Seeing how my shoulders and neck have been fugged up for over a year now and no amount of gua sha (my magic cure for everything) seems to provide relief beyond a few days, I decided to try meditoxin injection to the trapezius area while visiting Seoul.
I’m literally so tired from (and of) constantly having achy shoulders and super stiff neck, especially exacerbated whenever I sit in front of the computer for too long. I have cut down on working on my desktop for prolonged stretches of time, I have avoided as much as I could bringing my camera gear out because of the weight, and I have even switched the pillows I sleep with, because there’d be days when my upper back would hurt so badly I couldn’t sleep well at night. I don’t know if this has anything to do with the slight scoliosis which I discovered not long ago I have, or simply this is a case of bad smartphone posture, either way it’s extremely uncomfortable and beginning to feel debilitating.
My regular tuina sessions have helped and my shoulders get power massaged big time; God bless my Tuina masseuse for having the strength of an ox and mercilessness sadistic ferocity. For some reason every masseuse I’ve encountered, no matter what style of massage they specialized in – deep tissue, Tuina, Thai style… as soon as their hands feel my rock hard shoulders they start pummelling away. While grimacing in pain, this would feel good for me after a while and I enjoy some relief from the tension, but I find that this also has resulted in my shoulders looking muscular and have a sloped appearance that’s like, paving the way to a full blown hunched back. Not to mention the gradual disappearance of my collarbone even though I’m not a chubby girl. Strange association of the front and back of the upper body, I know, but they’re related physical and equally affected by postural issues. I am of the opinion that the clavicle (ie. collarbone) is sexier than the cleavage! If you think about it, the clavicle and neck gets more exposure than the cleavage and it is a very feminine part of the body that doesn’t need to scream in your face. So, no, I do not want my collarbone to disappear. I also don’t want an athletic appearance or boxy shoulders.
Meditoxin is commonly referred to and known as Botox. I was told that in Taiwan there is a treatment to inject the calves with meditoxin to reduce the chunky athletic look and to create a slimmer, more feminine silhouette to legs. I don’t know of any aesthetic clinic in Singapore that does a similar injection, or to any other parts of the body beyond its popular administration to the face and sweat glands to reduce perspiration.
My initial inquiry with RenewMe Skin Clinic was done over LINE, the consultant on the other end was friendly and very fluent in English. She was helpful, knowledgable, I got all my questions answered, and was given a price quote prior to visiting the clinic in person. I was quoted ₩800k (equivalent to approximately US$700) which is pretty much on par with the range of what one expects to spend in SG for injecting the face.
RenewMe Skin Clinic has several different locations in Seoul and I went to the Jamsil location as that’s where most of the international patients go to. Easily accessible by subway, it’s a new facility with spacious and brightly-lit reception area, there are several private consultation rooms as well as cozy treatment areas. There’s also an operating theatre in the clinic. RenewMe specializes in skin health/dermatology as well as aesthetics, so even though I went for meditoxin injection, I was given a complimentary Aqua Peel treatment that boosts face hydration. Ooooh, thank you very much! I wasn’t expecting that, but yes I’ll take it. :)
1.Meditoxin Injection
After telling Dr. Kim about the chronic pain in my shoulders and neck, a numbing cream was applied to my shoulders for 20 minutes, then he jabbed me in several spots per shoulder. A jab is a jab is a jab, I felt the pinch for sure but it wasn’t crazy tear-inducing painful. Basically the meditoxin works just as it would for the face if I was getting Botox, by relaxing the muscles. I was cautioned not to lift heavy stuff for a while and also that there would be some soreness in the first few days as my back muscles will be providing all the support (rather than the shoulder muscles doing the work).
The Trapezius Meditoxin injection is supposed to last for 3-6 months. Keeping my fingers crossed that this does what it’s supposed to do and that I won’t be at the mercy of constant sore neck and shoulders anymore for a good part of this year.
2. Aqua Peel Treatment
This is similar to the hydrafacial which I did before at Neuglow, except that there’s no friction-type exfoliation in this one so it was very comfortable and somewhat relaxing. In between the stages of gentle suction cleansing and vitamins being delivered onto the skin using a machine operated by a therapist, there was a mask applied to my entire face for 20 minutes and also an Omega colored-light therapy that’s supposed to boost cell regeneration. I really liked the mask as it felt soothing. It was applied to my face as a thick layer of gel/cream and it gradually congealed before being peeled off in one solid piece. All in all an enjoyable treatment, I even stole a quick nap during the light therapy. My face felt hydrated and cleansed afterwards, which was great since the winter air outdoors was drying out my skin.
FYI, RenewMe Skin Clinic happens to do fat grafting which I know is one of the popular procedures a lot of gurls are thinking of doing in Korea nowadays. Last year when I spent time in Taipei I was intrigued and interested in this, but was told I didn’t have enough fat to harvest (that was a problem which I solved easily and happily by eating a fair bit of porkchop rice, hur hur… but I changed my mind about the procedure and shall hold off for now). Just for kicks I asked how much that’d cost at RenewMe Skin Clinic and was told that two sessions, including touch up within 3 months, starts at ₩3 million and it’s the PRP kind (harvested fat is mixed with your own blood platelets for higher adherence rate). To find out more, best to contact the English-speaking consultant directly via LINE (ID: skin0075).
Last but not least, while we’re on the subject of improving posture, I think this gadget is cool and could be useful.
xo,
MB.
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