Contouring
Vanquish ME Radio Frequency
Using Radio Frequency to burn away unwanted fat without surgery
What is Vanquish ME?
Vanquish ME Radiofrequency is a state-of-the-art, FDA-approved fat-burning system for body contouring. By very selectively heating the deeper layers of fat tissue using radiofrequency waves, Vanquish ME can help remove fat without any invasive surgical intervention leading to a beautifully contoured body!
Vanquish ME FAQ’s
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Vanquish ME is an incredible, non-invasive way to eliminate unwanted fat. By using finely-tuned radiofrequency waves, fat tissue beneath the skin can be heated without causing any damage to the surrounding skin, muscle, etc. By heating the fat tissue with thermal energy from radiofrequency waves, fat cells begin to die off in a natural process called apoptosis and the fat layers lose their thickness leading to a thinner, more contoured figure.
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To start, you and Dr. Brandish will develop an individualized treatment plan to determine if Vanquish ME Radiofrequency is the best tool for the desired result.
At the session, the area will be prepped for treatment. A panel will be placed and hover over the desired area of treatment. Vanquish Me will then deliver radiofrequency waves through the skin to unwanted fat cells. The radiofrequency waves will produce a sensation of heat in the area of treatment. Patients generally describe Vanquish ME treatment as comfortable and relaxing, some equating it to the heating sensation of a warm to hot blanket.
Treatment regimens usually consist of a series of treatments over several weeks to months, but there is no downtime and patients can resume normal activities after the procedure!
It is recommended to hydrate with plenty of water the day before and after treatment for the most effective results.
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Most patients will not experience any side effects from their Vanquish ME treatments and will go about their daily activities after their sessions. When they do occur, side effects are generally limited to mild redness and sometimes small nodules or subcutaneous ‘knots’ may develop where the rapid fat loss occurred. These symptoms usually sort themselves out as the body heals naturally over the following days.
Kybella
A fat-reducing cosmetic injection for contouring and improving double chin
What is Kybella?
Kybella is an FDA-approved, non-invasive cosmetic injection that can reduce fat in the submental area, sometimes referred to as submental fullness or double chin. It targets the cell wall of the fat cells, resulting in the breakdown of the fatty tissue. It uses a formula made with synthetic deoxycholic acid, a naturally occurring molecule, which destroys fat cells and reduces the fullness under the chin. As the body naturally cleans up the destroyed fat cells, the treated area loses its bulk, leaving the skin smoother and improving the facial profile. Kybella can also be used off-label to treat small areas of body fat for contouring such as upper arms or residual belly fat. The ability to non-surgically remove fat/adipose tissue makes Kybella a popular choice for body and facial contouring.
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Interestingly enough, the body naturally produces deoxycholic acid – it’s a secondary bile acid used to assist in breaking down and emulsifying fats in the intestines during digestion! It’s no wonder that it can provide effective fat removal as a key component of Kybella’s formula in contouring procedures.
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With its fat-destroying capabilities, contouring is a fantastic use for Kybella. By strategically removing fat in certain areas, patients can enjoy a more youthful profile and figure. Kybella’s deoxycholic acid formula offers a powerful way to directly remove unwanted fat cells to help restore natural body and facial contours. Contouring with Kybella can be done on the face or various parts of the body if indicated, as “off-label” treatments.
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Kybella excels at the reduction of double chin. Double chin can form as fat begins to grow beneath the chin (called submental fat). When injected with Kybella’s deoxycholic acid formula, fat cell walls in the submental fat begin to break down, destroying the underlying fat tissue. As the fat cells degrade and the body recovers, the skin in this area looks more softened and smooth, and the chin is restored to its beautiful, natural definition.
Kybella FAQ’s
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Kybella injections take several weeks to produce results, as the breakdown of fat and healing of the injection site tissues takes some time. Results generally begin to develop around 3-6 weeks. With a proper treatment regimen, Kybella results can last up to several years to near-permanent! This is because fat cells that are destroyed or inhibited cannot store further fat.
Several treatments may be required over a series of weeks to months to maximize the outcome.
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To start, you and Dr. Brandish will develop an individualized treatment plan to determine if Kybella is the best tool for the desired result. She is an expert injector with an artistic eye and years of experience using injectables to contour the face and turn back the clock.
Once Kybella is identified as the right treatment, the treatment area is cleansed and prepped for injection. Ice is applied before injection to minimize any discomfort. Kybella is mixed with a small amount of lidocaine to numb the area of injection during the procedure and injected using a very small needle to make the procedure as comfortable as possible.
After the procedure, it is recommended to continue icing the area for the rest of the day to minimize downtime.
Kybella will cause inflammation due to the breakdown of fat cells and swelling of the treated area will most likely occur. Swelling can be significant but it will subside within several days.
All precautions are taken at Brandish Clinic to help make optimal treatments much easier with minimal downtime.
As with any medical procedure, it’s important to understand that recovery times may vary patient-to-patient, and this is also the reality with cosmetic procedures like Kybella injections.
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According to Kybella studies, the most common side effects are swelling, bruising, pain, numbness, redness, and mild firmness around the treatment area. There are rare side effects that can involve surrounding nerves but these are extremely rare, and clinical studies have shown that they generally dissipate on their own in time.
More information about side effects can be found on Kybella’s website.
Sculptra
A powerful, long-lasting filler for deep wrinkles and facial volume loss
What is Sculptra?
Sculptra is a synthetic biocompatible dermal filler that is FDA-approved to treat significant volume loss due to collagen loss, facial fat loss, and bone loss in areas such as the temples or midface. It can also be used to treat facial asymmetry, or simply treat moderate-to-severe facial wrinkles and lines, such as nasolabial folds and marionette lines.
Sculptra is a bio-stimulatory dermal filler, that stimulates our own collagen production with long-term results. Sculptura’s ability to stimulate collagen formation is gradual and requires several treatments spread over a series of several months for the best natural and long-lasting results.
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Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body! It’s a very important structural protein and is thus used all over the body to keep things in place and hold them together. The skin thus relies heavily on collagen to keep its structural integrity.
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Sculptra is a great filler for contouring. There are many reasons for significant facial volume loss, ranging from disease to certain medical drugs or the natural aging process. This can occur through loss of bone, fat, collagen, and skin elasticity. Sculptra is a great tool for replacing lost volume and for restoring the face to its more youthful appearance naturally. Sculptura provides strong structural support through its collagen stimulatory mechanism, gradually increasing skin thickness and volume to facial folds and volume-depleted areas of the face. A series of injections are typically given over several weeks to months, each time re-stimulating more collagen and volume replacement. Its formula uses poly-L-lactic acid which the body uses to create collagen at the injection site, improving wrinkles and folds in the process. The result is a finely-contoured, youthful profile that patients love!
Sculptra FAQ’s
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According to Sculptra’s website, results can last up to 2 years
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To start, you and Dr. Brandish will develop an individualized treatment plan to determine if Sculptra is the best tool for the desired result. She is an expert injector with an artistic eye and years of experience using injectable fillers to contour the face and turn back the clock.
Before the treatment, Dr. Brandish uses topical numbing agents to minimize discomfort with the injection of the filler. All dermal fillers contain numbing agents as well to make treatment even more comfortable. Injections are often performed using a specialized technique with a cannula so that minimal bruising is seen after treatment. A device called Accuvein light may also be used to directly visualize the underlying vessels in the tissue around the injection site to further avoid bruising and make treatment safer.
Even with these extra precautions, there may be some mild redness, bruising, or swelling. This may last a few days, but the advanced precautions are taken at Brandish Clinic help make optimal treatments much easier. For the first 48 hours after the procedure be sure to be gentle with the treated areas, and try to minimize your contact with the injection sites.
As with any medical procedure, it’s important to understand that recovery times may vary patient-to-patient, and this is also the reality with cosmetic procedures like Scupltra injections.
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According to the Sculptra website, the most commonly observed side effects are bruising, redness, and swelling. These are typically quite mild, and they should dissipate within several days depending on the treatment site. Dr. Brandish uses a soft-tipped cannula for the injection of dermal fillers to significantly minimize bruising and downtime and to make the procedure much safer to administer.
Botox
The most popular injectable in the world
What is Botox?
Botox is the most commonly used injectable across the entire globe! It’s used for a wide variety of cosmetic treatments due to its powerful effect on smoothing facial wrinkles and lines. Botox is also used for a multitude of other medical treatments such as migraines and excessive sweating.
Botox is produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. The active component is Botulinum Toxin, Type A, which is a neurotoxin responsible for the relaxation of muscles involved in wrinkles and smoothening of lines in the skin. It is also the component responsible for the treatment of many medical conditions indicated by Botox.
The advancement of science and medical treatments with Botox has allowed us to use this muscle-relaxing toxin safely and powerfully! Botox cosmetic has been used safely for decades and is extremely effective in smoothing wrinkles and lines for a more youthful appearance. It also has many medical uses, such as for conditions like chronic migraines.
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Wrinkles are generally thought to be either static, due to decreasing skin collagen structure, or dynamic, due to muscle activity beneath the skin. Though static wrinkles may respond better to dermal fillers, botox can be very effective against both types of wrinkles. As muscles beneath the skin undergo frequent contraction, such as with smile lines or crow’s feet, frown lines, or forehead lines, etc., the skin in these areas can wrinkle. Botox’s ability to fully relax the underlying muscles helps even out these wrinkles and smoothen the skin. This is why Botox has long been one of the most popular cosmetic procedures in the world – its ability to quickly turn back time and produce beautiful results consistently. Read more about facial volume loss.
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Botox can also be used for facial contouring. With age and other hereditary factors, certain facial muscles can become more pronounced. An example is the enlargement of the masseter muscle of the jawline in women. This can lead to a wider facial jaw profile, contributing to a more masculine appearance of the female face. In this case as well as in similar cases, botox injections can target muscles to relax and help contour the areas that may be creating unwanted angles in facial profiles. As the Botox temporarily paralyzes these muscles, they lose bulk and are therefore less pronounced. This makes botox a powerful tool for slimming down the face and creating a more youthful, feminine look. Other areas, such as the jawline itself, chin, and neck can also be treated with botox for tightening and contouring to produce a more defined youthful jaw profile.
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Another great application for Botox is skin tightening. As we age, some areas of the face tend to droop, sag and loosen. One culprit of these changes is the pulling of certain muscles. For example, the platysma muscle that runs from midface down the jawline into your neck can cause a sagging jawline. Using botox in the platysma muscle allows it to relax against the jawline, reducing the drooping while tightening the neck and bringing back youth to your facial profile.
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Botox can also effectively treat hyperhidrosis. Hyperhidrosis is the scientific term for excessive sweating. Sweating, as an autonomic response in the body, is controlled by the nervous system. As a neurotoxin, which blocks neural signals, Botox offers a great way to block the nervous system responses that cause overactive sweating in the areas affected by hyperhidrosis. Although retreatment may be needed, results can last up to one year.
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Botox is also a great non-surgical approach to a brow lift. There are several muscles in the upper face that interplay in the placement of the brows. As highly expressive features of the face, our eyebrows, and the surrounding areas are susceptible to forming wrinkles, lines and drooping. These wrinkles are often a result of contractions in the many muscles beneath the affected areas that naturally pull the brows downwards. Luckily, Botox can be administered to these muscles around the eyebrows, relaxing them, and creating a brow lift. Additionally, by relaxing these muscles, the other forehead muscles can pull more freely on the brows, smoothing out the wrinkles and lines around them and between them, while lifting the brows to brighten the eyes.
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Botox is great for anti-aging treatment, but not just on the face! The neck, chest, or décolletage areas are important upper-body areas affected by wrinkles and lines. Sun damage and aging skin, through the loss of collagen and skin elasticity, can occur in these areas similar to the face. Botox also works synergistically with other modalities such as skin photorejuvenation or IPL and dermal fillers to improve the skin texture and reduce wrinkles in these areas. The result is even, smoothed skin, restoring the youthful glow to the neck, chest, and décolletage!
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Botox a neuromodulator has the unique ability to block muscle contractions, thus allowing the targeted muscles to relax. When injected in the gastrocnemius muscle (the calf muscle), Botox manages to notably reduce the size of the calf muscle without having any negative impact on leg function. This makes for a powerful and relatively easy solution to calf sculpting and reduction, giving our patients access to the beautiful, slim aesthetic they’re looking to achieve for their legs.
Botox Applications
COSMETIC:
Frown lines or Glabellar lines
Crows feet
Under-eye lines
Bunny lines/nose wrinkles
Forehead wrinkles
Eyebrow lift
Mouth corners
Lip lines
Marionette lines
Jaw slimming
Chin
Neck/Platismal Bands
Underarm
Gummy smile
MEDICAL, FDA APPROVED APPLICATIONS:
Chronic migraines
Hyperhidrosis (chronic sweating)
Botox FAQ’s
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Botox takes anywhere from 1-3 days to start working and takes approximately 2 weeks to reach its peak effect.
The typical duration of Botox treatment is 3-5 months. This variation depends upon the strength/condition of the muscle, to begin with, and the dose of Botox used (more corrective dosing = longer-lasting effect, if indicated).
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To start, you and Dr. Brandish will develop an individualized treatment plan to determine if Botox is the best tool for the desired result. She is an expert injector with an artistic eye and years of experience using neurotoxins such as Botox to contour the face and turn back the clock.
Before the treatment, Dr. Brandish may use topical numbing agents to minimize discomfort with the injection. Botox is injected with a very small needle that is important to reduce any mild discomfort. The procedure usually only takes several minutes to administer with almost no downtime.
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The most commonly observed side effects from a Botox treatment are swelling or redness at the injection site. This looks similar to a mosquito bite and usually resolves in 5 to 10 minutes. Bruising may occur as the risk remains with any injection but it is usually very mild and resolves within a few days. A much more rare side effect can be ptosis or droopy eyebrow or eyelid. This occurs in less than 1-2% of cases and is self-limiting.