How Liz Beautified with Bellafill
Liz Lane was newly retired after a “long and lovely” career in nursing three years ago, when she first heard that her good friends Dr. Jamie Walraven and Linda Faulkner had developed a unique medical practice called Ageless Wellness Center.
“They asked if I would be interested in coming out of retirement and working for a couple of years, and I did just that and loved it,” Lane says. “I learned so much about functional medicine, the aesthetic side of our business and stem cell therapy.”
Like others on the staff, she was eager to take advantage of Ageless Wellness services to get to the root cause of some lingering health issues and improve herself inside and out.
“The very first step was meeting with Dr Walraven and Linda for some essential labs, going over the results and coming up with an action plan to get my health back to where it needed to be,” Lane says. “I have a beautiful diet, but happen to be one of those people with gut issues who doesn’t absorb nutrients well, so we corrected that.”
The second stage involved getting her skin back into shape. Lane was a child of the 60s, before anyone knew to shield themselves from the sun’s harmful rays, and now at 61 had never had any kind of aesthetics treatments done.
“My skin was really terrible and I looked much older, probably 66 at least,” Lane says. “Our licensed aesthetician Joan Birdsong did a series of lasers and restorative treatments to bring my skin back.”
After a couple of small Botox treatments to relax some troublesome wrinkles, Lane was ready for the final stage of her makeover — Bellafill, a five-year bovine collagen-based filler with PMMA, or polymethylmethacrylate. When injected under the skin, Bellafill stimulates natural collagen growth and over time restores a youthful look to the face.
“We apply a wonderful numbing cream to the face about 45 minutes ahead of time and also use ice to deaden the skin,” Lane explains. “The Bellafill is then slowly inserted with a blunt tip, which is less painful and causes less bleeding. I didn’t feel anything, a little bit of tugging but absolutely no discomfort.”
Lane’s initial Bellafill injections were to her temple, both cheeks and around the mouth. She has since done three series of five injections each for a total of 15 syringes over three years and is very happy with the results.
“It’s subtle, but I can tell there’s been a little gentle lift to my face,” Lane confirms. “I don’t have the frowny face that I once had. Anyone who didn’t know I had it done would think I looked refreshed or been on vacation.”
And she likes the fact that Bellafill is a quality product that lasts up the five years, while other fillers are only nine months to a year.
“There hasn’t been anybody I’ve met that I wouldn’t recommend it to,” Lane says. “Dr. Walraven and Linda are almost like sculptors. They are all about the symmetry and enhancing the face.”
Lane says one of the biggest compliments she received came recently while visiting her daughter in Texas.
“My daughter and I were walking down the street with my granddaughter in the stroller, and my daughter looks at me and says, ‘You’re looking really good. I want to start doing whatever you’re doing.’ People who haven’t seen me in awhile think that I’m having a lovely time with life.”
Three years after “retirement” that may finally come true for Lane, as she’s retiring again from Ageless Wellness.
“I’ll be 65 this year and it was time. One of the things I’ve always wanted to do was travel. I’m traveling to Europe for the next six months, and then back to the states.”
Ageless Wellness Center is located at 1000 Commerce Drive, Suite 300, Peachtree City. Ageless Wellness clients who know that they want filler can make an appointment for Bellafill. Those who aren’t sure which filler is right for them can call for a consultation at 678-364-8414.