Where to Go For Fillers & Botox in Medellin, Colombia
Updated Feb 7, 2022 — I added a before/after picture of my HIFU treatment
Traveling to Medellin for a few days, maybe a week? Thinking about getting something poked?
When women read my article on Fillers and Botox in Medellin, I often get asked, “So, where should I go in Medellin for botox?” I guess I didn’t make it clear. Where my last article focused on my general experience, this one will name names. I’m going to name aestheticians and dermatologists I’ve been treated by and I’m going to name some names I’ve heard from friends. I’ll go into what I like and didn’t like about them and I’m just going to share everything I know. I will also name prices so you could decide if it’s worth getting botox where you live or do it in Medellin. I’ve done a ton of research and I’ve lived in Medellin for over three years. Read this before your next appointment. In no particular order, I’ll begin with…
1. Dra. María Paula Gaitán — Aesthetician and anti-aging
I got four Tensamax monopolar radiofrequency facials and one micro needling with RF session with her. She’s located in El Tesoro. Whenever a practitioner is located in El Tesoro, I immediately get red flags. El Tesoro is where probably all the best plastic surgeons are located. It’s easy to get to by taxi from the main touristy area in El Poblado. The challenge is that if an injector is located there, they can also demand top dollar no matter what level of experience and expertise they have. And this is all because they’re located in Tesoro. Every plastic surgeon that I’ve heard of has their offices in El Tesoro, these are the guys who perform BBLs, boob jobs, liposuction, etc. I do personally know two women who got plastic surgery here and one of them stayed at the Novotel hotel in Tesoro after. I guess that’s the thing to do.
The point is, Tesoro has a reputation for catering to los extranjeros (tourists and expats) and the ultra-rich but in my opinion, you can find someone skilled else where without paying near US prices.
Dra. Gaitan is nice, she has a clean and spacious office with two rooms, a receptionist, and an assistant who did my radiofrequency treatments. At the beginning, I paid around 150,000 COP (Colombian pesos) for the consultation and she took her sweet time answering all my questions. She offers treatments for the face and body. My friend was going there to treat the saggy skin she got after giving birth to two kids. I went because she said that her radiofrequency facials cost 120,000 COP and I wanted to try them.
The Good — Dra. Gaitán
Dra. Gaitán sold me a package of four radiofrequency facials with one micro-needling with RF (radiofrequency) treatment and hydration facial. The micro-needling with RF treatment device she uses is called Fixer which is like Endymed. The monopolar radiofrequency device that her assistant used to give me those facials is called Tensamax.
The Tensamax on my face felt like a relaxing hot stone massage. The Fixer device hurt like a MF! I actually cried. It felt like the bone beneath the skin of my cheeks were getting barbequed. I have a high tolerance for pain, heck, I gave birth without an epidural. Well, that doesn’t sound good! Back to the good!
Gaitán speaks and understands English. I remember slipping into English a lot during the consultation and she understood everything. She’s nice, classy, and offers Evok chocolate to her patients in the waiting room. Her husband is a plastic surgeon and I know a happy customer who got a BBL from him so if you want to get that done, talk to her.
What else, she also offers chemical peels for 200,000 COP, which is on the higher range for Colombian standards. I haven’t had a chemical peel in Colombia yet because being in this part of the globe, we’re closer to the equator we have to be careful with sun exposure.
Gaitán deducted the price of the consultation after I purchased the package in three installments. She also has PayPal! Although I don’t know if she would want me to tell you that.
In spite of the “Not So Good” points that I will lay out below, I do recommend Gaitán to anyone looking for affordable (compared to the U.S.) radiofrequency treatments. I read that a single treatment of microneedling with radiofrequency in the U.S. cost upward of $500. Anything she offers is probably going to be competitively priced when you compare it to what you’d get in say, Los Angeles. And Tesoro is like THE Beverly Hills of Colombia. Besides, Gaitán speaks English, her office is super clean and you could go shopping or take the kids to Happy City or to Jumbala after. What more could you want!
The Not So Good — Gaitán
- I told Gaitán that my area of concern was my droopy eyelids and that they have been sagging more ever since I gave birth to my daughter. She convinced me to buy the package I just discussed and said that the tightening of the collagen-building would help with that. She also insisted that I go for a second microneedling with RF session, Fixer, but at around $300 US a pop (depending on how strong the dollar was), I couldn’t. It should come as no surprise that her treatments did not impact my saggy eyelids. I wasn’t surprised.
- Gaitán is young. Like, too young. She’s in her 20s and there are just too many aestheticians and dermatologists in Medellin who are older and with a lot more experience.
- When I asked Gaitán about botox, she overestimated the number of units that I would need for my crow's feet (around my eyes). Too many aestheticians and dermatologists overfill and over-inject in Medellin and she might be one of them. I should note that I did not get botox with Gaitán.
- Her price for botox was between $8 and $10 US per unit. This is the quote she gave me last year when the dollar was higher than it was now. I have a rule about botox in Medellin and that is, don’t pay more than $6 a unit. The average here is between $3 and $6 a unit depending on the brand.
Just don’t listen to me
I know a few women who like Gaitán and swear by her. These women have gotten more stuff done with Gaitán so they throw out her name in the Facebook Groups frequently. Gaitán is not super active on Instagram which is not a bad sign and I will discuss that later in this article.
2. Pilar Ochoa — Dermatologist
Ochoa is popular with expats. I recommended her to a good friend of mine years ago (she’s in her 60s) and she still goes to her for chemical peels. I found Ochoa through a blog about six years ago before dermatologists and aestheticians started pimping out their work on Instagram.
What I got done
Ochoa removed two dark moles from my face using some zapping device. While the skin there feels a bit elevated today, the moles are gone. She also used the zapping device to remove tiny spider veins below my right eye and on my right nostril. When I got this done, I also zapped my crow's feet with botox and paid a little over $200 US for everything. I love the results to this day! That was about 5 years go so, with inflation, her prices are a bit more.
When the veins returned a couple of years later, I saw Ochoa again and she zapped them right off. She uses Allergan’s brand of Botox and is very careful to show you the bottle before she pokes you. I got Botox done with her twice and was happy with the results. So, what happened?
Why I stopped going to Ochoa…
When I asked Ochoa if she knew how to use botox off-label (like on your lips for the lip-flip or on the chin to get rid of the orange peel look), she didn’t know what I was talking about. This made me decide to explore Medellin. I had moved to Medellin by the second time I visited her and wanted to see what else was out there.
Why I’m going back! And a bit about MD Camila Pérez Madrid a.k.a. Dra Skin
Ochoa charges 180,000 for sclerotherapy and even though she won’t deduct the 190,000 consultation fee from any treatments you get — she charges that to anyone who hasn’t seen her in a year — for 370,000 COP, that’s still cheaper than what I’d have to pay Dra. Skin who recently moved to El Tesoro.
Dra. Skin uses Nd: Yag laser to treat spider veins at 1,000,000 COP a session. That’s 1 million Colombian pesos. Her consultation fee is 250,000 COP which is deducted from your bill depending on what sort of treatment you get. I never saw Dra. Skin and my dermatologist, Alejandro (who I will talk about in a moment) recommended her. I don’t know if Nd: Yag laser would work on me, I’m personally wary of lasers. I’ve only had it done for hair removal. Ochoa’s zapping device works and that’s why I’m going back. I’ll get the name of the device after my treatment which is scheduled for January.
The Good — Ochoa
Ochoa’s English is very good. She’s beautiful and doesn’t have an overdone look. She has a natural type of beauty that almost feels attainable. Her receptionist and her assistant like her. Her office is located in Torre Intermedica on Calle 7 next to Avenida Poblado. I love this area because it’s near Provenza so, after your procedure, you could walk to a coffee shop like El Pergamino, open your laptop and return to work.
The Not So Good
- Her Instagram sucks. I even scolded her about it. She shows off her natural ageless beauty and gives many valuable tips about skincare but I couldn’t find any before and afters of her work. She could argue that it’s to protect patients’ privacy, whatever.
- My friend, let’s call her Pam, went for botox recently and Ochoa didn’t numb her. Pam expressed a fear for the pain that the needle might incite, she’s expressed this to me many times before. So why didn’t Ochoa numb her? Ochoa should’ve numbed her, I guess.
- Her consultation fee, 190,000 COP is not deducted from the bill if you get anything done. The fee isn’t much for a doctor’s time but everyone else who’ve I’ve gone to deducts the fee from the bill as if it went without saying.
Just Don’t Listen To Me
My friend Pam loves Ochoa and I highly doubt that she will stop going to her despite the mini mishap. Besides Pam, I also know someone else who sees Ochoa about every month and her skin is flawless. (Though her Asian genes could have something to do with it). I also have a friend who has many friends who’ve gone to Ochoa for fillers and botox. Ochoa’s name gets thrown around in the FB groups so she is loved and recommended by many. She’s a safe go-to and I recommend dher.
3. Dra. Fanisabel Alvarez M. — Aesthetician
I found Fanisabel when I decided to try Dysport. There’s more than one aesthetician in Medellin who uses Dysport but I decided to go with Fanis because her office is located in Torre Intermedica and I like that her Instagram isn’t overdone. She has been my go-to for botox in 2021.
What I got done
- Botox — Dysport brand
- Lip filler — Kyss from Restylane
What my friends got done
- Under-eye filler
Fanis gave me a brow lift so subtle and so natural looking which I haven’t seen since San Diego-I used to go to this lady who treated celebrities in Hollywood and got sick of it and became a dermatologist. Fanis also slimmed down my face. She noticed that my masseter muscles were swollen and recommended some units there. I told her that I didn’t want 50 units on each side because I actually love my square jawline but yes, I do clench my jaw at night. She said that I would need 10 units on each side and that I would still maintain my sharp jawline. I trusted her and went for it. I’ve done it twice since! The first time, the results lasted just over six months. My dentist said that it could last longer the second time and that I might just need to do it once a year and then every other year.
My face did slim down a bit giving way to a more feminine look, not that I ever wanted it nor thought about it. People get buccal fat removal here all the time and I would never… I actually worried that the botox would make my face look more round but it didn’t. What it did do is that it relaxed my jaw and it no longer tenses up after I spend hours in front of the screen.
Why I got my lips done, again
This was my second time getting my lips done and even though I really wanted to get it done with Alejandro who filled my lips the year before in August, I decided to go with Fanis because I wanted to try a new product. Besides, Alejandro was booked till December and, the before and afters in her Instagram page looked conservative.
For my friends who are reading this and wondering, why?
I did it for the same reasons that I did it the first time: to restore the volume I once had pre-motherhood. From my profile angle, I also noticed that my lower lip protruded way more than my upper lip; you can call me vain for this, I’m gradually trying to achieve “facial balance” by following Rickett’s E-line. Although I could also achieve this with veneers but I’d have to be in my late 50s before I consider that.
Another reason that I did it the first time was because breastfeeding left my skin severely dehydrated and no amount of water, lotion, or vaseline helped that. I was slapping on lotion all over my body every night where before, I never needed it. And, no matter how much I doused my lips in vaseline, and petrolatum with hyaluronic acid and ceramides, if my lips weren’t flaking already, they were always on the verge of flaking again. When I heard that lip filler could help with hydration I took it as an excuse to try it and you know what? It helped!
My review of Restylane Kyss with Fanisabela
Besides restoring volume, the other concern I had was that the border of my lips was starting to lose definition. I hate spending more than a minute putting on lip liner so I told Fanis to define my vermillion border and that I’d be open to suggestions. What I did not want was to reshape my lips. And yet, she sort of did that.
Fanis measured my lips and said that my lower lip was slightly bigger than my upper lip. Her plan was to increase the size of my upper lip by placing most of the product around the vermillion border. I asked her if there’s any way that she can use less of the syringe and to that she said, we’ll see.
Fanis ended up using .95 of the syringe and used the rest to fill the super fine line lines around my mouth. In my research, I learned that Restylane Kyss is good for filling lines that are superficial.
I sort of looked like a duck an hour later and I got a blue bruise on my upper lip. I was able to hide it from my husband with Vanicream lip screen, lipliner and lipstick. So, the bruising wasn’t bad. It took a week for my lips to look normal without any product and I’m happy with the results. I’m glad that I waited more than a year to do it again. Besides adding volume, lip fillers create collagen that can have a long-lasting effect. When I got my lips done the first time, they never returned to being less pouty than my premotherhood days. And contrary to myths that your lips can look worse and deflated when the product wears off, uh, yeah! That is if you overfill your lips and do it more than once a year.
When Alejandro filled my lips, he used my natural shape and didn’t increase the size of my upper lip. Fanis did and I was concerned but I like to experiment so I went with it. The change was so subtle that when I told a friend that I got lip filler they were shocked. I plan to maintain the look by trying PDO threads collagen stimulators with Dr Daniela Arbeláez Lelion (who charges 120,000 COP per thread) in six months and going two years without filling my lips, that is, not till November 2023. I paid 1,200,000 COP for a syringe of Restylane Kyss. I like Fanisabela and she’s becoming my go-to for everything. I think it’s important to go to the same person because the more they know your face the better they’re able to serve you. However, I think that I like the more natural look I got from Alejandro, although the poke did hurt more with him.
The Good
Besides what you just read above, Fanisabela really takes her time. I once came in after having a tough weekend and she sympathized with me. She’s not a therapist, she’s a woman and a wife, like me, and she gets it. Her TikToks on Instagram are great. She once did this TikTok about her response when someone asks her about using onion juice for hair loss (Her response: I don’t know what you’re talking about!)
Speaking of hair loss, Fanisabela offers microneedling with PRP for 400,000 COP. It’s 600,000 if you include your face. 600,000 Colombian pesos for microneedling with PRP for your scalp and your face? The dollar is at 4,000 so that’s $150 US. Even though I’ve gotten it done for a lot less, I’m considering going to Fanis for this just to save time and continue cultivating the relationship. If Alejandro isn’t booked, I’ll go for it.
I think she’s in her late 40s or 50s and she looks great. She’s gotten Sculptra and injects Sculptra and Radiesse. Location-wise, she’s located in Torre Intermedica like Ochoa.
The Bad
This one should be a deal-breaker if you don’t speak Spanish. Fanis understands some English but if you really want her to work on your face and Spanish isn’t your song language, bring an interpreter.
4. Dra. Mónica Pineda — Aesthetic Medecine
My friend Vanessa and I found Pineda through Instagram. Since she had many pictures showing excellent before and afters, Vanessa decided to book a consultation. She’s Asian and like many Asians, her nose doesn’t have a bridge and her plan was to use filler to create one. I accompanied Vanessa to the consultation and it all went well. Even though shit would soon hit the fan, I have no doubt that Pineda’s intentions were sincere.
What I got done
- Quick botox to relax the tip of my nose
What my friends got done
- Non-surgical nose job
- PDO threads on her jaw
The Good — Monica Pineda
Pineda can get by in English and she understands more than she can talk. Her office is big and has two or three rooms where her assistants attend to patients.
She’s located in the Milla de Oro building on Avenida El Poblado. It’s a great location because you can get a Starbucks downstairs, get a drink at one of the somewhat fancy restaurants and bars, grab lunch (I think there’s a Subway) and even go shopping across the street in Oviedo or the Santafe shopping mall.
The Not So Good
Pineda effed up my friend’s nose. She misjudged and overfilled her nose in her second appointment. Although I’m unclear about the exact details, here’s what I know: In her first appointment, Vanessa was thrilled with the results and I had to admit, it looked nice. Vanessa looks fine without a nose bridge, it’s the kind of thing that you’d never notice unless someone pointed it out. The bridge added some dimension and even symmetry (not that she lacked it). What I’m saying here is that, Monica Pineda did a great job.
Since Pineda didn’t use all of the filler, Vanessa went back within a week or it could’ve been a few days to use the rest. A day or two after that, Vanessa called me to tell me that she had to get the filler dissolved and take some sort of medication which was forbidden to women that are nursing! Vanessa was nursing so she had to stop for a week. It was pretty bad and I felt bad for her daughter. Vanessa’s nose looked bruised. What happened? Well, you have to understand that filling the nose is risky in that it could make you blind. How? You have some major arteries running around your nose that supply oxygen to your eyes. I went to Pineda with Vanessa to understand what happened and Pineda said that everything went well the first time but then Vanessa insisted on getting the rest filled (although Vanessa could’ve claimed the opposite). Whether it was Vanessa who insisted on using more filler, a good and experienced aesthetician would’ve been assertive and made the final calls.
The pictures in Pineda’s Instagram show before and afters of Latinas, not Asian women so, it could be that Pineda is just not experienced with filling Asian noses?
To make up for it Pineda offered to give Vanessa a thread lift around her jaw. When Vanessa showed me what she got done, we noticed the head of a thread jutting out. Yes, Pineda effed up again. This is what I mean by, don’t trust someone just because they have a ton of pictures on Instagram. They could just as easily omit the bad results.
I’ve had a hell of a time getting answers from anyone on her Whatsapp. My friend Vanessa has complained about the same thing. Pineda is always booked up. Oh, and in case you’re wondering about my nosetox (the botox I got to my nose tip). It was just two or three units and I paid about $16. I always wanted to see what it would do and I didn’t notice a difference. For this reason, I will never do it again.
Just Don’t Listen To Me
In the two times that I went to her office, Pineda was pretty busy so she must be doing something right. Other services that she offers include HIEMT and a non-surgial eyelift using a device called Plexr. In 2020, she quoted me 1,600,000 COP for a maximum of 3 sessions.
5. Dra Ana Lucia Rave — Plastic Surgeon
I just got a syringe of Sculptra.
The Good
She trains aestheticians on how to use Sculptra or something like that. How much does Sculptra cost in the US? Upward of $700? A syringe with Rave cost me a little over $600
I went for one syringe and I went to Rave because Fanisabela wasn’t available and she gave me Rave’s number. While there, I asked her for a quote for blepharoplasty and she charges around $1,000 US for it.
Dra Ana Lucia Rave has a ton of gruesome pictures of her removing biopolymers from all over the body. I’ve never met anyone who had to get this done. Although one of my aunts could use it but she’s in denial.
The Bad
Unlike others who explain what they’re going to do before they inject the product, Rave injected the product and before I knew it, it was over. Fanis said that when plastic surgeons perform non-evasive procedures like injectables, they often carry that sort of demeanor. They’re quick.
Rave never called me back for an after picture so I feel like I never got closure. I had to ask her receptionist for the photos that she took so that I could compare them side by side and I did see a subtle difference. I tried to book an appointment but she was on pregnancy leave or something. I got the feeling that because she is a plastic surgeon, she’d much rather see high-paying patients who will go under the knife. I get it!
We only communicated in Spanish and I doubt that she speaks English. But she sends her kids to a bilingual school and I wouldn’t be surprised if she does speak English. Some Colombians, like my doula, will only speak English if they have to. You can easily contact her through her Instagram, @dra.analuciarave. Other services she offers are Sculptra for body sculpting (like butt lifts), boob jobs, BBLs, Otoplasty, and removing biopolymers. I recommend Rave for Sculptra
Why I Got Sculptra
I’m in my mid-30s now, I’m starting to notice the slightest bit of sag on my cheeks in that they don’t bounce back as fast. I’ve been wanting to try a biostimulator like Sculptra and since I like trying new things, I figured, why not? When I spoke to Fanis about it, she supported my choice and said that I should just go for one syringe. I’m young enough that my face doesn’t need really anything so a syringe now would mean that I won’t need anything for the next four years. Years ago, when everyone was just getting fillers and botox, they would get it to turn back the clock. Apparently, the trend now is that people in their 20s and 30s are getting their faces poked so that they won’t have to in their 40s. And I thought it was just me who was just doing it.
6. Dr Alejandro Acosta — Dermatologist
I once googled: How to fade lip melasma. And I couldn’t find a concrete answer, I couldn’ find an in-office treatment for it. I told this to Alejandro and he said that could blast away my lip melasma with nitrogen gas. Since I go to him for microneedling with PRP for hair loss, he just gave it to me for free. When I got my lips filled for the first time with him, he also blasted my lips and other spots on my face with nitrogen gas.
What I got done
- nitrogen gas for lip melasma
- Radiesse
- Microneedling
- Lip filler — Mesofiller Global
The first time he treated my lips with nitrogen gas I saw a massive difference, my lips looked more youthful because they took on a rosy color! When he did it again, it faded the birthmark that hangs below my upper-right lip border.
Why I got Radiesse
I got Radiesse six months after I got Sculptra. When I told Alejandro about my experience with Sculptra he told me that he prefers Radiesse. I said that I was looking for some oomph around my cheeks and he said that Radiesse could help with that. When his receptionist said that the cost for a syringe is 1,800,000 COP (it was $475 at the time, today it’s $463 US), I couldn’t believe it, I had the dough for it and I had to try it, so I did. Like Sculptra, the difference is subtle. I don’t look as tired every morning because my cheeks don’t look as deflated. I don’t look like Madonna because Alejandro injected along my jawline as well. If I can look this average for the next three years then I might be doing something right.
The Good–Alejandro Acosta
Alejandro’s English is good and as I described in my last article here, many of his clients are local celebrities and influencers. I’ve been going to Alejandro for two years. I like his honesty and I like that he doesn’t have a bunch of treatments to offer. If there’s something that he can’t do, he’ll recommend someone else. For example, he uses CO2 laser and he has recommended it to me once. When I told him that I was looking into removing my facial spider veins he recommended Dra Skin. If I ever decide that I need CO2 laser resurfacing then I’ll definitely go to him. In 2020, he quoted 700,000 COP per treatment.
As I described in my last article, I love the results from the filler he used for my lips. The result was natural and he only used .90 ml of the syringe so he’s very conservative with his technique. He placed the rest in my bony forehead. My forehead had such a deep dent that it looked like my IUD got lost and ended up there. It has been over a year and that filler ain’t going anywhere!
The Bad
He’s always booked. When I book with Alejandro, I do it knowing that I would see him in two months.
Most of the products he uses are not US brands. For example, he uses Magnion botox which I’ve used before but I wish he had more options. For fillers, Alejandro uses Mesofiller Global which I didn’t know much about but I think that since it’s not a huge name brand (at least not in the US), it keeps the price own. After getting Restylane Kyss, I think I prefer Mesofiller because it didn’t expand as much. I would use Mesofiller Global on my lips again with Alejandro Acosta, I loved the result. I recommend Dr Alejandro Acosta to all my friends.
7. BIO STETIC — Centro de estética
There are many places in Medellin where you can get 8 to 10 sessions of HIFEM to your abs, your thighs and your ass. You can expect to pay anywhere from $300 to just over $1,000 for 4 to 10 sessions. It depends on the brand of the machine but in my research, they all do the same thing. As I described in my last article:
Why You’re Paying Too Much For Emsculpt
there’s a chain in Medellin called Dermatologica that is probably the best place to do this at a reasonable price and they’re located in Poblado. The reason why I go to Bio Stetic is because their prices are unbeatable. There is a catch and I’ll share that in The Bad.
What I got done
- High-Intensity Focused Electromagnetic (HIFEM) to my abs and pelvic floor muscles
- Monopolar radio frequency to my abs — Tensamax
- Microneedling with RF facial
- HIFU — High-intensity focused ultrasound for neck
In my last article I described my experience with getting 10 sessions of HIFEM. If you check out the article you’ll see some before and afters. After my sessions finished, I considered going for another round at a different place. The challenge with Bio Stetic is that even though they’re located in Poblado, they’re so far away from where I live.
I talked to a friend about HIFEM and she said that that and radio frequency was the only thing that made a difference to her post-baby belly sag. Today I weigh less than I ever weighed before in my entire life! It’s great but pregnancy left me with some belly sag and weak pelvic floor muscles. Also, being a parent with a full-time job barely leaves me enough time to exercise so when I saw that Bio Stetic was having an anniversary sale, I caved. I’m going in for my 14th HIEMT treatment next Friday.
Besides getting my abs treated with HIEMT, Bio Stetic also has their own version of the BTL Emsella chair to help women with weak pelvic floor muscles. Since I purchased a package of 10 session in where I treat two areas in every visit, I do the chair for 30 minutes and my abs for 30 minutes. I’m not seeing much results with my pelvic floor muscles, I think my kegels are helping so I’m going to do two more sessions and see how I feel. I could use the extra sessions on my ass.
HIFU to my neck — Did it hurt?
I’ve met a few women who got HIFU done at Bio Stetic and I’ve seen their results on Instagram. They’re all very happy with the results. I myself wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t met some of these women. Carolina, the owner, charges 600,000 to 700,000 for two sessions of HIFU. Since I’m really young, Carolina recommended that I only get my neck done and the area below my chin; she charged me a fraction of the price for a single session and she would charge me the same price if we decide that I’ll need a second session.
So, did it hurt? No. But it was intense. When she fired up the machine, she blasted the apparatus or nozzle thingy-majig to a thick piece of plastic, the stuff they use to make cups and containers for your bathroom. The plastic thing was marked with many holes and I thought, “She’s going to use that same ultrasound energy on my neck?” I tried not to freak out. Carolina numbed me well and I wondered if that’s why it didn’t hurt. Microneedling with RF felt less intensive but it hurt like a mother-ahh! Maybe Gaitan didn’t numb well or the product wasn’t as potent. When Carolina blasted the HIFU energy onto the thin dermis of my neck, it felt like thick needles penetrated my skin. It hurt enough that I started to enjoy the feeling. Carolina turned up the machine. She said that she got HIFU done to her face many times but that she could never do it to her neck because it would hurt too much.
The HIFU got really uncomfortable when she zapped the area below my jaw. The zaps felt like they were nanometers from one of my jaw bone. That’s when it hurt and I worried that it would leave me sore and red. I was flying to the U.S. the next day to visit family, what was I thinking!
If done incorrectly, HIFU’s ultrasound could mess facial muscles and paralyze them. Since I’ve seen Carolina do this many times in the year and a half that I’ve been going there, I trusted her. It has been six hours since I got the treatment and my neck looks fine. I feel a slight tingling sensation from the burn but nothing major. I look forward to showing you the before and after.
There are many differences between HIFU and Ultherapy and I learned somewhere that Ultherapy lets you see which layers you’re treating and HIFU does not. But maybe Caroline’s machine does let you see the layers, I just didn’t see it. Here’s a picture of the machine:
UPDATE: Picture taken February 4, 2022
Where to get The Ulthera and The Emsculpt in Medellin
If you want to get THE Ulthera in Medellin then I know a woman who offers it. She also offers THE Emsculpt. Her name is Claudia Hernandez, she’s a Colombian Board Certified Dermatologist and the last time I checked, she’s located in El Tesoro.
For The EMSCULPT, Claudia Hernandez charges 4,500,000 COP fo 4 sessions for 1 area, that’s $1,112 in US dollars and the dollar is high right now ($1 = 4,000 COP). Hernandez gave me that quote in January of this year so keep in mind that her prices could change. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, my sister was in town and wanted to get Emsculpt so I inquired for her. In the US, I read that a single session of HIEMT could cost $700 to $1,000. So even though Hernandez is expensive, that’s still a fraction of what you’d pay in the U.S. You can find Hernandez on Instagram @chdermatologia
I’ve never met Claudia Hernandez, I don’t personally know anyone who has and I would probably never get anything done with her because she’s expensive and, she has that perfect look. Sure, most Colombians are naturally beautiful but she’s suspiciously beautiful, like her cheeks and angles are too cut. I want the person who treats me to not look like a model.
For the prices that she offers, I’m pretty sure that she speaks English and I would bet that a huge portion of her clients are as we call them, extranjeros. She answered her WhatsApp faster than most dermatologists and aestheticians in Colombia and she didn’t dance around till the last minute to give me the prices of her treatements. I like that! This means that she has worked with extranjeros. If you end up calling her, please show her this article and tell her that I sent you.
The Good
So, back to Bio Stetic! Carolina is the owner of Bio Stetic and she loves her machines! She also loves offering her services at unbeatable prices. When her calendar got booked up for HIEMT sessions, she purchased a second machine! She’s been in business for many years but she recently moved into a bigger office upstairs and she now employs two or probably more assistants (where as before she only employed one, Tatiana). As a result, they now offer laser hair removal. I got a single session done to my under arms just because it cost 50,000 COP, for that much, why not try it? I’ve gotten many more sessions done in the states and I know it works.
Carolina stays in her lane. From what I’ve observed, her specialty is using PDO threads, and giving facial treatments like micro needing with RF and using her HIFU machine. She used to inject lips but decided last year that there are too many downsides and risks so she stopped. To inject under eyes and jawlines, she uses a hyaluronic acid from France. She has many before and after pictures in her Instagram and the comments from her clients are real! Take it from me, a former social media consultant. I found Bio Stetic a while ago when I was searching for a place that offers HIFU. I was looking for a non-surgical procedure that would tighten the area around my eyes. Upon looking at my photos on Whatsapp, Carolina said that the only treatment that would help me is a blepharoplasty.
She knows how to inject the platysma neck bands with botox and I’m thinking about getting botox done with Carolina in 2022. She charges 450,000 for 50 units and the brand is from Europe, one that I’ve never tried.
I learned recently that extranjeros, or tourists, do visit this place and Carolina, the owner, speaks enough English to get by. Though I never heard her.
They’re upfront about their prices, just browse through their Instagram page @biosteticcenter
The Bad
The first one is that most of the staff only speaks Spanish. If you go in for a consultation with the plan to get treated the same day, you’ll have to communicate with Carolina or Tatiana via WhatsApp text in Spanish and they will usually leave audios so, good luck with that. But as I said above, I recently learned that Carolina speaks English. I never tested her but if I do, I’ll report it here asap.
The second bad is that while they’re located in Poblado, it’s way up in the hills, known as Loma del Indio. You won’t find Bio Stetic in Google Maps so the best way to get there is by looking up the name of the apartment complex, San Diego de las Palmas. Not to be confused with San Diego the mall which is where a cab driver has taken me to a few times and added 10 minutes to my travel time. Ugh! Since I live south of Poblado, it takes me 30 minutes to get there with some traffic, 20 minutes without traffic. Since they’re usually fully booked, they usually run on a tight schedule so this means that you’ll need to get there on time. I once arrived 20 minutes late and they had to shave 10 minutes off my 30 minute session of HIFEM which I already paid for. Since I work full-time and I’m a mom, traveling here used to be an issue but they moved into a bigger office upstairs and they now have wi-fi. This makes it possible for me to arrive early or wait in the waiting room and work while I wait for my turn.
8. Dra Yulieth Figueroa–Aesthetician
I found Yulieth Figueroa on Instagram while looking for microneedling with PRP. She was not recommended to me and she was not mentioned in any of the Facebook groups. This turned out to be a bad sign so I’ll start out with the bad.
The Bad
The first shady thing that she did, and please take note, is that she called it botox and did not bother to disclose the name of the actual product. It was my fourth or fifth visit so I trusted her and I never thought to ask about the brand name of the neuromodulator — but I did that day! She showed me the box while avoiding eye contact.
The neuromodulator she used is called Magnion. I never heard of Magnion then but why didn’t she tell me? Dra Ochoa always showed me the bottle to prove the authenticity of the brand. Yulieth never did .
I asked Yulieth if she had Botox from Allergan or some other brand. She offered me Xeomin. It would cost a bit more though, 16,000 pesos per unit instead of 14,000. That’s basically a little over $4 instead of under. I took it.
She ended up overinjecting my forehead even though I asked her not to. I describe my full experience here. Yulieth Figueroa does not speak English.
The Good
Other services that she offers include HIFU, labiaplasty, buccal fat removal, and alarplasty for the nose. She’s quite active on Instagram and her prices are competitive.
9. Sandra Yepes — Dermatologist
I’ve never been treated by her but I have two good friends who get botox with her. She speaks some English so I decided to add her to this list.
Where should you go
If you’re comfortable with your Spanish, you can go anywhere you want. If your Spanish needs work then don’t risk it, this is your face, this is your body so hire an interpreter to go with you, go with a friend who speaks the language, or better yet, go to someone who speaks English. You might have to pay more but it won’t be anywhere near as much as what you’d pay in the states.
I mentioned many aestheticians and dermatologists in this article. If you book a consultation with one of them, they won’t all be available so I recommend that you have a backup and continue doing more research. Those who are on Instagram, have reviews on Google and a basic website probably have the most experience working with expats which I think, is beneficial. Colombians are the least confrontational people I know, they’re indirect, and not the savviest when it comes to selling. If you ask them if they offer so and so, it won’t always occur to them to try to upsell you or offer alternatives if they don’t offer so and so service.
Book Before You Go!
If you’re planning to be in Colombia for a couple of weeks, book your consultation 2–3 months in advance. Some places require a separate appointment and a separate visit to get treated. Some places like Dermatologica ask that you pay for at least half of the sessions in advance before they start treatment. With HIFEM and radiofrequency, some places also require that you commit to getting all the sessions done within the next two months or so. You can always fib.
Have you gone to any of the dermatologists or aestheticians I mentioned here? What was your experience? Is there anyone else you’d recommend or not recommend? Let me know about it in the comments. Thank you for reading and Merry Christmas!
