“my jawline has softened”
From $650 · 12–18 months · usually two visits
Filler placed along the jaw and chin, on the bone rather than in the soft
tissue, so the edge has something to sit on. Most people need two or three syringes, and Elena
splits that across two appointments a fortnight apart rather than doing it all at once.
What this won’t do: it will not lift skin that has already gone
slack. If you can pinch it and it stays where you put it, filler adds weight to that skin instead
of tension, and you will look heavier rather than sharper. That is a surgical problem, and you
will hear that in the consultation rather than after you have paid.
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“there are lines between my brows”
From $340 · 3–4 months · shows in 3–5 days
Botulinum toxin into the muscles that pull the brows together. It starts to
show in three to five days and settles at about two weeks, which is when Elena wants to see you
again to adjust rather than guessing on the day.
What this won’t do: lines that are visible when your face is
completely still are creased into the skin, and toxin will not erase them. It stops them getting
deeper, and across a year or two of regular treatment they soften. Anyone telling you they will
be gone in a fortnight is selling you something other than what you asked for.
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“my cheeks look flat”
From $780 · 12–24 months · reviewed at two weeks
Mid-face filler placed deep, against bone, to put back structure that has
moved rather than to add something that was never there.
What this won’t do: it will not make you look twenty-five, and
past a certain point it stops reading as more cheek and starts reading as more face. Overfilled
midface is the single most recognisable sign that someone has had work done, and it happens
gradually, to people who keep topping up. Elena treats to about seventy per cent of what most
people ask for and books you back at two weeks to decide about the rest.
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“my skin texture is rough”
From $425 a session · three to four sessions · six weeks apart
Microneedling, with radiofrequency if the scarring goes deep enough to need
it. Priced per session because that is how it is delivered.
What this won’t do: it will not clear active acne — that
needs treating first, usually by a dermatologist, and Elena will refer you rather than work
around it. It also does not work in one session. Three or four, six weeks apart, and you will
look sunburnt for about four days after each. If you are quoted a single session for texture,
ask what is being counted.
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“I sweat through my shirts”
From $1,100 · 4–7 months · about 50 units a side
Botulinum toxin into the underarm. It is the same drug as the brow
treatment, used at roughly six times the dose, which is most of why it costs what it costs.
What this won’t do: it stops the treated area, not sweating in
general, and a few people notice slightly more elsewhere. Before you book this, try
prescription-strength aluminium chloride for a month — it is cheap, it works for a lot of
people, and most insurers will not even consider covering the injections until you have tried it
and it has failed.
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