As you may know, I’ve been seeing my dermatologist a lot lately. And the more I learn about non-invasive beauty treatments, the more hooked I’ve become on the Fotona Laser.
When I lived in Europe, there was a saying, “Women over the age of 40 have to choose between either the face or the body. Obviously, the English chose the face.” Those cheeky French! I do take the point though. Once you turn a certain age, fighting gravity becomes more challenging.
When I had my first consultation with Papillon Medical, I was advised to do a series of Beauty Booster treatments which I did and loved. (Read about that here.) I’ve been recently horrified to see jowls developing. Could they do anything about that, I wondered? Sure could!
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Fotona Laser
The other treatment I was recommended to try was intraoral face lifting via the Fontona Laser. This would tighten up my slack jawline and reduce the jowls I saw developing. Apparently as soon as you hit your late twenties, you being to lose an average of 2% of your collagen annually. With less collagen, skin looses its firmness.
Like Beauty Booster, it’s best if you space the Fontona Laser treatment out. Every three weeks is good. Luckily, I was able to get Beauty Booster and this laser treatment done right after each other.
If you’re just doing Fontona Laser without Beauty Booster, budget 45-minutes for your first session and about half an hour for subsequent ones. There’s no downtime, so it’s easily done over lunch. Pro tip: Be sure to have Papillon touch up your make-up before you head back to work. You won’t get super red or anything, they’ll just likely remove your make-up from the area they’re working on.
Fotona Laser skin tightening
These lasers work by creating heat to stimulate collagen. A laser wand was passed over my upper jawline, a few centimetres above my skin. It felt warm and relaxing. Then they put the wand inside my mouth to stimulate the collagen and muscles from that direction.
It didn’t touch my gums, teeth or lips. In no way is the Fotona Laser a painful or invasive treatment.
How to tighten jowls
If you want to know how to tighten jowls without surgery, you need to know about this treatment – which I did primarily because I wanted a jowl lift.
Immediately after the laser went through my mouth for the first time, I ran my tongue along the inside my cheek. It felt noticeably tighter. I did see a slight difference in my jowls after my first treatment. For sure, one side of my face felt tighter than the other before we did that second side.
I was told that after the second treatment is when most people really see a change. I was encouraged, but sceptical. Happily, it was totally true in my case. In the pic below, you can see a slight lift in the jowl area on the right. If you have the beginnings of sagging jowls, this is one of the few treatments that can address that (but not permanently).
After my fourth (and final for now) Fotona Laser treatment, I noticed my cheekbones had popped out. (Dare I admit, I almost felt like a supermodel?) It’s amazing to me how seconds after treatment, I was like, wow.
People in the clinic (not just staff) were commenting on how rejuvenated I looked. This is without make up, and as you can see from the images below, I look horrid without make-up on.
What is feminine rejuvenation?
If you had a rough delivery or watch any of The Real Housewives shows, you may have heard about this topic. What exactly is feminine rejuvenation? In layman’s terms, it’s tightening up your vagina. One nonsurgical way to get feminine vaginal rejuvenation is with a laser.
This very same Fotona Laser does this treatment, too. Rest assured, when rejuvenating your vaginal area, an entirely different wand is put on the laser.
At this point in my life, I don’t need any vaginal tightening, but those I know who’ve had it done say it’s life changing. Super quick, easy and painless. You can get that treatment done at Papillon, too. And if you’ve got a snorer in your house, the Fotona Laser can nip that problem in the bud, too.
Tips before any dermatological appointment
- Drink plenty of water beforehand. With the Fotona Laser, they’re heating up your skin to a certain temperature. The more hydrated you are, the faster that can happen.
- Don’t wear make-up. They’re likely going to remove it anyway.
- Write down all your questions beforehand, so you don’t forget when you’re meeting your dermatologist or technician.
Read this before getting Botox
Obvs, you can get Botox here, at Papillon Medical in Calgary. Not that I’d ever admit to getting it. Certainly not when my father-in-law voraciously reads each and every post and occasionally alerts The Huz as to its contents.
The thing with Botox is that it’s all about the injector. My friend Meredith, the mom with the BEST skin and former Allergan (maker of Botox) employee told me that.
You want to go to someone you trust and who does a lot of it. Do NOT go through Groupon. This is your face, people! All botox treatments at Papillon are administered by a medical doctor.
So there you have it. Now you know all my beauty secrets.
Hi Jody,
I used to be that person who everyone would say “NO! you are not 35 you look 25!” Now…nobody argues about how young I look and I don’t get to use the old line “It must be Oil of Olay” and flip my hair like this younger me was going to last forever.
The skin around around my jaw is sagging and I use an eye serum around my eyes and upper lip. I thought about wearing a super tight ponytail to help with the jaw but it gives me a headache. I really miss those days when I looked younger than I am! Also, to add insult to injury my eyebrows are thinning.
So, basically I am a mess and a trip to the spa to get some years shaved off would be awesome! And maybe, just maybe nobody would call me “Ma’am”!
I have started using serums and masks. Truly at 46 I need more help than that. The Fotona Laser treatment for my jaw and Botox for my furrowed brow are just where I would start. I follow all pages. I really need to be a regular with a dermatologist team before things start getting way out of control. Thanks for the chance.