Why all injections should be painless

Article medically reviewed by Dr. Gavin Chan

Templestowe Lower, Berwick and Beaumaris Clinics

Dr. Gavin Chan, MBBS, General Registration (MED0001175745), founder of the Victorian Cosmetic Institute, began offering cosmetic medical treatments in 2004. Formerly a trainer for cosmetic pharmaceutical companies, Dr. Chan currently concentrates on offering ongoing training to cosmetic doctors at the Victorian Cosmetic Institute. He ensures that all doctors stay updated with the latest procedures and methods in the cosmetic industry. Read More

If you’ve been thinking about getting cosmetic injections but have delayed it because of your fear of injections or needles, you’re not alone. Many people associate needles and injections with pain or anxiety, possibly as a result of childhood memories. When Dr Gavin Chan (MBBS, Cosmetic Doctor, Liposuctionist) worked in hospitals, he saw first hand the fear people have of injections. He explains in a hospital setting, patients were given injections out of necessity. But in 2005 when Dr Gavin Chan started his career in Cosmetic Medicine, his perspective on injections and the fear surrounding them shifted. This started his quest for making all cosmetic injections painless.

Why do people want cosmetic injections?

Cosmetic injections are no longer just for celebrities. People of all ages and walks of life are enjoying the subtle, natural changes cosmetic injections can make to their appearance. As a result of the natural ageing process, you may notice more fine lines and wrinkles on your face. Dynamic wrinkles are a result of everyday facial expressions – if you frown there’ll be lines between your eyebrows and if you smile, you’ll have your eyes will crinkle at the corners. When you’re young, dynamic wrinkles disappear when you’re not making a facial expression, but over time the skin will no longer bounce back.

Static wrinkles exist when you’re not making a facial expression. This happens as a result of less collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid being produced when you age. Typical static lines and wrinkles include laughter lines and crow’s feet – they can be treated effectively with anti-wrinkle injections

Loss of facial volume as you get older can result in the wrinkles forming and skin getting lax – leading to an older, gaunt appearance. This lost facial volume can be successfully replaced with dermal fillers.

How we ensure cosmetic injections are painless

When Dr Gavin Chan began his Cosmetic Medicine career in 2005, he worked hard to ensure his patient’s injections were painless. Over 14 years he’s researched and tested multiple pain minimisation techniques including ice, nitrous oxide, vibration, fine needles, advanced injection techniques, speed of needle penetration and Pistor Eliance.

Before injections, ice can be used on the treatment areas.  This pain minimisation technique works by producing a stimulus that travels through the same nerve pathway as pain to block pain signals. Also called “the gate theory of pain” this ice technique closes the nerve “gates” to painful input and suppresses pain. While it’s useful, it can result in an ‘ice-cream headache’ effective if you’re holding ice on your forehead for too long.

The pursuit of painless injections for his patients led Dr Gavin Chan to think about the mindset surrounding needles. He used nitrous oxide (also known as ‘laughing gas’), and although it relaxed his patients during their cosmetic injections, he kept searching.

One day he came across a medical journal article that clearly outlined how a vibrating movement near the treatment area can alleviate facial injection pain. Using the gate theory of pain, the vibration blocks the pain signal through the same nerve fibre. Dr Gavin Chan and his team of Cosmetic Doctors and Cosmetic Nurses use a vibrating device called Blaine VAD to minimise pain from anti-wrinkle injections and dermal filler treatment.

Another way Dr Gavin Chan and his team ensure injections are painless is to use more delicate needles. Over time, the needles used for cosmetic injections have become finer and finer. When finer needles are used, there’s less stimulation of nerve endings on the skin due to the smaller diameter needle. The fine needles used today are a 35 gauge; about one-third the diameter of a needle used a couple of years ago.

If cosmetic injections in the face are injected using a perpendicular angle, there will be minimal pain because fewer nerve endings are affected. Dr Gavin Chan and his team of Cosmetic Doctors and Cosmetic Nurses use advanced facial injection technique skills where they inject perpendicular to the skin. Another painless injection technique they use is to inject quickly – a slow injection can be painful.

Dr Gavin Chan and his team are now using the ‘holy grail’ of administering painless injections. The Pistor Eliance gives a painless injection by stretching and stabilising the skin before the needle quickly injects the anti-wrinkle injection or dermal filler perpendicular to the skin surface.

The best place to get painless injections in Melbourne

You don’t need to be put off getting cosmetic injections because of needle anxiety or injection fear anymore. For over 14 years, Dr Gavin Chan and his team of highly trained and experienced Cosmetic Doctors and Cosmetic Nurses have been successfully treating patients with painless injections. You can get a more youthful and healthy appearance. Call our friendly and helpful customer service team on 1300 863 824