As some of you may know, I come from a culture where beauty is more than skin deep. My mother and grandmother, who are Indonesians by birth and heritage, are big on natural remedies and holistic health. I was taught from very young to love and appreciate my body and my health and this is one reason why many Indonesian women, especially in Java, are known for their slim and youthful looks.
The Javanese culture is all about using as natural as possible an
Having said all that, that doesn’t mean I’m opposed to anything not considered “natural” as Botox or liposuction should I find the day where I feel I really need it. I told myself a long time ago, I won’t say no to that help but I’ll hold on for as long as possible with as much natural treatment as I can. Being a goddess to me is about first and foremost, looking after yourself, physically, mentally and emotionally. We need to be happy with what we’ve been given and appreciate the things we’ve done and only then figure out how to make it better.
When I first heard of Lorena Öberg and her treatment, I was very intrigued. She was primarily famous for her “DermaEraze” which is a treatment that gets rid of stretch marks and hyperpigmentation.
I was offered to meet her and try out her treatments for a review. I thought about what it was that I wanted to try but I was honest with her that I didn’t want to get rid of my stretch marks. My pregnancy stretch marks are very minimal to me plus it serves as a reminder to myself that I have been pregnant multiple times and I have given birth to miracle babies.
The Consultation
I came to see her in
“PDO thread lift is a procedure that involves the insertion of a blunt-tip cannula with very fine absorbable polydioxanone threads into the skin or the subcutaneous fat of the specific areas to be treated”
Dr. Sylvia Ramirez,
I am very familiar with this treatment as it came out of Korea many years ago and it’s highly popular in South East Asia whereby it’s less invasive nature meant it’s hugely cheaper than going for a full facelift. I didn’t mind trying this for my whole face as not only am I in the middle of moving to Marbella, I reckon I could handle many, many needles in my face rather than going under the knife for a major surgery.
How It Works
The tension in the PDO threads will provide a lifting effect by pulling the skin together. The effect will be tightening of sagging skin, especially in the brows, jawline, neck, and décolleté.
Once the suture threads are introduced into the skin, it triggers the human skin’s natural self-healing abilities. You will be surprised at your skin’s ability to naturally heal itself. What happens is that your skin will gently react to the PDO threads and an inflammatory reaction is induced, resulting in collagen formation around each thread inserted into the skin.
The healing process strengthens the skin and is further enhanced by the increase in blood flow to the dermis. When the threads dissolve in the months following the procedure, the bundles of collagen that were formed will keep the skin tight, supple, and rejuvenated.
Lorena also recommended I try her Laser Lipo when I told her because of my thyroid disorder, I have trouble shifting some stubborn pockets of fats near my midriff. For this treatment, I had to go carb free 48 hours before and after treatment in order to make it work even better.
Lorena will use the “DermaLipo” on me which uses warmed up paddles, where the multiple low-level lasers pull the triglycerides from the fat cells, shrinking them and leaving them unharmed. She reminded me (and of course you) that this doesn’t replace exercise and it is not meant for a massive weight loss. This is great for inch loss and on small areas of the body, much more targeted than general weight loss.
We agreed to meet a week later.
The Day of Treatment
I came on a Thursday late afternoon (a week after our consult and a month ago) and we went straight to work. Lorena put some “Emla” (an anaesthetic/numbing cream) on my face then cling wrapped it, leaving it to work.
Before that
While the Emla was slowly numbing my facial skin, Lorena got to work on my hard-to-shift-thyroidism-and-mum-tum flabs. She put some of her specially crafted oil and turned the paddle on to my left muffin top. It was plesantly warm and when she moved the paddle around, it reminded me of a vigorous hot stone massage.
She worked on each sides for 15 mins. My skin was mildly pink/reddish when it was over and tingling warm. Nothing unpleasant and I didn’t feel anything untoward except a slight tightening.
When that was done, she wiped off all the oil on my abdomen region and put on her latex gloves to work on my mug. First she tested to see if I was completely numbed by lightly pricking me with a needle. I didn’t feel much and only knew she was doing something as it was right over my face.
Beware! Photos below are not for the squeamish.
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Inserting the first needle/thread
Lorena does it such that the needles/threads make a criss-cross pattern on my cheeks. Much like building a netting, the way natural collagen works. I didn’t manage to take pictures of her inserting the needles above my eyebrows. Those 2 hurt a little more than I expected and I heard sort of a crunching sound as the needle was inserted. If there’s anything I’m not too keen on about my face is the fact that I feel my forehead is a little ‘sunken’ and can see the lines slowly rearing it’s ‘ugly’ heads.
By the time we were done doing my full face, I had started to swell up, as if I’ve been for a dental treatment. My skin had bled a little here and there. Lorena did warn that I might be swollen for a couple of days and will be bruised just as long. the is why I’m glad it’s a Thursday as I have the whole weekend to recover.
That evening, for me, my face was full on swollen and it was a tad tender. I just put some cold iced cloth on my cheeks to hel manage the swelling and the bruising.
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2 days after treatment -
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2 days after treatment -
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2 days after treatment
My face was a tender for about a week and a bit. I guess my older age could also mean that I heal slower plus having so much stress about moving home couldn’t have helped the healing much.
I have to say after 1 month, all traces of the treatment are all gone, no swelling, no bruising, no needle marks. The most obvious changes, to my critical eyes, are the forehead area – no more impression of a sunken middle- and my
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Before and After of my abdomen -
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Before and After of my abdomen sideview -
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Before and After of my face -
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Before and After of my face side view
As for my muffin top, together with my good diet and my workouts, I’ve been even happier to wear my swimsuit recently. Here’s a set of photos from my recent visit to an outdoor spa.
I know the collagen will keep producing for a while more and with good skincare routine and my own anti ageing acupressure facial massage, I can keep the effect of this treatment for hopefully more than the average 2 years.
Lorena has kindly offered a special 10% discount for all readers of
and quote Lorena10. This offer is valid for the next 1 month so it’s the perfect early Christmas present for all my goddesses looking for a little more natural perk-me-up.
*Disclosure: I have been given the treatment in exchange for an honest review. I would have been happy to pay for them, not least the threading treatment.
