Care for Cankles

Ankles are all the rage as stars and starlets don sky-high heels for the red carpet season. However, unlike other trouble spots there is no actual machine, exercise, or sculpting secret at the gym to tone this area and create shapely, slim ankles worth of stepping out in strappy shoes or a thigh high slit. Jamie Sherill, owner of Beauty Park Medical Spa (Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi) and founder of Nurse Jamie skincare a created a new disappearing act that can dissolve fat deposits, create contours, and shape and tighten the ankle area. Her trio of Kybella injections, Accent/Thermage, and Ulthera contours cankles into shapely stems. Here’s what Sherill had to say about the “cankles be gone” trend and her innovative solution.

 

1. Why are cankle-reducing procedures such a focus right now?

With red carpet trends and summer being around the corner, the focus right now is all about the legs. 

 

2. Can you explain how and why this technique works?

Injecting Allergan’s Kybella is ideal for pockets of fat, like below the calves. If you are like me and have a hard time getting boots to zip or want to look better in scrappy heels.

Basically it’s a few injections of Kybella combined with a tightening laser. We usually do it on inner knees and below calves to improve the overall look of the lower leg. It makes a big difference bringing in the bulge on the side of the knee and below the calves. In my opinion, the results are better than with surgery as this procedure is about millimeters and even with the smallest cannula (instrument used in liposuction), it is impossible to get the nuances perfect. It is now possible with Kybella.  The number of treatments needed depends on the size of the cankle. I am talking about “Hollywood Cankles” not real “cankles” but those are possible to improve as well. It is just going to take more treatments.

 

3. What makes your technique unique and stand out from the competition?

At Beauty Park we are all about combination therapy, and we are able to customize this treatment by combining Kybella and skin tightening. 

 

4. Who is the ideal patient?

I love this question. The cankle reduction is a frequent request by our patient population because it’s basically helping re-shape the lower legs.  You can't be pregnant or breastfeeding but it’s so easy and results are amazing.

 

5.  What are the most common requests of patients?

For Kybella and skin tightening, the most common requests are the ankles and around the knees.

 

6. How do you recommend patients maintain the boost they achieve with the treatment?

I send patients home with my ACELLerator Ultra Beauty Device to maintain results between treatments.

 

7. What do you predict for the future of cankle-targeting procedures?

Reality TV and social media have a huge impact on the type of procedures requested at the spa.  I rarely get someone asking for lip augmentation, now it’s "I want lips like Kylie." I'm not sure that I agree with the references to "cankle" but I do love the non-surgical approach to a problem that there were no real solutions to before.  Now with spot treatment laser infused Kybella, even small pockets of fat and areas that were previously impossible to treat, such as the "cankle," can be treated.  Allergan predicts the sale of Kybella to exceed that of their current hero product Botox.