Restylane Face Lift

This was the most interesting presentation on the first day of IMCAS Singapore 2008. I had actually not planned on listening to this presentation, but found it impossible to leave once she started describing her novel technique.

The speaker was a Dermatologist from Bangkok. She realised that Restylane & Perlane were unique in having lifting properties. She has developed a technique whereby tiny amount of the filler are injected superficially into the traction lines if the face, in the direction of lift.

The technique is simple & produced immediate results. These improved over the following two weeks, following which the results remained stable for about a year. She used 2-3 1ml syringes per face, so it's a relatively costly affair. There's also a little bit of downtime: bruising, swelling, redness. This can last for up to 2 weeks.

I'm not sure if many Singaporeans would be keen on this, but it is certainly a simple procedure with good results. It may have a role in those who don't trust machines, don't want surgery and would prefer to avoid complications associated with threads. Personally, I'd give the Perfector a go first, and only resort to this if all machine and non-invasive options fail.

Update on Perfector Testing: Acne Scars & Comedones

We know the power of Perfector on lifting & sculpting, so have been trying to check out its effects on other facial complaints. Two "willing" volunteers are Mery our clinic manager & Ffion my daughter.

Mery has residual acne scarring from adolescent acne. It cleared up tremendously after a couple of sessions of dermaroller treatment. So she was first up to see if Perfector would help reduce these further. She had a single 30 minute session on Thursday, and a few hours later, felt her scars were less obvious on the right side. We were too busy for her to have the treatment again yesterday. I'm hoping that with a few treatments done close together, she will get flawless skin without the discomfort of dermarolling.

My 12-year old daughter Ffion took a lot of persuading before agreeing to trying the Perfector. She'd rather live with comedones than be subjected to the treatments we had previously. To be fair to her, she has tried most things... once.

She had 10 minutes of Perfector treatment on Thursday and happily reported no discomfort. When I got home yesterday, I noticed her face was much smoother. About 50% of the comedones had disappeared! Even more had gone by this morning.

The best testament to the effectiveness and painlessness of the Perfector treatment is when a 12-year old asks to have another treatment 2 days later. :o)

Now we just have to tie her down to try the Ion Magnum!

Updates from A4M Singapore (July 2008)

The American Association of Anti-Ageing Medicine (A4M) held a meeting in Singapore last weekend. I did not formally attend the meeting, but had the opportunity to participate in some of the peripheral events associated with it.

The first presentation I attended was on Thursday evening, which was the Arasys presentation. That is aso when I fell in love with the Perfector & Ion Magnum.

The second presentation was on the Friday night. This was a lecture on Nutritional Medicine in Stress, Leaky Gut and Food Intolerances. The lecturer was from Brisbane, and spoke at length about the many changes that occur during times of stress: how part of the brain shrinks, the gut becomes permeable, and how ridiculous it is to tell a stressed person to relax or do some yoga.

Instead, he used multiple formulations to re-balance the chemical deficiencies in the brain, rapidy cut stress (in 20 minutes) and heal the gut. It's a lot of supplementation to rescue the situation, but definitely more sensible than trying to cut out a load of foods and relax a the same time. That's a formula to kill, no?

Stress in the levels that we live with on a daily basis can kill. Modern nutritional medicine can help in stress management.

The main conference was held over Saturday & Sunday at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront. There were delegates from all around the world. We appeared on Saturday to listen to Dr Weiss speak on the Science behind the Arasys Perfector machines. We then stayed on to try the machines out. That is when I lost 2 inches from my tummy whilst gutsing on chocolate cake.

I did not attend any other lectures. Many of them were on Stem Cells. I heard the other focus of attention was on Starvation to prolong life. Thanks... I'd rather die!

Instead, the girls & I spent the weekend training on how to use the Perfector & Ion Magnum. Both are simple & relatively straightforward to use. But the number of possibilities and uses for each machine is so great, it just took many hours to go through the theory & practical skills. In practice, the Perfctor is much easier to use than DermaRF. Just a pair of copper glove that pull the tissues ino the desired position, hold for a few minutes & voila! Face lift!

The learning opportunities continue this weekend (Sunday to Tuesday) with the IMCAS conference, at Suntec Convention Centre. My friends from Manila (Claudine & Cathy) will be attending. Dr Chanchai will be flying in from Bangkok and we have been told about new handpieces for the Derma RF that he will be demonstrating. Arnd Kensey, CEO of Humanmed (Body Jet Waterjet Liposuction) will be attending too. Another full weekend ahead, no doubt.

First Perfector & Ion Magnum Units in Singapore!

Both the Perfector & Ion Magnum were delivered late on Monday night. Unfortunately, we have had little opportunity to play with them as our schedule has been tight otherwise. I've had another little go at the Magnum, and am looking forward to getting hooked up again today. Perfector too. The stress of the last few days has resulted in a few pesky zits popping out. I'm hoping the machine lives up to its promise of zapping them so they disappear overnight.

I've also been burning the midnight oil and have put some information up on the main website. There are links from the "News" section of every page, but the URLs to explore are:

• www.simply-aesthetic.com/nanomedicine.htm for the science behind the technology
• www.simply-aesthetic.com/perfector.htm for information about the Perfector
• www.simply-aesthetic.com/ion-magnum.htm for information about the Ion Magnum

We will continue to update as we gain more experience with these devices.

Simply Aesthetic Has Purchased Arasys Perfector & Ion Magnum Machines!

As mentioned in the previous post, we were planning on adding the new technology from Arasys into our clinic's services. We just started talking to our patients today, and have had to start a "To Call" list once we knew when the machine was coming in. Considering we spent very little time in clinic today, the list is already 5 people long!

We disappeared (aka ran out!) at 12 noon to catch Dr Weiss speak on the science behind the technology. It's all very cutting edge stuff, way more complex than what we learnt in medical school all those years back. Even with my BSc in Medical Biochemistry it was not easy to fully comprehend the molecular science involved. Things have certainly moved far away from the old lock & key model of enzymatic reactions. The scientists can now see how each individual molecule behaves in vivo, how it moves as the it performs its role. Also how cells communicate with one another, plus inside each cell. The technology basically encompasses mimicking natural cellular communication to gently coerce the proteins to rejuvenate. Plus the teeny weeny (impalpable) current provides the electrons required to stabilise all the nasty free radicals that age us & cause disease.

Enough science! We are more interested in results!

Before signing the papers, I was strapped onto the Ion Magnum. I've not been eating great recently, so I was having a bad tummy day. My measurements were taken before the treatment, then I got strapped in. The sensation was an urge to contract my tummy muscles, just like doing sit ups. This went on for a good half hour. In the mean time, the trainer Christine started using the Perfector on the left side of my face.

Within a short time, the effects on my face were noticeable. My nasolabial fold was less deep, particularly obvious when I smiled. And this is the side that was always more problematic. My eyebrow was a little higher, and my skin more radiant. My dark eye circles were also improved. I felt no discomfort at all. The gloved scratched a little, but nothing else.

Once we did the left face, we decided it was feeding time! Picture this: I was strapped up in the Ion Magnum, doing crunches, eating a huge lunch, including a massive slice of chocolate cake! After the treatment was over, I had still LOST 2 INCHES around my waist!!! They tell me the results will continue to improve over the next few days. I can't wait!!!

Needless to say, we purchased the machines and called the girls in for training. So I've had the Perfector on me for hours today. Literally! Looking closely at my face after my shower was interesting. The changes are very obvious:

• My brows are lifted
• The early sagging in my jowls is gone on the left and minimal on the right
• My nasolabial folds have never been so minimal
• My skin is lighter and more radiant
• My jawline is more contoured

I'm ecstatic with the outcome!

It looks like we will be getting delivery of the machines on Monday. We will be honing our skills internally initially, then call for volunteers. We plan to launch the treatment in the next week or two. Watch this space or call the clinic for more details. The number of volunteers we can treat is very limited, so please call immediately to secure your place!

I'm in Love... with Arasys Perfector & Ion Magnum

I went to a product demonstration last night and fell totally, utterly in love with two machines! The technology is very unique: gentle, yet packing a great punch in terms of instant results!

The Arasys Perfector is the face machine. I saw faces being lifted & moulded into more pleasing contours in minutes. And there was no discomfort whatsoever! In fact, the sensation was NOTHING! It does what our RF does in a few sessions in a few minutes! Plus more! They have had vast experience in this machine doing the following:

• Immediately reduce wrinkle depth (saw that!)
• Lift faces, chins & necks (saw that!)
• Reduce melasma (saw that too!)
• Reduce puffiness of eye bags (yes, and we saw that!)
• Reduce active acne overnight
• Reduce acne scar depth
• Reduce redness of rosacea
  
• Change in skin texture (can see that in under 5 minutes!)
• Reduce sun damage

The body machine stimulated muscle activity at a phase that utilised fat as fuel as opposed to glucose. One short treatment was said to be equivalent to 10 hours in the gym! The lady that tried the machine was not fat by any means, yet lost 2 inches from her lower abdomen. The effects would continue for the next few days. The stimulation of lean muscle mass and utilisation of fat for fuel has proven benefits for visceral fat reduction. They say that so much antioxidation occurs during one body treatment that even the face starts glowing the next day!

We will be attending Dr Weiss's lecture tomorrow to find out more about the science behind the technology. We also hope to finalise the deal to purchase the machines this weekend.

Save Face

Finally, months after the "Big Day", the article written by Greg Vanderpyl for AUGUST MAN magazine is published.

The feature was a promise made by the ex-editor in exchange for exclusive rights (amongst men's magazines) for our beloved Chocolate (Diamond Contours Biomesosculpture) machine. That was in Spring 2007...

Their excuse? They couldn't see how to write such a "long" article about one treatment.

So they eventually decided to feature the clinic instead, and a few treatments, not just one. Then came the big problem... They could not find a male writer to brave an aesthetic clinic! Finally, they approached Greg. Big, brave, American Greg with tattoos down both arms. He was due to get married 3 weeks after the initial consultation. Our brief was to get him looking his best for the big day.

I hate deadlines like this. Big day, little time for error... Little time to get fantastic results.

Greg's almost forty and in pretty good shape. A few wrinkles and early signs of sagging, but otherwise excellent nick. He wanted some sun damage removed, lifting and reduction of double chin. Solution: IPL & RF.

The results from the first session alone were pretty good. We squeezed in 3 sessions with the RF before the big day. Unfortunately the IPL was out of order after that, so we could not give him another session.

He said the results did not last. That is to be expected since he did not complete the treatment program. He also did not complement the treatment with creams for daily maintenance treatment. I'm sure there's an element of forgetting baseline too. That's quite normal.

Anyway, he looked good on the "Big Day", and that's what matters.

For those who want to read the article, it's on page 90 of AUGUST MAN June 2008. Greg in full tattooed glory can be see on his other article on page 128-9 of the same issue.

We're Getting Fat!

We LOVE our food! After a major pig-out session in Malacca over the weekend, all of us are finding it hard to squeeze into our clothes.

So what do we do?

EAT MORE! Well, to be fair, this "little" dessert was shared by 4 of us to share the guilt. And we did work extremely hard during the liposuction!

IPL Training

We had the pleasure of welcoming Carole Baumelou from Eurofeedback to our clinic this week. She is the Trainer for IPL, and spent 2 days with us to share her experience with the Anthelia machine.

Although the Anthelia is a very simple machine to use, it was nice to find out the exact protocol used by the French doctors for best results, particularly how often the treatment was done and the maintenance schedule.

And yes, I got pinned down and had my treatment too. It was not an uncomfortable procedure. My IPL-phobia from having had extremely painful IPL treatments previously with other machines was the greatest hurdle to overcome. But I survived, and no worse for wear! Phew!

At the end of it, I was presented with my certificate! Another one to add to the growing stack! :o)

CERUM replaces Metabolic C

The application of topical Vitamin C is an integral part of basic skin care. We had been very happy with Bellewave's Metaboli-C for the last year, but as our stocks were running low, took the opportunity to investigate other options in the market. One area of improvement was getting a product with L-Ascorbic Acid, which was the more potent form of Vitamin C.

As with all our products, we looked at various aspects of use:

• No need for refrigeration
• Smell
• Lack of greasiness
• Non-comedogenic
• Concentration of Active Ingredients
• Any other beneficial ingredients

For Vitamin C products, smell is a major issue. I remember an enthusiastic rep generously giving me a very large number of samples of a premium vitamin C product when we first opened in Orchard Road. He applied some on the back of my hand before he left. The smell almost caused me to faint... The product smelt of cat's pee! I couldn't imagine having that lingering scent on my face all day and all night! Ewwww!!!!

After eliminating smelly products, we next weeded out that required refrigeration (too inconvenient) and those that were too greasy. That left us with 3 options, Metaboli-C being one of them. I was finally persuaded by Ivy that CERUM was the superior product.

CERUM is made by Prollenium Medical Technologies, from Canada. It contains 17% L-Ascorbic Acid. Moreover, it has Hyaluronic Acid as a component, so it hydrates as well as protects. This means it helps to prevent as well as reverse the ageing process. Studies have shown that the use of this concentration of Vitamin C shows a 29% reduction in facial fine lines in only 15 days.

What we can see immediately, when comparing one product against another, is that CERUM produces an instant whitening effect. And that was enough for us to go ahead with this order.

Each 30ml bottle of CERUM should last for approximately 2 months. The L-Ascorbic Acid in stabilised to remain active for up to one year.