Can you tap wrinkles away? What are Frownies? Answering skin FAQs
As many of you know, I hopped into mouth of the “anti-aging” conversation with an idea of retiring the phrase, and was nearly spit out by the beauty industry. It was a real thing that happened, read about it here if you missed. And although the med spa that dropped me didn’t like my live and let live messaging, you dear readers (along with SKN Med Spa who immediately picked me up as an ambassador) understood that my message wasn’t one of judgement for or against any aesthetic treatment. I want people to feel uplifted no matter what they do to their skin be it SPF, tattoos, or a flippin face lift. Your body is not mine :)
My body is like yours in that it’s aging. And we’re probably both doing things to make ours a comfy, longterm home. Not to stop aging, but rather to age with care, in our own definition.
Around 40, I also chose to invest in my skin. Years of being lax on sunscreen in winter & while driving had done damage so I found products and treatments to effectively heal it. And when my concentration expression resulted in a sore, furrowed brow concentration expression, I looked for forehead solutions.
With that, I’m answering YOUR questions (as asked in my Instagram stories) on how I’ve treated my frown lines, otherwise known as 11s. And I’m opening it up to skin treatments I’ve had in general. Photos by my daughter, Petra Kardash.
Q: WHY WOULD WOMEN ERASE EXPERIENCE FROM THEIR FACE? The easy answer would be, because the world is youth-obsessed, and certainly there’s some truth in that. But I have a theory and feel free to chime in. Wrinkles show an amalgamation of emotions in life. Strength, wisdom, compassion… all of that manifests in lines and can be a beautiful thing. But if someone has come out of a difficult time, has healed on the inside, but still sees exhaustion, anger, or sadness in the mirror, I understand wanting to heal externally. It doesn’t have to be as deep as that, but I think it can be. And some folks, like myself, treat muscle tension for physical comfort.
TAPPING. WHAT IS IT? Okay so apparently, I didn’t pioneer this technique. I thought I had! Basically, when your face is tense, you drum your fingertips on that area. You can feel your muscles relaxing and I imagine it increases blood flow. When I was driving, writing at night, or my kids were driving me mad, I tapped in between my eyebrows until my face felt comfortably at rest again. It worked for me. It’s free, it’s non-invasive, and it’s super annoying to do constantly.
FROWNIES. DO THEY WORK? It’s like the Facebook gods had heard that I was over tapping because they started advertising Frownies to me. These are adhesive patches that go onto your skin tacky and then dry like a cast. I ordered a package and gave it a go, doing some writing in them at night, sleeping in them, and taking them off in the morning. Frownies definitely keep your face at rest while they’re on and probably do teach your muscles to relax over time, but they look and feel ridiculous. My husband was laughing like WHAT IS THIS? Maybe you’ll like them but I couldn’t keep it up.
DYSPORT. HOW LONG DOES IT LAST? I wrote about my decision to get a small dose of neurotoxin here. (Before photo of my frown on the left.) What I expected is to either not like it & let it wear off, or to go for treatments every 3 months because that’s the scientific longevity. Turned out, my muscles got retrained. The feedback loop of concentration > furrowed brow was disrupted. Over six months later, I went back for a follow up (right photo) & got an even smaller dose.
HOW MUCH DOES BOTOX COST? At SKN Med Spa, they use Dysport which the internet suggests has a slightly wider spread and therefor looks more natural, but it’s nearly identical to Botox so I’ll leave the question verbatim from my DMs. It’s $9/unit and it depends how much you get. Google will tell you 20-90 units. To give you an idea, Nurse Jenna used about 30 units for my forehead and eyes without being too frozen for my personal taste, so that would be $270. If you have a prescription from your own doctor that’s covered (lots of migraines, TMJ, and other tension issues are treated with neurotoxins), there’s a $150 injection fee.
DOES THE NEEDLE HURT? There’s a couple spicy pokes with Dysport but it’s quick. Some people get a headache the next day. You can take Tylenol.
WHAT’S THE MOST EFFECTIVE SKIN TREATMENT YOU’VE HAD? Besides Dysport, Secret Pro which combines radio frequency microneedling and a C02 laser resurfacing showed the biggest improvement in my skin. There are a couple days of pretty graphic downtime, I’ll be honest. But ooooh my skin is still feeling an increase in plumpness, hydration, and evenness. I use good skin care but attribute a big change to this treatment. SO worth it to me, but take a look at my recap before you book. I also really like less invasive laser facials for evening skin tone and texture without downtime.
WHO DOES YOUR LIPS? By far the most FAQ I’m asked, but these are just mine. I used to get teased for my big lips and now people pay for em. I always say, someday big noses will be in fashion and I’ll be ahead of the trend!
Do you have another question you’d like me to answer? If you’re curious, chances are, someone else is too. Email maygen.kardash@gmail.com and I’ll answer, leaving you anonymous. Thanks as always to SKN Med Spa for supporting client goals with education and professionalism, never with judgment or pressure. Very proud to work with this SABEX-award winning local business!
xoMaygen
