Hen photography was in awe of the process. The opposite to me she’d never consider anything but growing older gracefully, and so was intrigued by the Silhouette Soft Facelift.
It came to an end a lot quicker than imagined, there was still time to hit the shops for a little retail therapy. Pradnya made up my face with super soft mineral makeup and as you can see, there are no marks, nothing to show I’d just had a facelift.
Returning for a Review
I promised to return for my review, which I’ll detail soon. In the following days I did experience a little tightness and some very small bruises but nothing worse than what I’ve had from Botox in the past.
The whole experience, the relaxed nature, the professionalism, the beautiful clinic and even the high quality coffee combine to make Skin Southwest the one to beat in the Sunday Woman Spa and Clinic Awards 2019.
If you’re considering a Silhouette Soft Facelift, please feel free to ask either myself, or Dr Pradnya Apte questions. Email editor@sundaywoman.com or hello@skinsouthwest.co.ukand we’ll answer straight away.
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