One of my patient’s biggest fears is …duck lips.  Not only are they concerned with the look, but they think their husband will flip out!  So anytime I am working around the lips with any procedure, patients always say, “I just don’t want duck lips.”  I reassure them that will not be the final outcome and explain that despite fillers being the cause of the duck lips, a considerate amount of people still believe Botox will give them duck or sausage lips.

I continue to explain that duck lips are not from Botox.  They are from a BAD filler job!  It’s from over correction and lack of appreciation for lip anatomy.  And just like bad Botox can give the product a bad name, a bad filler job can give fillers a bad name.

Strangely enough, in some parts of the country duck lips are “accepted “.  It’s almost seen as a status symbol.  We sometimes refer to them as “Boca lips” as that tends to be the trend in Boca Raton.   For us that have still the normal concept of beauty, it does not seem normal.  However, people from other parts of the country see this trend and feel like they should be on the bandwagon. (My hands are folded and placed in my head).

In my opinion, augmentations should be conservative.  Enhancement should be customized to the individual with proportion of facial anatomy taken into consideration.  I like to restore what has been lost and slightly enhance based on the patient’s proportions and age.  The majority of my patients feel that they have lost their lip volume as the years have gone by and have developed lip lines.  With the FDA approval of Restylane Silk last year, the restoration process has even expanded.  I still continue to use the original Restylane or Juvederm for patients needing or desiring lip volume, but have incorporated the silk to smooth out the perioral lip lines.  Prior to silk, the lines were much harder to target.  With the incorporation of this product, patient satisfaction has significantly increased.

And while I will occasionally use Botox in the perioral area to prevent constant contraction of the perioral muscle which creates the lip lines, it will never give you the duck lip look.

My advice: stay with an injector who has a conservative approach to lip augmentation and restoration.  Even though the products are dissolvable, they are expensive.  Don’t let just anyone do your lips!

#Botox

#Ultherapy

#Juvederm

Are you living with regret? What do you wish you were doing?  What do you wish you did?

Ultimately, fear and the inner voice hold us ALL back from living an intentional life.

What is an intentional life?  According to John C. Maxwell, it’s a “life that brings you daily satisfaction and continual rewards for merely working to make a difference in the lives of other.”  To me, living intentional means to live with purpose!

Living intentionally makes me think about wanting to improve myself. That’s a good purpose, right?!?  Shouldn’t we all want to be better humans?  But it makes me think of the people around me who refuse to grow. They are consumed by their ego. They want things only their way. They refuse to listen to suggestions. They want to be the ones who are always talking. They are never responsible for anything going on and need to point the finger to someone else. They are too comfortable where they are, but probably unhappy because of it. They are not willing to have the uncomfortable conversations. They are not willing to listen to others about their weaknesses. They are obviously not willing to improve as a human and think THEY ARE GOOD ENOUGH!

Does that sit well with you?  Do you want to be ONLY good enough?  Not me!  I know living intentional will be uncomfortable. I know it will give me some grey hair and wrinkles. Thank God for hair dye and Botox! While the discomfort will be there, I know it too shall pass! On the other side of the uncomfortable will be a fulfilled soul. I mean isn’t that why we are here in earth school? Our souls want to grow and be fulfilled.  Right?

As Marianne Williamson often discusses, living a life based on love (not fear) is like a muscle. The more we use it the more it will strengthen!  Make love (not war) your purpose! 😍 Ha!

What I know for sure is that when we stop protecting our heart and live from it, it will steer us in the right direction and the brain along with the inner voice will get out of the way.  Living intentionally will cause you to help others.  And by helping others get what they want, you will get what you want according to Zig Ziglar.  So what is it that your heart truly wants?

I encourage each of you to do something intentional today. Embrace that little uncomfortable twinge. Notice where it is coming from in your body. Acknowledge it and rock it like a baby. Then immediately after you do the uncomfortable thing, notice how much stronger you feel. Don’t ask yourself how you feel hours after. That will give time for that inner voice to question what you did. Ask it, immediately after! 🙂  I would love to hear about the little uncomfortable acts you reached for!

#Loralee #TampaUlthera

As we approach the holiday season, IPL can become popular to erase the evidence from the fun in the sun over the summer! And while it can have remarkable results, the question becomes “Is it going to cure the pigment issue”?

First, one must understand where the pigment comes from.  Mottled pigment comes from aggravated melanocytes deep within the layers of the skin. Melanin is pushed up to the surface over time. Melanocytes become irritated from various triggers including hormones, heat, tanning, and more.  If triggers are still present, significant improvement will be difficult despite how many treatments are performed.

Second, IPL is a light based laser.  There is no true beam, so it covers more surface area than other lasers.  There is no ablation, so there really is not any downtime.  In an IPL treatment, the light is converted into heat to target set wavelengths (colors) via the use of filters.  The target is where the heat is absorbed.  In the case of pigment, the setting would be filtered to target “brown” wavelengths .  Once targeted, the brown spots that fall within the set wavelength spectrum darken. Over  a couple weeks, they eventually shed and the skin is clearer.  You may be wondering for how long?

So, while the IPL beam has the ability to potentially reach portions of the melanocyte and clear the melanin in those areas, as mentioned above, if there is a trigger such as tanning present, the melanocyte will continue to “cry” melanin.  If the patient is avoiding all triggers, the results could last for years.  Most of the time living in Florida, I recommend something to help remind the melanocytes not to “cry”.  I like to be more aggressive during the summer with hydroquinone creams and use the cooler months for maintenance with hydroquinone-free creams.

If you are thinking about an IPL for the holidays, this would be a great time to consider since it may take 2 weeks to clear the treated pigment.  I am also offering IPL for $325 for the month of November to help get your holiday glow started! “Tis the season to be beautiful! 🙂

#PeaceLoveBotox #Ulthera#Loralee

Sounds like a Lifetime movie, but it happened to me!  Has it happened to you?

Is that really you looking back? Which you is you?

   I was with a group of friends at Fleming’s.  When one of the ladies returned from the restroom, she said the have the best “skinny mirror” here.  Another replied, “Oh, I’ll have to make a break to the restroom soon and try it out!”  I felt lost in the conversation even though I had been following it from the start.  I had to ask, “what is a skinny mirror?”  One proceeded to explain that a lot of restaurants are using these mirrors in the restrooms.  “They make you look really good and really like your outfit” she added! I immediately thought about the mirror at Season’s 52.  I always liked that mirror and could not figure out why!  I remember always thinking, “I did not realize how nice this outfit really is” when I walked past it.  I was beginning to feel so deceived!  She then told me retailers are using it too.  She said Ann Taylor uses them.  I asked about Anthrolpogie.  I had just shopped there last week and even subconsciously made a comment to myself in the fitting room that they really have great angles with the lighting in here to make everything look good on you! She confirmed that “yes, they use them too!” Deep sigh came from me!

Am I the lion or the kitten?

How did I get so far and not know about these mirrors?  All the other women knew about them.  I was a little disappointed in myself for not being in the know, but I was more disappointed in this concept.  I mean there are two sides here.  The mirror company claims their mirror makes you look 5-10 pound lighter and gives you self-image confidence.  I get it!  Fake it until you make it…kind of! Maybe the mirror will inspire you to work out more, but what if you are like me and don’t know about the “secret skinny mirror?”  What if I think the dress or bathing suit looks good on me and then I catch a reflection of myself in a window while at the public pool….and I am not digging it? Yikes!  Do I curse the store?

Louise Hay does a lot of “mirror work” to help you learn to love yourself again, but you are actively involved.  With the mirror work, you stand in front of a mirror and repeat affirmations to yourself a couple times a day.  Overtime, your self-esteem and self-love improve.  So, the mirror can help your self-esteem, but with your participation and actual rewiring of thoughts.  What if we had a real mirror and just put some affirmations on the mirrors in these bathrooms?

For me truth is a huge deal.  I don’t like being deceived.   Authenticity is my moral compass!  So, while I like the idea of the mirror, I would prefer to know it’s a little artificial. I am one who likes to know all cards I am being dealt…Don’t sugar coat it!

So WARNING, there are skinny mirrors out there!

Don’t be deceived, You Are Beautiful!

#PeaceLoveBotox #Loralee

There is one thing that my mom does with me almost every time I get on the phone with me….She asks me “how’s the weather down there? Did ya’ll get any rain there today?”  It drives me CRAZY!!!! If I am not worryied about my house flooding and needing to evacuate, the weather is NOT something I care to chat about.

Years ago I read The Work by Byron Katie.  She talked about 3 types of business.  There’s your business, the other person’s business, and God’s business.  And she encourages you to manage y
our own.  The weather falls under God’s business.  So worrying or bitching about it is just going to
stress you out because you can’t do anything about it.  Just like trying to manage someone else’s business and trying to change who they are is just going to stress you out.

So when my mom asks me about the weather, it even stresses me out to chat about it.  It seems like such wasted conversation, right?  Or is it?

I recently visited my great aunt over the Labor Day weekend.  She’s in her late 80’s.  We talked about a few things and then a conversation about tv shows came up.  She said “I really don’t watch tv, but I like to watch the news so I can see what the weather is doing.”  It made me wonder what is the deal with the freaking weather?  I have no time to worry about it and they are so focused on it?  So, the next time I was in the car alone I started to think about the weather…..

I mean it’s so variable….It can change at the drop of a hat.  You can be really screwed for forgetting your rain boots, but ya live!  There is so much variance in my life on a daily basis….take the kids here, meeting after work here, call to get the oven repaired, schedule a dentist appointment….so, the fluctuations of the weather has little significance to me….

….But to my great aunt, there is not much diversity in her days.  She sits at home.  She may work a little in the yard.  No one really comes to visit.  She may clean her house, but she lives alone with no pets so it’s usually quite clean. It made me realize that the weather gives her a little variety.  It may brighten up her day with lots of sunshine or make her feel gloomy because it’s going to pour, but it’s a variance in her day.  And she feels prepared for it! It’s what old people need to focus on so they can break away from the mundanes of the golden years.

So, the next time your loved one asks you about the weather, remember it’s what is giving them some excitement… and you will weather the conversation well! (say that 3 times fast Ha!)

Often times I think we are unhappy because we live our lives like someone gave us an “Employment Manual” to abide by.  We think there are all these rules and regulations that must occur to be accepted by others and to succeed.  Sometimes these rules we are abiding by are not our soul’s intention. We did not write them or have any input.   So, it does not feel right or comfortable.  Over time, I have realized if something is not feeling “right,” it’s because it’s not my authentic self.  I am not meant to act or proceed in this manner.  It could be something as simple as losing sleep or that yucky feeling in the solar plexus.  Whatever it may be, I called it a “friction rub”.  It is how my soul brings something to my attention. So I go in an write an addendum to the manual. Maybe I am breaking someone else’s rules, but as I get older, I realize it does not really matter.   I am thankful for the wisdom and know one manual does not for for everyone! I encourage you to think about your friction rubs and get those addendums written!

Oh! How I am a creature of routine.  I think as humans we all like it.  And we can get in such routine, we function on autopilot.  Have you ever driven home and not remembered the drive? Been there!

So, being a routine kind of girl, it makes me frustrated when there is road construction and I can’t take my normal route.  The guys shuffle all us cars down a new street and we have to weave through neighborhoods or wrong way streets.  Just not my ideal situation.  But maybe with that detour I see a new little shop I had not heard of?  or a cute house with the greatest curb appeal? Or what about that awesome tree-what kind is it anyway?  So many new things.  All in all the detour is blessing me with all this newness.  It’s like getting glasses if I had bad vision?

As I walk through this earth school, I need to realize the detours of life are growing and expanding my awareness as a human just as the driving ones.  If we want to evolve, we have to welcome the detours and break free from the autopilot. There is so much newness out there to continue to awaken us!  Think about what detour you took this week?

ARE SO BEAUTIFUL!

If you have been in the office recently, you probably know my beloved golden retriever, Chewy, passed at the end of July unexpectedly.  She was the half sister of Leia, whom we had to euthanize 2 1/2 years ago. Leia is the beloved teacher I speak of in my “About Page”.

Leia was buried in our backyard in February of 2103.  Chewy passed during all that torrential rainfall at the last week of July that created so much flooding in south Tampa.  Needless to say, we could not dig a burial site in our yard because the ground was so saturated.  So, we elected to do a private cremation.

Monday was the day for me to go pick her up.  I exited my car to enter the emergency vet and past and sweet four-legged friend.  Luckily, this friend was not a golden, so I could maintain my composure until I was able to converse with the office staff.  I spoke with the receptionist and she handed the bag over to me.  As I turned to leave the counter and head to the car, I could feel the tears beginning to swell in my eyes.  As I got to the car, everything was just blurry because all the tears coming down.  In the car with the bag, I sat and just felt weird.  I felt as if the world had stopped.  Was I breathing? Was there still oxygen to breathe in? I felt as if I could not move.  Nothing seemed to matter at this moment.  All that mattered was my sweet puppy was sitting next to me…in a box! I was a little weirded out that this was her body in this tiny little box.  I felt guilty I could not open it at this time.  But, this was my first experience with ashes; I did not know what to expect.  After I sat and cried for about 20 minutes and listened to Tracy Chapman’s The Promise, I felt like I could finally move again.

I drove home and placed the bag on the formal dining room table until Tuesday night.  I felt I had enough heartache for the evening.  Tuesday evening, I gathered up the courage to open the bag. First there was a grieving book.  I read over that.  Then I read over the medical records to help me try to put closure on the emergency.  As I completed the last page, it concluded with her going into cardiac arrest and “the owner” electing to euthanize prior to onset of agonal respiration.  I layed the papers on the table and subconsciously, I said to myself, “and that’s how it ended.  I felt like I closed a book. It was the last page of that book.  And, I needed to start a new book. She would want this.

I then unwrapped up the mahogany box.  Tucked inside was a Burgundy velvet bag.  As I was not ready to look at the ashes, I mashed on the bag.  I was taken by the density and mass inside that bag.  As I sat there for a few more minutes, I knew I needed to look inside.  I picked up the velvet bag and again was amazed with the weight… I finally was brave enough and I peeked inside….

Such Beauty radiated from it! While there was no extreme colors, beige and sand and gray were all mixed up.  Such subtleness creating beauty.   It reminded me of the recent gem mining trip we took in North Carolina with the boys.  I felt like I was looking at small gems.  And if anyone had ever met Chewy, you would agree that if we put all this back together, she made a marvelous gem!

I miss her terribly, but I look forward to the next book….until we meet again!

Hola Amiga! It has been awhile since I sat down to blog.

Today, I want to share with you a recipe from my recent 2 week detox.  I created this from combining several recipes I found online.  I really like it!  My 4 year old will drink it too as long as his older brothers are both around make yuk faces to me.  It’s super easy and make me feel I am getting a healthy start to my morning!

Combine the following ingredients in a blender and enjoy!

1 banana

2 c fresh kale

1/2 c unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1 tsp maple syrup

2-3 fresh strawberries.