PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALISTAIR TAYLOR-YOUNG / TRUNK ARCHIVE
Violet Grey recently published an article, featuring Dr. Lara Devgan, in which “new customizable, non-invasive “tweakments”” are discussed. As the landscape of beauty and cosmetic procedures continues to evolve, we are moving away from looking “overdone” and focusing more on the individual.
“We’ve redefined what beauty means,” says Dr. Laura Devgan, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon in New York City and founder of luxury skin care line Dr. Devgan Scientific Beauty. “It’s less about being handed down an archaic and ill-fitting beauty standard from the cover of a magazine and more of a feeling and being the best version of yourself.”
The article goes into detail about this innovative individualized approach of subtle tweaks that make you look great without looking overdone and gives examples on different areas of treatment.
Neuromodulators are one way to tweak in order to soften lines. Dr. Devgan says that different brands work similarly to relax the muscles that cause wrinkles.
Infusion microneedling is ideal for glassy smooth skin. By damaging the skin ever so slightly, we are allowing the topical treatments to be better absorbed. “We used to use a solid needle to make little pricks in the skin and slather stuff on top, hoping it seeped in,” Dr. Devgan explains. “Now we’re using hollow-bore needles and a sterile glass vial to micro-inject a customized cocktail of substances into the dermis.” The “cocktail” can include everything from hyaluronic acid to plump skin, PRP (platelet-rich plasma, which would require a quick blood draw) to rejuvenate, and neuromodulators like Botox to shrink pores (by contracting piloerector muscles at the base of hair follicles, Dr. Devgan explains). “We’re injecting these things 600 microns deep into the dermis and it creates this beautiful, glassy, perfect-looking skin,” she adds. “If you imagine that skin is a fabric like linen, the treatment makes it more tightly woven, like cotton.”
If you’ve ever wished you could wear a snapchat filter in real life, then the facial optimization filler treatment is for you. Dr. Devgan’s signature “facial optimization” involves making “making several millimeter-level changes at a time, whether it’s adding volume to tear troughs to minimize dark circles, non-surgical rhinoplasty, gently contouring cheekbones, lifting brows with Botox, or adding subtle volume to lips.” “It’s the principle of a Snapchat filter—if you make many tiny one millimeter changes, the entire face will look better but it’s hard to pinpoint why,” she explains. “When fillers first came on the market, there was a tendency to try to do the most possible with them, and that’s why we saw so many taut, shiny foreheads and puffy chipmunk cheeks. There’s been a return to discretion and classicism; anatomic characteristics should not be trend-driven the way fashion and makeup are.”
