Living with Facial Asymmetry – A client’s story
- 1 December 2018
- Posted by: rtwskin
- Category: Blog
Living with Facial Asymmetry – A client’s story.
By Emily Ruse, Front of House Manager
Dermal Fillers have been on the market for some time now – they’re the popular choice for getting plump, youthful skin and adding volume and contouring the profile. But there’s another lesser-known use of the popular injectable…
We recently caught up with our long-term client, Debbie Mackinnon, who earlier this year, decided to try something new in the hope that it would improve her facial asymmetry, an issue that has affected her for many years.
Facial asymmetry is very common. If you stand in front of a mirror for long enough, you are more than likely to notice one side that’s less prominent or a certain feature which doesn’t quite match the rest of your face as well as another. Almost everyone has some form of asymmetry, some more than others. But in Debbie’s case, hers is a lot more severe than most, as her jaw suddenly stopped growing on one side when she was just thirteen years old.
“I got bullied quite a lot about my appearance as a child.” Debbie exclaimed “Not just through classmates at school but even by my own family who often made remarks. I remember even being told that I looked as though I’d had a stroke. This affected me massively in terms of my mental health if people weren’t making comments at school, I was hearing them at home – it was almost impossible to escape.”
What’s astounding is the fact that information or articles about this form of asymmetry are very limited on the internet, making it isolating for people who are merely looking for answers or advice.
“I thought that my asymmetry was something that I would have to just accept and live with and that’s what I tried to do until one day a colleague admitted that when she first met me, she too thought I’d had a stroke – this was the final straw for me. I knew then that I had to do something about it, I didn’t want to accept it anymore – it was massively affecting my confidence.”
It was then that Debbie began an enduring journey towards a solution. Starting with a physiotherapy article she found online, she attempted to carry out exercise’s using a pencil to strengthen the muscles in her jaw. She recalled “It was after beginning these exercises that I noticed my teeth were slanted. This encouraged me to research jaw asymmetry and it was then that I began to find people who shared the same problem as myself.”
“I turned to Dr Nina, who had been doing my Botox for a while at this point, so I knew I could trust her opinion. She advised me to see an orthodontist or a maxillofacial surgeon but after visiting one to discuss my options, they wanted me to have a psychiatrist involved in the process as they picked up on just how damaging this had been on me over the years.”
“It was during this appointment that I realised it definitely wasn’t all in my head – medical professionals were actually questioning whether I’d been in an accident or a victim of some kind of trauma.”
Due to various other health problems, Debbie wasn’t suitable for the double-jaw surgery that she initially wanted unless she was prepared to undergo an excruciatingly long process in preparation. Instead, it was decided that rotating genioplasty would be the better option for her. “The surgery basically involved my cutting my chin open and twisting it,” Debbie explained. “The reason they thought this was the best option was that the muscle in my jaw had overdeveloped on one side and dropped. The surgery fixed the issue with my chin and I’m very happy with the results but unfortunately, the issue my with my mouth and eye on the right side of my face remain.”
While Debbie’s jaw healed she began to research Lip Fillers, quizzical about whether they would help improve her condition. She raised the question with her practitioner, Dr Nina, who agreed that it would help if they approached it gradually, administering little by little filler over several sessions. “The fillers have definitely helped” exclaimed Debbie “although, my mouth is still dropped on one side it has massively improved the symmetry. Similarly, Botox has also helped, by lifting my eye up to disguise the way it naturally drops to the side.”
Debbie started off with 0.5ml Lip Filler which was administered very cleverly around the mouth area to balance it all out, making her mouth more symmetrical and encouraging the lips to lift, improving the dropped effect, and, at the same time defining Debbie’s natural lip shape, plumping them and adding volume.
“I could see the results straight away, that’s what I love the most about it. I love Botox but I’m so happy that I discovered Lip Fillers are also beneficial for my asymmetry. They have made me feel more like a woman.”
“My plan is to come every 3-4 months to maintain the look with 0.5ml. I don’t want to make my lips look ridiculously huge, I just love the fact that it makes everything so much more symmetrical – AND it is so much easier to put on lipstick and liner. I think that it’s so important that cosmetic procedures like this are carried out by someone who knows what they’re doing and wants to make you look naturally enhanced and beautiful, not overdone or trashy. Unfortunately, there are so many places out there which are very cheap and it’s because their treatments aren’t being carried out by qualified nurses or doctors. You just can’t shop on price when it comes to your face, this is the first thing that people see. Dr Nina is the only person that I trust with a needle.”
“I’ve had people say to me ‘why don’t you go somewhere cheaper?” Debbie continued. “Why would I? I don’t think your prices are at all unreasonable for what you’re offering. I rate you very highly and I’ve never once had a bad experience while coming to rtwskin – I’ve been a client since 2011! This is why I continue to come. It’s very easy to cut corners and go cheap but when you’re messing around with something so important as your face, you’d be silly too. You could potentially be damaged for life and my face is much more valuable than that.”
“What I love about you most is how honest you are. Dr Nina would never do something if she feels it won’t be beneficial. You don’t look at people as bags of money – you take the time to work with them and recommend the treatment which is in their best interests.”
“I’ve had a lot of comments from friends and colleagues about my lips – especially when I went back to work afterwards. All the comments that I’ve received have been great, so many people can’t believe how natural they look which was the most important thing for me so I know they look great.”
If you’re suffering from Facial Asymmetry or are unhappy with a certain facial feature, these are Debbie’s top tips for you:
1. Do your research and talk to professionals. – The best people to talk to are dentists, aesthetic doctors and nurses.
2. Get a psychiatrist.
3. Don’t rely on the internet for answers – there’s a lot of rubbish out there.
4. Be realistic – You’re never going to have a perfectly symmetrical face, and would you want to?!
5. Get a second opinion.
6. Don’t shop around on price – your face is priceless.
Book a no-obligation consultation to discuss Dermal Filler treatment and other dermatology procedures with Dr Nina Sheffield
Call 01892 22 22 22
Meet the expert
Dr Nina Sheffield qualified as a GP before specialising in Otolaryngology (ENT). For the last 12 years, she has specialised in medical lasers and cosmetic injections.