Tammy Keaton said one of her biggest worries was looking fake.
"I didn't want to have the Kardashian look," she said, laughing.
But she was self-conscious. The mother of three struggled, as many women do, with acne and acne scars, wrinkles, and the dreaded "mommy pooch."
She used to hide her face with her hair. She'd wear her hair down to cover more of her face. Her bangs doubled as a way to cover the areas she didn't like about her forehead.
But she didn't want it to be that way.
Keaton had heard about laser treatments and injectables like Botox, but she didn't think they were for her.
They were expensive, she thought, definitely not something a middle-class family could afford.
"When I initially started looking into that, I thought this was for people with expendable incomes," she said.
And she was skeptical. Needles are painful. Could there be side effects? Will this actually work? All of those thoughts and doubts filled her mind.
So she did some research.
Her research lead her more than two hours away from her home outside of Winchester, Virginia, to Pinnacle Dermatology in Lewisburg.
Dr. Krystal Tawney owns two dermatology practices in the state. Pinnacle Dermatology has locations in Lewisburg and Charleston - where patients can receive everything from medical treatments to cosmetic injectables, laser treatments and even spray tans.
Tawney offers an array of medical and cosmetic procedures, many of which are gaining a lot of popularity in the Charleston area.
Several medical spas, surgical centers and dermatologists are opening their doors to patients in search of facial cosmetic procedures. Medical professionals are offering everything from laser treatments to Botox. And as new technology continues to develop, new procedures are taking off.
Keaton is one of many patients who come into Tawney's office for Dysport, an injectable treatment similar to Botox.
"It's Botox's rival. The difference, really, is just in name. They're the same thing - which is a neuromodulator - and that means that it relaxes the muscle," Tawney said. "The thing with Dysport is that it's a little bit newer. Its claim to fame is that it lasts a little longer and works a little quicker. It's the same idea. What people look for is to relax wrinkles."
She said her office sees patients receiving Dysport at least every other day. It's become highly popular in the area, she said, noting that it comes up in many of her appointments with patients.
"Everyone who comes in here, once you get to a certain age, it comes up. Whether we're trying to battle wrinkles or it's someone who is talking about how to prevent them, we're talking about them one way or another all the time. It's on everyone's mind when they come in," she said.
Patients will have a consultation with Tawney or her staff and will discuss their problem areas, what they would like corrected and the best course of treatment for them.
Tawney said often she may suggest other procedures to correct issues like wrinkles that have set in. Many times, she said, proper skin care regimens are part of treatment.
Many patients, she said, also receive treatment as a preventative measure. Many fear getting injections and looking fake or overdone, which she said isn't the case.
"The important thing is that you do always want to research it before you go, and you want to make sure you have someone who is trained to do it. But it works beautifully, and I think some people come in and they're worried about looking fake or overdone," she said. "Our idea here is that we would never want someone to look like that, that's not our goal. We want to just enhance the beauty that they already have, preserve that beauty and age beautifully. We try to be fairly conservative with it - it's a lot easier to add than it is to take away."
Dysport is relatively inexpensive - most treatments start at $200 to $250, Tawney said.
"What's expensive is different for everyone. But is it more expensive to get a face-lift when you're 70 or to start early enough with little bits twice a year? You just have to weigh that out. Am I saying everyone may be able to afford it? You may have to save a little bit. It may be a nice present for someone," she said.
For Keaton, the results have been well worth the price. She has received lip injections and Dysport for wrinkles and was shocked by her results.
"I didn't think I was going to have the result I got," she said. "A lot of women come to me after they know I've had these procedures ... I have been able to talk to people and explain to them that there are these preconceived notions that people know nothing about."
As someone who was afraid of the pain that is often associated with needles, Keaton said the injections were virtually painless.
"It doesn't even compare to a bee sting," she said. "It is just not painful at all."
Patients sign consent forms, but Tawney said the side effects of Dysport are minimal.
Sometimes patients will experience "drooping or unevenness," but nothing that isn't an "easy fix."
Keaton said the biggest thing she's gained through the process is a stronger sense of self-confidence and self-worth.
She doesn't feel like she has to hide behind her hair anymore, and she said her family members are even noticing a change in her personality.
In a world where women in the workforce are often scrutinized for their looks, Keaton said she strongly encourages anyone considering injections or other cosmetic procedures to take the leap.
"For a woman, when you can feel comfortable with no make up, it is a huge blessing," she said. "I want to be that person who is not so self-conscious about things."
Several other practices throughout the Charleston area offer Botox and other injectables and fillers like Dysport.
At Jackson and Wood Plastic Surgery in Charleston, Botox is highly popular.
Dr. Ted Jackson said many patients come to his practice looking for improvements, without having to go under the knife.
"There are people that want a little improvement but they're not willing to have an operation - which, I think is probably 97 percent of us," he said.
The most popular wrinkle treatments - Botox and Juvederm, used to fill deeper skin folds - are increasingly sophisticated, he added.
April IlDefonso, a registered nurse first assistant (RNFA) at Jackson Wood, said she gets Botox procedures done herself as a preventative measure. The earlier someone starts with Botox, she said, the easier it is to prevent undesired wrinkles.
"I am a huge advocate for preventative purposes with Botox. I'm 44 now, and I've been doing Botox since I was 28. I didn't have wrinkles to begin with, and I still don't - most people don't guess me to be that old. The earlier you can start and can stop the motion that actually causes the wrinkles, the better off you're going to be," she said.
"It's harder to correct the wrinkles that are already there, so you have to be on it and doing it as soon as those muscles start moving again. When you start ahead of time, you can do it a couple of times a year and really minimize it and it makes a big difference."
Both Tawney and Jackson encouraged patients to research the procedures, the materials used and to make sure they feel comfortable with the doctor performing the procedure.
"I would say the first thing is that if you're going to a particular area, you should research the facility and then look at the credentials of the provider. It's OK to go in and talk to the provider and see what your comfort level is. That's the No. 1 thing, get in there and see who's doing it," Tawney said.
"When someone new comes in, I tell them about my education and how I've been trained. That's good to want to talk about, especially before you spend money and you sacrifice your face to someone you don't know."
Several practices in the Charleston area also offer a rejuvenation procedure known as micro-needling.
Tawney said micro-needling, with a new technology known as Platelet-Rich Plasma, offers a natural anti-aging solution to patients looking to part with wrinkles.
"I have people who say, 'I don't want to do injectables, I don't want anything unnatural going into my face.' Then this is perfect for them," she said. "We'll have their bodies start to produce and heal itself by creating its own collagen. You're getting a lessening of fine lines and wrinkles as the body is just doing its natural healing response."
The micro-needling is the "new hottest thing," Tawney said, for treating fine lines, acne scars and improving the skin's texture. The micro-needling pen uses 12 small steel needles.
"We can do so many amazing things with the Platelet Rich Plasma. There's plenty of ways, depending on the person and the amount of damage or wrinkling, and sometimes we have to get more aggressive, of course. That's when a laser procedure may be beneficial or something like that," she said.
Patients can start to see results in several weeks. The entire procedure lasts 15 to 30 minutes.
Tawney said she has had every procedure her office offers done herself, as a way to relate to patients and test the results.
With any of the procedures her office offers, she said her main goal is skin health and proper skin care.
"The micro-needling is huge. There's so many things that we can do with that. It's something that, me personally, I try to do at least every other month just because I'm prompting my body to do anti-aging," she said. "Everything we do here focuses on skin health. It's a little different than your regular facial, this gears toward a certain skin goal or problem-focused area."
For more information about Pinnacle Dermatology, visit www.pinnacledermwv.com or like their Facebook page.
For more information about Jackson and Wood Plastic Surgery, visit jacksonandwood.com.
Reach Carlee Lammers at
carlee.lammers@wvgazettemail.com,
304-348-1230 or follow
@CarleeLammers on Twitter.