Our Very Own Zenita’s Cosmo Feature

The lovely Zenita, a Goldsmith Clinic client, was asked to feature in Cosmopolitan Magazine talking about lip enhancements. Zenita was one of 11 females, including the journalist herself, Lucy Partington, who have had subtle lip enhancements. She spent a day at Cosmo’s HQ in London having her lips perfectly painted (red, of course) and photographed.

While a fantastic experience for Zenita, the wider article addressed a number of very serious issues – the psychological impact of appearance-changing procedures such as lip fillers and the complete lack of regulation in the industry which means people without any medical training can administer them.

Sausage Lips

I love the term ‘sausage lips’. It was mentioned in the Cosmo article by Dr Tijion Esho, the self-proclaimed ‘king of lips’.
Within the article, Dr Esho says that people’s idea of what’s normal changes once they start having lip fillers which is why you see some girls walking around with sausage-shaped pouts.

Author and behaviour expert, Judi James, attributes it to losing their sense of reality. She says: “The heightened focus on one single body part takes it out of context with the rest of the features. That, combined with the initial hit of change in appearance, can bring more attention from others, and boost confidence, meaning the desire to get that hit again is increased.” She also says that extreme looks are becoming ‘normalised’ by the media and reality shows like Love Island, The Only Way is Essex and Geordie Shore. Judy James added: “The bar keeps getting raised. These girl’s lips aren’t getting smaller, the lips they are seeing on TV are just getting bigger.”

It is for this reason that I always take before and after photos of my clients prior to their first treatment with me, so they can see how their appearance has changed and hopefully dissuade them from having ‘sausage lips’.

Young people are more at risk of going ‘over the top’ with fillers as they try to imitate celebrities and seek out cheaper ‘clinics’ in an effort to emulate them. Legally, there is no minimum age to have to be to have lip fillers, however, if you’re under 18 you must remember that your body and appearance is still changing.
Reputable practitioners, such as myself, will not treat anyone under the age of 18. We are also medically qualified. I personally am a prescribing nurse practitioner with a 30-year nursing career with an untarnished reputation. I am also continually training to ensure that I remain up-to-date with the latest treatments, procedures and products.

Reputable Practitioners will also:

• Have medical training and qualifications
• Be up-to-date with the latest products and techniques
• Have a full in-depth consultation with you before your initial aesthetic procedure
• Prior to undertaking your treatment, it will be fully explained to you and you will be expected to sign a consent form
• Take before and after photos
• Keep a written record of your treatment
• Purchase and use only the best, FDA-approved products

Before you embark on your lip enhancement journey, ensure your practitioner can tick each of these boxes. If they can’t, look elsewhere!
To book your consultation and start your non-surgical cosmetic journey with The Goldsmith Clinic, click here.

A Generation Obsessed

Lip fillers are now more popular than ever – according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, procedures have risen by 132% since 2000. As the demand for fillers increases, so does the number of people hoping to make some quick cash – and the vast majority are unqualified, untrained and using inferior products.

The use of unregulated products is especially worrying to me as a registered nurse. In the last two years, Google has seen an 88% rise in the number of people searching for lip fillers and in the last year, the number of new lip products has grown by more than 10%.

My filler of choice is derived from hyaluronic acid, which is a natural substance in the body, and it can easily be reversed if necessary. Hyaluronic acid is the most commonly used product for lip injections and lasts for about 6 months. Variations of the filler include Restylane and Juvederm both of which are high-quality market-leading products I use in my clinic.

An unregulated, cheap product administered by someone who is neither trained nor medically qualified can have disastrous results and this is when clients turn to me and fellow professionals to put things right. This is a long process and not one that the NHS will undertake. This is exactly what happened to my client Lucy; listen to her story here.

To book your consultation and start your non-surgical cosmetic journey with The Goldsmith Clinic, click here.