Some insight into the mind of injection-expert Nicole Ciasullo:
I have been injecting Botox and filler since before it was cool.
I’ve been a nurse for 25 years, (so obviously I started my career as an infant) and started to specialize in Aesthetic Injections 11-years ago, and I have been an Injection Trainer for the past 4 years. I have gone through more filler and neurotoxin than I could possibly count, and I have been honored to treat thousands of patients. My decades’ worth of experience and training have ingrained into me the importance of taking EVERY bit of information possible about a patient before touching them. The most important goal in any treatment is to KEEP YOU SAFE. Yes, I want you to look good too, but your safety is the most important of all.
Hear me out.
Achieving amazing results are vital to any aesthetic treatment, but honestly who cares if your [cheeks / lips / fill-in-the-blank] look amazing for a hot-second, if you’re then left with an occlusion, infection… or worse? Although under ideal circumstances, the results of aesthetic injections are temporary, under the worst-case scenario — the repercussions of an inappropriate treatment can be permanent; scarring, blindness, loss of tissue, etc.
In order to keep my patients SAFE and HAPPY, I need to know their aesthetic goals, but I ABSOLUTELY MUST also have a good gauge on their medical, surgical, psychological, and right now — environmental — history before I can comfortably perform any treatment. Anything that could possibly impact your outcome needs to be taken into consideration. Does this person work out a lot? Recently had dental work? Have a history of bruising? Autoimmune disorders? Currently taking any antibiotics or steroids? And so much more…
I don’t think most patients even know I am doing this, but while I am chit-chatting at the beginning of the appointment, I am mentally stirring together ALL of the details and bits of information I know about them in order to determine what the safest, and most effective treatment options are.
If anything sets off my spidey-sense, I will always err on the side of caution and abstain from performing the questionable treatment. (Open and honest discussions will be had with my patients so that they understand exactly what is going on.)
Depending on the circumstances, it might be that we are NEVER doing the treatment in question, or it might be that we are just doing it at another time. Or maybe, the desired treatment plan needs to be completely adjusted to work for the situation at hand. Under NO circumstances will I ever do a treatment that has potential to put someone at risk.
When I’m training new-injectors, I always stress the importance of safety, but usually because of time-constraints we only have time to focus on facial anatomy. Understanding where the arteries, muscles and bones live in the face is very important when learning how to safely inject. But aside from just knowing what the face is comprised of, a good injector NEEDS to have a comfort-level with the overall health of the whole patient sitting in the chair.
Please make sure to always put your face in the hands of someone who respects your safety. Experience, ongoing training, and education are SO important when looking for the right injector. Patient safety and happiness ALWAYS needs to be the motivating factor — when a provider gets to the point where money becomes the driving factor, priorities can quickly veer off-course.