*The Skin Clinic, Brentwood is now La Belle Forme, Brentwood

It was Thursday, it was sunny, and I had a half day. By rights, I should have been walking through Brentwood, the unofficial capital of Essex, feeling amazing. The reason this wasn’t the case, was because I had finally come to the decision to have my lips done. I’ve always been aware my lips are painfully small. It’s not something that I particularly cared about, until recently, when I started getting a lot more into make-up and came to the conclusion you can’t put a MAC lipstick on nothing. Honestly. My cat has bigger lips than me.

So why was I so nervous about getting lip fillers?

Well, the reason that this appointment had been put off for such a long period of my life, is because I’m actually terrified of needles. I never used to be, I used to be quite brave, especially when I had my Hep A & Hep B combined and it made me feel like my arm was going to fall off. But fast forward to 2013, and I’m sat in the middle of Sani Marina in Greece, in the little hospital, having a Greek Doctor who may or may not have been a vet (I’ve never cared to look too much into it) injecting anaesthetic into my toe before sewing it back on.

As you can imagine, as much as I wanted my lips done, I didn’t really fancy the whole needle part. After a lot of research, I actually drew the conclusion that you can’t have lip fillers licked in by tiny kittens.

I was going to have to brave it.

Now if you are feeling like me, and you are not a fan of the idea, but you really want it done, find a reputable clinic. Please don’t go to one of these back street teeth whitening places that just inject you and send you along on your way.

The Skin Clinic has two clinics in Brentwood and Sevenoaks. I’m quite partial to a bit of Brentwood, and on the way there I even saw Gemma Collins in what used to be Charlies Deli. The Skin Clinic is at the other end of the high street to The Brentwood Kitchen. The building itself is very non-imposing, and the reception and waiting area is clean, but warm. It looks like somewhere you would have a treatment, but it’s not clinical. I read quite a lot of literature while waiting. I was now getting fairly nervous, and also I am quite partial to a before and after if I’m about to have the same treatment done myself.

The Skin Clinic is led by Dr Johanna Ward, and the accolades on their ‘about us’ page speak volumes.  They have been recognized by the Aesthetics in 2013 &2014 as delivering exceptional standards of cosmetic and medical treatments to clients.

My Registered Nurse Prescriber, Yolande Golding took me through to a beautiful, airy, light treatment room to go through my paperwork. Yolande put me at ease as soon as I started speaking to her. I shared my fear of needles, and while doing the paperwork, she guided me through the process of what would be happening. This was a massive plus for me as I’m not really one for surprises (unless it’s prosecco, in which case, I love them, and please surprise me with 4 or 5 bottles).

Yolande explained to me, that she would be using 1mL of Juvederm Volbella. This is quite a soft, subtle filler, and is usually used on first timers like me. Before this, it was time for the numbing cream. Because I really didn’t take to the idea of having my lips stabbed numerous times with a needle, Yolande put on loads. I didn’t hold out much hope for it making the procedure painless, I ingested a fair bit, and also I’m quite confident that while answering the medical questions, I probably dribbled. The numbing cream, and the actual filler itself, both have Lidocaine in them. The idea is, the treatment will be as painless as possible, but this still didn’t deter me from being pretty nervous when I hopped onto the treatment bed.

I took my mind back to the times after my toe sewing back on incident that I have needed to have injections or blood tests, have panicked and they haven’t been that bad. I was praying this would be the same, but I still couldn’t see it. Lips are such a sensitive area. Either way there was no turning back now. I was having it done whether I liked it or not. Yolande did explain, that they put the needle in, and pull it back out a bit to make sure they are not actually putting product into the blood vessels. Again, this just sounded like something that would prolong the agony.

When the first needle went in, I was so pleasantly surprised at the LACK of pain, that that is what actually shocked me. Obviously, it wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world. I can’t say I was as relaxed as I was when I fell asleep on the rapids at Thorpe Park, but all in all, it wasn’t painful.

The procedure itself lasted around ten minutes. The only part that was a little bit more uncomfortable than others was the cupids bow, but it was still incredibly non-dramatic. I’d actually say, I’d rather go for lip fillers than have a blood test (although to be honest who wouldn’t, my lips look amazing).

Yolande explained to me all about the aftercare, and also gave me Dr Johanna Ward’s number in case anything happened. She did say she could tell they wouldn’t bruise, and they haven’t. It’s nice to see a clinic so dedicated to after care. It’s reassuring. Yolande also noticed on my paperwork that I’d ticked the box to say I suffer with my skin. She gave me a bottle of Zo Medical Oil Cleanse, and so far, so good, it’s helped my skin in literally a couple of days.

If you are a first timer, or you just really appreciate quality, I would ABSOLUTELY recommend the Skin Clinic for your treatment. I think the results speak for themselves.