As a woman in my “forties”, I was beginning to see small changes in my appearance that really began to bother me when I looked in the mirror. Some people may say this is being vain, but for me, it was more about erasing some of my hard earned stress lines.

Ideal Image has been a great vendor for events, and advertiser in Rochester Woman Online and I decided to go in for a consultation and see what all the talk was about. Molly Lane brought me in to give me the 911 on all that is Ideal Image.

We went over BOTOX and Fillers, and what she thought I might need to give my face a little  “lift”.

BOTOX® Cosmetic is the first and only FDA-approved prescription product that temporarily improves the appearance of both moderate to severe frown lines between the brows and moderate to severe crow’s feet in adults.

Unlike a face lift or other kind of invasive facial rejuvenation procedure, treatment takes minutes and requires zero downtime. Using a very fine needle, BOTOX® is injected into the facial muscles that are responsible for unsightly wrinkles and fine lines and relaxes the muscles. The ingredients in Botox block the signal from the nerve to the muscle, and therefore reduce it’s ability to contract, and form unsightly wrinkles.

Then they have fillers such as RESTYLANE® and JUVÉDERM® are all non-surgical, FDA-approved, fillers used to instantly smooth away

moderate to severe wrinkles like smile lines (the lines from your nose to the corners of your mouth) as well as plump the lips and restore lost volume for a fresher, more youthful appearance.

What makes PERLANE® different than RESTYLANE® or JUVÉDERM® is the average size of the particles and the depth of injection. The size difference in particles makes PERLANE® slightly thicker than RESTYLANE® or JUVÉDERM® which make it a good choice for more severe facial wrinkles that benefit from a deeper injection into the skin. One day you wake up and look in the mirror and sometimes you see things you no longer like about your appearance. Now, we don’t have to worry about that as we have alternatives to just aging gracefully and accepting wrinkles and lines on our face as our own. This month the Divas learned about these new innovative procedures available to improve our appearance and erase the signs of aging and creating our ideal image.

Ideal Image Spa offers services such as laser hair removal, cool sculpting, botox, and fillers. There are also other services available. Many women readily embrace these new age technologies but many are afraid because we have seen celebrity atrocities. There is also a concern over whether this type of service exceeds our budgets.

Upon arriving at the spa everyone was friendly, smiling and welcoming. The atmosphere was clean and inviting. This did assist in decreasing any anxiety we felt. The staff was dressed in black uniforms and their names were displayed so knowing who each person was made it easier to communicate in a friendly way as opposed to feeling like we were at a new place and all being unfamiliar. We arrived for the initial consultation. We went on a tour of the facility and loved the upscale environment. The lobby had comfortable seating and the amenities of coffee , tea or water.

The use of technology made the technical process easier. There were no stacks of paper to sign. The entire process was completed on an iPod. The staff at Ideal Image performing services were all Registered Nurses. Given there could be an allergic reaction to products, having someone trained medically was a reassurance. The medical history portion of the consultation was done through again using technology and I was interviewed through the computer. All of the procedures were explained thoroughly and I felt I understood what actually was being done and how each product worked (botox and filers).

Diva 2 underwent the botox and filer procedure. The botox treatment is used to eliminate wrinkles from frown lines (brows) and crow’s feet located by your eyes. The procedure was quick, easy and painless. The procedure is FDA approved. A small needle was inserted and the product was injected into the treated area. The product relaxes facial muscles which are the cause of the appearance of wrinkles.

“I was a little apprehensive about undergoing the procedure. Diva 1 was filming live on Facebook to share the experience with all of you. The staff was very pleasant and knowledgeable so this also helped me relax. I was amazed at the results when I was shown the before picture and what my face looked like after receiving the injections. The only aftereffect I experiences was some swelling and being a little sore but that went away after about a day” said Kelly.

Beauty fillers add natural looking volume and add fullness to your face and lips. These treatments are used to reduce smile lines and plumping the lips. The clear, gel-like substance is also injected. Hyaluronic acid is naturally produced in the body and is found between the cells providing skin with a youthful appearance and moisture. Adding additional hyaluronic acid replaces what is lost through the aging process which causes facial muscles to be closer to the skin surface. The fillers last between 6 month to 1 year.

“A local anesthetic numbed my face so I didn’t feel some of the injections. There was a time where one area being treated was painful but it was still tolerable. The procedures were quick and we weren’t there for an extended period of time”.