It Works!

Well I hope you are all feeling a million times better than I currently do. I had my tonsils out 12 days ago and it's safe to say I still don't quite feel like me. I've decided I'm going to do a post about my tonsillectomy experience soon for anybody who may be having to have one in the future. I hadn't known what to expect if I'm honest and I have had a big shock. If I could have read a few other posts with an honest opinion I  might not have been so optimistic prior to the op and in shock post op. Anyway I will tell you about that in a couple of weeks when I am healed and know if the operation has been a success.

Today I'm here to discuss as promised, the 3 month results of the jawline reduction treatment I underwent with Cosmedocs in Derby. If you have read my previous post you'll already know my reasoning for undergoing this procedure. In that post I have done a full explanation of my reasons why I felt this treatment was necessary as well as a fully detailed breakdown of what the treatment involves, how it is done, aftercare and the costing structure etc. so I won't ramble on about all of that again in this post. If you click the link above it will take you back to my initial post about the treatment so you can find out more if you wish. 

When I attended my first consultation, Dr Bhatti told me I would see the best results from the treatment around my 3 month review and top-up appointment. I already knew from previous experience with acne tablets etc. that the best way to track a product/treatments effectiveness is to schedule a series of photographs on the same day and similar time every week. I always find you adjust to changes quite quickly, especially when you see them every day so they become less noticeable. Not forgetting I have a terrible memory so without the pictures I have no chance of remembering how something looked 3 months ago!

The pictures I took to track my jawline Botox progress are by no means the most flattering pictures - they are true passport style pics - face on, looking straight at the camera. I also have minimal makeup on (if any) as I didn't want any false results by contouring etc. This was the best way for not only me to see the treatment working but also for you as well.

It's all well and good reading a post about a product that someone is raving about but I guess I am to sceptical for my own good at times. I like to see images backing up what someone is saying.  You've probably noticed that this is a common theme in my posts that share a product/treatment with you. I always try the product for a minimum of 28 days and take regular photographs so you can take the journey with me to see if something does work or does not.

So onto my personal results from this treatment. In short, I couldn't be happier. This is for a multitude of reasons..

Sleep.
Probably the most important to me, above any aesthetic reason is improved sleep. Since I had my top-up injections two weeks after my first set, my sleep has improved dramatically. Prior to having this done I was grinding my teeth terribly every night as a result of stress and anxiety. No matter what I had tried previously I just couldn't stop myself from my nightly tooth grinding sessions. The dentist had suggested a guard but I find these highly uncomfortable and even more of a disturbance during the night. Due to the Botox relaxing my muscles I no longer wake myself up from either the noise or pain of wearing my teeth down repeatedly each night. I have been tensing my jaw a lot post surgery but that's a side effect of my operation due to the location and pain but I'm sure once I'm on the mend this will subside again.

Pain in teeth and tense jaw.
I was waking up with this every morning. An obvious side effect of grinding my teeth every night. It's such a pleasure not have to face this every morning anymore. Not to mention my teeth are finally safe from erosion - I only have little tegs so could really do without making them even smaller!

Softer masseter muscles.
I have popped a picture that shows you the location of these muscles below. The masseter muscles are the large muscles either side of the jaw that control chewing. Over time when you clench the jaw daily/nightly you end up building quite a considerable masseter muscle. This can eventually lead to a squarer appearance of the jaw line as well as pain and tension in the area. As a result of the treatment my masseter muscles feel considerably softer and the tension in either side has reduced to next to nothing - a lot less pain for me!

Increasing definition in face.
Both of the muscles appear to have depleted in size because the movement has been relaxed in each one. Due to carrying less tension, my face is less puffy in said area each morning and I have started to regain the cheekbone definition I used to have. I do have naturally high cheekbones but I had totally lost any definition I used to have through grinding my teeth and clenching my jaw every night. I personally think you can see a difference in the photo journey below from before the treatment to 12 weeks later looking straight on at my face just as Dr Bhatti said I would.

The power of social media never fails to amaze me. I know people have a love/hate relationship with the different platforms but I can safely say I am definitely a lover. I have been very lucky to date and experienced no negativity from the platforms that I use. I had no idea that this treatment even existed a few months ago nor did I realise that the symptoms I was experiencing were not only being caused by something but could also be treated. It's thanks to the Cosmedocs Instagram that I discovered something that has improved my sleep quality dramatically, eased me of a daily pain and given me aesthetic results that I am very happy with.

Obviously I was slightly nervous as well as sceptical initially when I decided to go ahead with this treatment. The procedure sounded so simple, pain-free and quick - almost too good to be true! How could something so easy be able to solve one of the bains of my life just like that?

For me it has been worth every penny, I don't have a single regret and I will most definitely be maintaining my treatment. I am due to return for my 3 month review (3 months after my initial top up appointment) in June so I will be booking that imminently. After this appointment, as I mentioned in the previous post, I shouldn't need another set of injections for one year.

I have already said this in my initial post and I still stand by it 100%. I cannot not recommend Cosmedocs in Derby enough! From the minute you enter as a newbie you are made to feel welcome. After being in similar places before I have experienced the hostility you can sometimes receive from the staff but it is non-existent here. I'm the kind of person that does take things to heart so feeling comfortable for me is very important. Everyone I came across was more than welcoming. It's the same as finding a good hair dresser - when you find a good one, you stay!

Dr Bhatti's knowledge of the treatments he carries out is amazing, I feel totally at ease when I visit for my appointment. Again this is something that I would say is super important when you are trusting somebody to inject a substance into your face that will temporarily relax/ prohibit movement in the targeted muscles.

I would say as far as Botox goes - don't go cheap. I truly believe you get what you pay for. Please don't be tempted by the offer of cheap injections/ aesthetic fillers! Do your research beforehand too, incorrectly injected Botox comes with an array of problems and side effects.. none of which I would want to experience. I personally would only trust a qualified and experienced medical professional. They understand the anatomy and physiology of the face and body a million times more than a person offering the same procedure with no medical experience.

I really hope this post might be useful if you have been experiencing any of the symptoms that I did for a duration of time. The jawline reduction treatment is still a very unknown procedure to most people and yet it's proven to be amazing for me. By having the treatment and sharing my results you can see for yourself the aesthetic results and I have told you about the other benefits I have had. As always I hope I have given you enough information but if you do have any questions please don't hesitate to comment below or contact me, I will always reply!

Any links in this post are in bold pink as usual, so just click them to be directed to the page being discussed.

Bethany xx

Treatment: http://www.cosmedocs.com/treatments/botox-jaw-reduction.php

A First Time For Everything..

I'm back!

I took last week off from the blog as things were quite stressful and busy at home. We are in the process of moving house so if you have already moved you'll know how many odds and ends, forms and letters there are to sort out. It was death by paper put it that way. We are in that weird limbo land now, with our fate lying in the solicitors hands so that means I can be back to doing what I love.. Blogging.

There literally is a first time for everything.. Obviously my blog has kind of turned into my beauty/ a bit of my life diary so I guess it's only right I share all of my beauty experiences with you.

So my most recent first.. Botox! Yes I tried Botox. It was inevitable to be honest, I just cant help myself but try these things. You never know if you don't try right?

I imagine a lot of you will already have had Botox so your probably thinking what's new? Well, I didn't have my Botox in any of the conventional places - I had it in my jaw. You can see why I'm doing this post now can't you?

The treatment itself is known as a jawline reduction treatment and I was treated by an amazing doctor at CosmeDocs surgery in Derby. I have been following the company for a while on Instagram and it was when they posted a before and after image of a guy that had received the treatment that it really caught my eye.

It wasn't for the obvious reasons suggested by the title of the treatment that I decided to have this done. The post that had caught my eye originally was the image featured in the picture at the top of this post. The caption explained how this treatment can reduce something that I have been struggling with every night for years - teeth grinding.

I've already written in my previous post about my anxiety. It's just a part of me these days but it does cause me to get annoyingly tense. Most people let go of tension when they go sleep but people that grind their teeth don't. I'm not saying the root cause of all tooth grinding will be stress or anxiety but for me it definitely is. I was going to bed stressed and grinding my teeth as a result, waking myself up during the night and waking up with a really tight and painful jaw area in the morning. No matter how much I tried not to do it, it was out of my control - it was happening subconsciously.

Constant teeth grinding damages them by wearing them away, or totally cracking in severe cases! It can also cause the masseter muscle to enlarge which ultimately after a long period of time gives the appearance of a squarer face, the facial muscles are the same as any muscle you train - they get bigger.

I had seen my dentist a few times and he wanted me to wear a gum shield every night - not comfortable! The Botox treatment appeared to be the answer to my problem. I found out more information about it, where I would be injected, recovery time, costing ect and once I felt I had looked into it as much as possible I booked my consultation. I wasn't even nervous for some reason!

Even on the morning of the appointment I still wasn't nervous. I was actually excited by the concept of no more grinding at night. When I arrived at the clinic I was given a thorough consultation card to fill out to check I had no contra-indications for the treatment. Form filled out I was all set to go..

Dr Bhatti came to collect me and I went in for my consultation which is part of the initial process. He asked me my reasons for wanting the treatment, explained how he would carry it out, the aftercare and future treatment plan as well as answering any questions I had. He also felt around my jaw and agreed that I had certainly built up quite a masseter muscle with all the grinding. As I have said already, I had no nerves about having this done but had I been nervous Dr Bhatti would have definitely put my mind at ease. He was so knowledgeable, easy to talk to and calming - not at any point did the treatment or consultation feel rushed.

Once all was agreed I hopped into a dentist like chair and Dr Bahtti injected two points on either side of my face after carefully determining the correct places. Obviously this was my first time getting Botox so I was imagining it too hurt a little or sting but honestly.. Not a thing! The needles were insanely small and i swear i didn't even feel a scratch - Amazing.

So basically i had Botox injected into my masseter muscles to partially relax them. This will help reduce them in size and hopefully prevent me from grinding my teeth during the night. Hopefully it will also help me have a better nights sleep now I'm not disturbing myself. Another plus from this treatment is that it can help slim the face of someone who has been tooth grinding for a long period of time as the muscles are not being used half as much so muscle size will deplete! The whole treatment from consultation to finish was over in 30 minutes, not one bit rushed but time effective.

So what happens now? Well first there is a top up appointment 2 weeks later. This is a quick 15 minute appointment just to make sure everything is in check and a second set of injections are carried out. At this appointment a 3 month review appointment is made to review results and have a further set of injections. From then on treatments will only be needed every 6 months roughly to maintain the effects.

The cost was £250 for the initial treatment. This included my consultation, first set of injections and 2 week top up. Each treatment thereafter will cost £250-£300, this is dependant of gender - ladies have slightly less toxin then men due to muscle size and strength which reflects in cost.

Aftercare wise, i had to chew on a piece of gum immediately after the injections for 45 minutes just to keep the muscles moving and get the Botox to move around the muscle. I wasn't to lay flat on either side of my face for 6 hours and Dr Bhatti told me that over the next week my jaw might ache and get tired easily, especially when eating. I don't eat chewy meat so I've been fine to be honest.

I'm back for my top up on Thursday, technically i should have gone last Thursday but due to circumstance Dr Bhatti needed to rearrange to the following week.. I'm so excited! My first experience of getting Botox has been a dream, its definitely not aesthetic Botox, more functional lets say. I am already sleeping better, not grinding to the same extent or waking up with a painful jaw area. The swelling in the lower half of my face also seems to have reduced ever so slightly - Bonus!

I've taken a few pics to share the beginning of my journey with you, from prior to the treatment, one week after and two weeks after. Please excuse the no makeup morning face in pic 1 and 2, also my daughter's hand and half hairstyle she was doing in week 1 photo! Realistic side of blogging with little people captured you could say. Following my top up appointment i will carry on tracking my results with weekly pictures and update you after my 12 week review. So far i would recommend this treatment to anyone suffering the same problems and its only been 2 weeks! Jawline reduction isn't a highly known about procedure at the moment so hopefully this post will be of help to others with the same struggles.

As always i love to hear from you! Leave your questions and comments below and i will get back to you asap. Hope you've enjoyed!

Bethany xx

http://www.cosmedocs.co.uk/our-clinics/derby/

https://www.instagram.com/cosmedocs/

The Other A Word.

Real talk time...

Anxiety.

There you go I said it. And yes I am affected by it.

I used to be ashamed of this part of me and kept it as my deep dark secret for such a long time. However, more and more these days I hear from so many people who also have anxiety.

I guess I've always been on the anxious side. Super organised, slightly (Matt might say extremely) OCD. I've always liked things just so - my mum will vouch for this. It's just me and I wouldn't be me if I was any different. That's what I think is important to remember when your having one of those off days.

My anxiety became a significant part of me properly about 3 years ago now. It's one of those things you don't have an answer for as to why you get it. I had my daughter at 18 whilst I was still finishing my A levels. I returned to my studies when she was 4 weeks old in order to not fall behind a year. That was the beginning of being a mummy whilst juggling full time studies and that turned into working full time in a career that I love.

When I first had my little girl I still lived at home with my mum and dad. They kindly let me and Maisie live with them whilst I saved my deposit for my house. I managed to do this by the age of 20 and was ready to buy my first home on my own. I absolutely adore my little home and wouldn't change a thing about it, but with a house comes big responsibilities on top of those I already had. I thrive off being busy and have always put a lot of pressure on myself to be everything but the young mum stereotype. Not only that, I also want to provide my daughter with a secure future as well as provide her with a lovely life filled with love and experiences. 

Goals and ambitions set, alongside being very stubborn when I set my mind to something, I continued to pave our future for us. Without sounding big headed, I would go as far as saying I have managed this pretty well although the stress of the juggling act does get to me every now and again.

Not everybody does understand this subject and those people are super lucky. I know a few people - some extremely close to me, who have no concept of anxiety or understanding for mental health and that's fine. It must be very hard to understand something if you haven't experienced it yourself. However I bet the majority of you who will read this will have experienced either a period of, or have, long term anxiety.

Like I've said above, I have anxiety. Yes it comes and goes and yes some days its terrible to the point I just want to get in my bed and not come out. It has just become a part of me that I have learnt to deal with, get on with and most of all accept. What is there actually to be ashamed of?

In my experience, being honest was the best thing I ever did in ways of helping myself. Initially I did see a GP - I seem to always get the short straw with doctors and see the really cynical one who makes you feel silly just like I did with my skin. They suggested a variety of things, none of which I wanted to bring into my life, so it was a similar case to my acne of coming away disheartened and doing my own research. Through doing my own research I realised anxiety can be triggered by so many different things and it is actually your bodies reaction to said triggers.

Initially I opened up to one person who I was very close to.. they had noticed more and more that I was sinking into myself so they took me to one side one day and asked me what was going on. My answer.. I did not know. I wasn't ill, my child was happy and healthy, I've never had money worries.. but I didn't feel right and was struggling getting through the day. That person listened and then their response was "it's okay". They went on to tell me that they to had lived feeling like this and actually probably 90% of the people we interact with daily will have experienced something the same/ similar at some point in their lives. That's when I started to think that yes, it is okay. It's not ideal and on a bad day I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy (not that I have one but you know, it's a saying and all that).

I think when you have a realisation over something like this you just want to share it and help other people. By writing this, even it helps just one person, I will be a happy girl.

Since I confided in my friend, I went on to learn how to deal with my anxiety so that it doesn't hinder me in the same ways it was doing. I now speak openly with my friends and people I know that also suffer. When I've spoken to people about it they have gone on to ask questions and likewise I have asked them things. It's such an un-talked about subject that you almost have to learn from each other and help each other. I'm always surprised when in conversation, how many people suddenly admit they too have experienced the same.

Everybody's anxieties and triggers will be different and have different roots but I think help mechanisms can be very similar between people. The things I have found that really help me include:

-Talking myself down.. This really works for me. When I'm having a bad day and feel so anxious I can barely concentrate on anything else I literally talk myself out of it. No I don't do it aloud, but I do take 5 minutes away from what I'm doing and question myself over what I'm preoccupied about. Is it going to hurt me? Is it going to hurt my family? Can I change it? If I don't get it done will something bad happen? The answer is most usually no and then I realise I'm worrying over not a great deal or something that I can not control!

-Exercise.. My friends all know I've grown to love my yoga. Especially since Christmas time when I discovered it. I don't get the time to go to the gym. I rely heavily on my family already to enable myself to work full time so I don't think they would be thrilled if I was then asking them to have my daughter whilst I attend the gym but Youtube is fabulous! I've found so many yoga tutorials were you feel as though you are actually doing the practise with somebody and yet you've not left the house. I like to do my practise in the evening when Maisie is in bed and everywhere is calm. I never realised the strength and balance yoga requires and I find I totally zone out when I'm doing it as I'm not focusing on anything else other than holding my position and breathing. If you haven't tried it already I would really recommend it. I will pop a link to some of the videos I love below.

-Walking.. I adore walking. It really does blow the cob webs off. When I'm feeling particularly anxious you cant beat a good long walk - with your family if possible.

-Blogging.. Another new found love. I didn't start my blog as a way to relax myself but it really has become just that. When I sit down and write a post I literally get lost in it. I zone out to anything on my mind and in turn always turn off my laptop feeling more chilled than when I opened it!

-Nourishing my body & mind.. I haven't always been the kindest to my body. I would say I've definitely learnt this the hard way. It really is so true that you need to nourish not only your body but your mind. Over time I have read so many interesting articles regarding how important a healthy and varied diet is for the mind. The most interesting thing I learnt that I had never known before, was that certain nutrient deficiencies can actually trigger anxiety and depression! I'm not saying everything needs to be "clean", life is about balance, but try to make sure you are filling your plates with nutrient rich, nourishing foods.

Like I said, every bodies anxieties and coping mechanisms will be different. I know what I have found works for me and I hope if you are reading this and struggling yourself it might be of help. Please remember how important it is too talk - to a friend, family member, colleague or someone you can confide in. As always I love to hear your thoughts! If you have any other ideas that help you please pop them below!

Bethany xx

My favourite yoga YouTube videos are by Boho Beautiful:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=boho+beautiful