Preparing for F1 Parties

I have the great privilege to have been invited to 2 premiere events this weekend. Tonight's party is at the Mercedes centre and is my first red carpet party. The second is on Sunday night. A major hush hush top-secret party at an even more secret waterfront location, hosting VVIPs including some of the F1 drivers.

So how does one prepare for such spectacular events with celebrities and media (local & foreign)?

I only received the invitations a week ago, so crash slimming is out of the question. Especially when I had to dash around Orchard Road to search for appropriate dresses that fit! Can't risk doing anything that could jeopardise my new clothes!

So intensive face work was called for. I've been quite lazy about doing treatments generally. Something about being surrounded by all these machines... Mery last did a facial for me in mid 2007, when we were still at Faber House! I don't think we'd even decided to move to UE Square at that stage! Since then, I've had one round of Easy TCA peeling (end 2007), 2 lots of Actistem (January & June this year) and the odd Perfector session. Fortunately, having just had to prepare for a photo shoot last week, I had done a little bit of lifting with the Perfector recently.

On examining my face earlier this week, I decided I had a few clogged pores I wanted cleared out. I still needed just a little more lifting for ideal jawline definition, and my complexion looked a tad dull.

With these in mind, I decided some treatment with the RF in rejuvenation mode was the first step. RF rejuvenation acts as an electric peel, so skims off some of the dead skin cells and ejects blackheads and comedones. Half an hour later, the skin looked more radiant, most of the pores were cleaner, but there were a few deep comedones that still refused to come out. So the face steamer came out and Joey extracted the stubborn comedones.

Since I was in the self indulgent mood, I decided I should have a mask treatment to follow. We decided on the Caviar mask with Caviar ampoule for hydration. I had always used the Whitening mask before, so this was a nice first for me. Half an hour later, I emerged radiant and most surprisingly, the lift I wanted was there! The collagen from the mask had impregnated through and hydrated my skin, providing the lift I so desperately wanted! Since closing our Spa, we had pretty much neglected these Biomatrix masks and I had forgotten how amazing they were.

The rest of today will be spent getting my nails, hair and makeup done. Then F1 party, here I come!

Preparing for 1st November

Recent communications with Jessica from Straits Times has reminded me that time is flying by. We are fast approaching 1st November, the day Singapore aesthetic medicine is set to change, supposedly for the better.

In a nutshell, there must be no further use of the terms aesthetic physician or aesthetic doctor. Some of the treatments which have been well accepted in the aesthetic community have been categorised as "List B" or having low scientific evidence of efficacy.

Two of the treatments in question are dermaroller and deep tissue massage (endermologie) for the treatment of cellulite. Rather than a blanket ban on these procedures, doctors can opt to continue offering these services under study conditions. The two options are full clinical trial or detailed observational study. The protocols have to be lodged with SMC, and the treatments must be stopped if there is no evidence of efficacy, or evidence of harm.

Thank goodness I spent my SGH days doing different types of research. Lots of cobwebs have had to be swept away, but the various components of such studies is still second nature. I have currently prepared protocols for both dermaroller therapy for acne scar reduction, and endermologie as part of a multi-modal treatment protocol.

Although the aim is to start on 1st November, my intention is to start implementing the new consent and data collection protocol before that. I believe I should be ready in the next few days. Although the consent is for "experimental" treatment, we have had vast experience with both treatments and are confident of their efficacy and safety. And as solid clinical evidence is collected, this has to be beneficial for all concerned.

Waterjet Liposuction at Mount Alvernia Hospital

We did our first liposuction at Mount Alvernia yesterday. Things went smoothly once we got going. The nurses were fantastic, and were very pro-active in learning from Dyna how to prepare the fluids and work the machine. In fact, things flowed so smoothly once we started that I was able to complete the entire abdomen in just 2 hours (my average is 3 hours). Such bliss to work with an electric operating table!

I have had word from MoH too. They are now only interested in accrediting clinics for liposuction (under 1 litre fat). Doctors looking to operate at ambulatory surgery centres or hospital operating theatres are to be accredited by the individual institution. Sister Ee has helped me with accreditation for liposuction in Mount Alvernia, so everything is set for us to continue there.

Keeping the Memory of Ivy Alive

I have just updated the photographs in the "About Us" page of the Simply Aesthetic website. We have had a few staff changes in the last few months, so the original picture above is long outdated. I felt it was a shame to just delete it completely though, as it holds fond memories of Ivy (bottom right) as well as the reception area of our original clinic in Faber House.

Ivy left us in June this year so as to further her studies. She is now knee deep in CIDESCO training, and hopes to continue with Brazilian waxing after that! We had initially hoped to have her working part-time with us on Sundays, but that was not to be.

We waited some weeks for Mery's CIDESCO classmate Joey to join the team. She's been with us since 9th September and is working very hard to learn her way around our services.

Our team now comprises:

Cha, Dyna, Joey and Mery

From Blog of Xanya Sofra Weiss

Stirring excitement in a Trade Show is not always easy. First you need a great product. Then you need instant visible results. Third you need to know your product. And most importantly you need to represent your product, especially if you are in the field of anti-aging. We visited a number of booths in anti-aging shows around the world. We met doctors with gray hair and aged skin confidently promoting their skin line. Young blondes smiling gracefully while overweight salesmen enumerated the advantages of their Cellulite Reduction device. But only one booth captured our attention. Occupying nearly twice the space of all the other booths, Arasys Perfector was in turquoise motif with beautiful look-alike brunettes in matching aqua dresses. On a plexi- glass illuminated stage, older women sat on massage chairs, while the sirens instantly lifted one side of their faces their faces with silver gloves. Exclamation remarks or “wow” “oh my God” “this is amazing” fed the enthusiasm of audience surrounding the stage. On the other side of the stage, overweight men sat on treatment chairs wrapped up in belts and seemed to contract as if they were lifting weights. A youthful looking woman in red spoke on the microphone in a mature serious voice about science and nanotechnology.

“Dr Moheinan wants to try to Ion Magnum, the British device manufactured by Innovations Science, a research center funded by the European Union. The device burns fat and builds muscle. Results are instant. You will lose between 2 to 3 inches. My name is Dr. Weiss and I am the director of Research for Arasys Perfector / Ion Magnum, LLC”

Dr. Moheinan climbed on the stage smiling in disbelief. “How long do results last?” she asked.

“As long as if you went to the gym for a week working out about two hours a day,” replied Dr. Weiss while Femme fatale looking technician measured and wrapped her a neoprene belt with pads around her waist.

“Twenty minutes on the Ion Magnum is like a condensed strenuous workout that takes several hours in the gym,” Dr. Weiss announced on the microphone. “Ion Magnum burns fat and builds muscle. Simple it sounds, yet it took its inventor thirty years of research to compose the electronic waveform that can do just that, safely and effectively.”

“Ah! No, it doesn’t hurt, it’s just a strange sensation,” cried Dr. Moheinan giggling and laughing as the technician turned on the machine. Just then, waiters appeared with trays of appetizers. Fresh Sushi, cheeses and a decadent dark chocolate mouse cake.

A muscular male model brought a plate with delights for Dr. Moheinan. Dr. Weiss passed the microphone to a tall gorgeous brunette and grabbed an entire tray with chocolate mouse cakes for the booth. “I’ll have half of this by myself,” she told us confidentially. “I love chocolate.”

“How do you stay so slim?” I asked. “How many hours do you work out?

Dr. Weiss chuckled. “How many hours? None. Here punch my stomach!” She took my hand and brought it against her hard rock body. “That’s the Ion Magnum. Nothing like it, there’s absolutely no other machine that can do that. And after you lost a few inches during the treatment, you continue loosing inches overnight plus it speeds up your metabolism so you keep on losing...”

“You can have eat while you are the Ion Magnum,” The femme fatale technician informed Dr Moheinan who was reluctant to touch her plate with appetizers.

“That.s right. I always munch on chocolate cookies or something when I am on the Ion Magnum. Have you ever worked out while having chocolate cake?” Dr. Weiss said swiftly preparing serving Dr. Moheinan with three pieces of the chocolate mouse.”
“What a feast! I am not going to lose any inches on this treatment,” Dr Moheinan quipped, with her mouth full.
“You will, you will,” Dr. Weiss exclaimed in a matter of fact tone.

The moment of truth came as Dr. Moheinan had just finished her enormous meal that included the chocolate cake and the femme fatale technician took out the measuring tape.

“Two inches off!”

“Oh my Lord!” Dr Moheinan’s eyes are shinning. “After all this food I lost two inches? “When we were in Singapore Dr. Cheng lost two and a half inches on the Ion Magnum while having lunch, “Dr Weiss said. “You can read the story on her blog website, http://simply-aesthetic.blogspot.com

“I lost an inch and a half yesterday, but when I measured myself today I had lost another inch,” says a tall blonde doctor introducing himself to me as Dr. Long. He lifts up his shirt revealing a round hairy stomach. “How many treatments do I need to get a six pack?”

“It might not reduce the hair on your belly but you will lose more inches today and by tomorrow, you will lose more,” the femme fatal technician chuckles as she measures him.”

“Is it going to give me a six pack?”

“You’ll probably have to buy the machine for that,” Dr. Moheinan patronizes him.

Meanwhile Dr. Weiss explains to me that the Ion Magnum acts as a pacemaker to the skeletal muscle. It targets the neurons and resonates the signal of strenuous regular exercise to build muscle burning fat for energy. The face machine has a far more compex explanation. “Nanocurrent acts like a massive anti-oxidant,” Dr. Weiss explains. “Nanocurrent infuses a large amount of electrons into the body to stabilize the free radicals, which are molecules missing an electron. Given their missing electron which is replaced by the nanocurrent electrons, the free radicals are transformed into stable molecules and the whole system starts functioning optimally.”

“Dr. Long, you’ve lost 4 inches,” The femme fatal says in a matter of fact tone.

”Four inches? No, I didn’t. How did I lose four inches?”

“You’ve lost an additional 4 inches from your waist. Two and a half yesterday and four today makes six and a half inches off your waist.” She hands him the measuring tape. “Go ahead measure yourself.”

“I don’t want to see how big I am...” Reluctantly Dr. Long puts the measuring tape around his waist. “I lost 4 inches,” he cries.

“Maybe because you did not eat the gigantic piece of cake that Dr. Moheinan had,” Dr Weiss quips. Taking his hand, the femme fatale tech directs him to the large mirror adjacent to the booth. “You’ve even lost your love handles, see?”
“I still don’t have my six pack. But I did lose my love handles. That much is true...”

“You only had two treatments. You’ll need a lot more before you get a six pack.”

“But I can get a six pack?”

That’s what most of us want. We want to look twenty years younger with a six pack. The technology in the Arasys Perfector booth promised to do just that. The dramatic results, the overall energy of the beautiful girls, the educated presenters, the impressed attendees, was what grabbed our attention and convinced us to do an editorial about Arasys Perfector and Ion Magnum. For more information please visit their website at www.arasysperfector.com

Source: www.xanyasofraweiss.com

On The Move Again?

We have been happily performing our liposuctions at Paragon Day Surgery International. Truly I love it there. However, it has been one shock after another for the last few invoices. They have implemented one surcharge after another without informing us first. From a 3% nursing surcharge, to linen fee, to recovery surcharge on Saturdays, use of Bair Hugger, plus a load of hidden items classed as consumables and disposables. Each surcharge works out to be in the $50 range. Add these together and the bill is inflated by 10-20% easily. Have we passed on the increment to our patients? No... We don't find out till after all payments have been settled that these new charges have come in. And our sales consultant is more often than not unaware that these changes have taken place.

Novena Surgery has been very aggressive in trying to lure us over to them. However, their prices remain higher than Paragon DSI, so there's absolutely no reason to move.

A surprise alternative surfaced last week. I anaesthetised a lady for caesarean section at Mt Alvernia. This was my first visit to Mt A OT in over a year! I got to talking to the nurses and particularly Sister Ee who is in charge of the OT. She welcomes us with open arms, and came back with a very reasonable quote.

Mt Alvernia OT is very nice, having been totally refurbished fairly recently. It's a little further from UE Square, but I'm sure our patients wouldn't mind hospital-grade operating theatre facilities at a more affordable price. Certainly our prices would have to be revised upwards if we stayed on at Paragon. I can absorb $50, but not multiples of $50 with no end in sight!

So the arrangements are being made as we speak. The machine will be moved to Mount Alvernia on Thursday and we will try our new locale for a while. Hopefully it will be home sweet home.

Please submit your votes in the new poll in the right hand column. I'd be interested to see where the majority wish to have their liposuction at.

Blumod Back Acne Treatment

Stocks of the Blumod shirt (female design as shown above) have finally come in over a month after I originally placed the order. We decided to bring these in as I occasionally see people with back acne. This is not an easy area to treat, being hard to access for cream application. The pimples in this area are often the huge pustular variety, so scarring is very common.

The Blumod shirts offer a unique painless treatment that is painless and incorporates state of the art light technology. Light in the blue wavelength has been proven to be useful in the treatment of acne. Hence IPL is one option of acne management.

Blumod from Sunsoul is made from a material that specifically filters out all other wavelengths of light, allowing only blue light to penetrate through to the skin. Used for just 2 hours a week, it is an affordable, comfortable, effective way of controlling acne in an otherwise awkward area.

We also have Blumod caps for facial acne.

Yelomod filters out all but yellow light which stimulates collagen production, hence is good for rejuvenation. We have various hat designs in stock. With Yelomod, sunlight is no longer enemy number one, but becomes a partner in skin rejuvenation. Golfers rejoice!