Simply Aesthetic has moved to Robertson Walk

After many months of planning, renovation, inspections and running back and forth, we have finally settled into our new home at Robertson Walk. We moved all our things over last Thursday, then abandoned the girls for a short holiday, so they could tidy up/organise stocks in peace without any interference from me!

I have to say that I am very relieved to have moved in at last. The last month of running back & forth was getting quite frustrating, especially since the new clinic was in a much nicer space than the old one! But the wait is finally over, the licence is ready and we can unveil the beautiful new facilities.

We now have 3 good sized treatment rooms, two with natural sunlight (frosted glass, of course!). The restrooms are still outside, but just next to the clinic (so no more dashing through the shopping mall to get to the ladies!). Parking is even more convenient. The car park entrance is in the lane between Park Hotel Clarke Quay and Robertson Walk. There's ample parking and is very straightforward compared to UE Square, where people often got lost! And getting lost generally should not be an issue anymore: no more confusion between UE Square and United Square!

For those who are not familiar with Robertson Walk, it is a beautiful development at the junction of Mohamed Sultan Road (section opposite Kim Yam Rd) and Unity Street. It is largely F&B and the restaurants are distributed around a courtyard which is pretty happening at night, especially at weekends. There are some services on the second floor, including the DBS Arts Theatre! Our frontage is just off the corner facing the bridge, next to Divine MedSpa.

It is lovely to see sunlight all the time. UE Square was so depressingly grey, both inside & out! The Singapore River is also a stone's throw away. I'm looking forward to my strolls there when things are quiet in the clinic. So appointments by booking only please! It won't be a pretty sight if I have to run back to the clinic to see you!

Judging the Harper's Bazaar Beauty Awards 2009

I received an exciting e-mail from Alli Sim, Harper's Beauty Editor a couple of weeks ago. She wanted to know if I woud be keen on being on the judging panel of Harper's Bazaar's Beauty Awards 2009! She warned me that it would be an intensive month of trying out a variety of the newest products for 90 categories! It was naturally an offer that I could not refuse! Which female would?!!! My brief was to give the medical take on which products were best in each category.

The products arrived yesterday. I had a phone call from my very excited 13 year old daughter (and self-elected co-judge), exclaiming that she was "traumatised" at the number of products to try! Fortunately she changed the term to "overwhelmed". Hmmmmmm................

I didn't get home till after 10pm, and all hopes of a decent "early night" were dashed immediately. Six of the largest plastic containers from IKEA were waiting for me. In them was a myriad of products, spanning cosmetics, skincare, hair products, nail care, scrubs, body washes, perfumes, even 2 eyelash curlers! My jaw dropped as it looked like over 1000 items to try in just one month! No wonder Alli said her hair almost dropped out with trying out the hair products last year!

My daughter was bouncing off the wall with glee, proclaiming she now officially has more makeup than any of her friends. The dogs were going crazy trying to get into the boxes. All I could think of was "Oh My God!" and "Thank God I have help!". My daughter is definitely better with makeup than I am. Her beady eyes were already on the eyelash curlers and she'd tried on one of the nail polishes already. One of my friends has extremely dry skin and is desperate for a tan, so anything vaguely oily and in the self tan range will be palmed off to her. The scrubs and hand/foot spa things will be brought into Divine MedSpa for the girls to try on me. Nothing like an expert opinion!

I managed to try a shampoo and conditoner last night. A common high street brand that my daughter has purchased before. Cannot make it. Neither could the face wash I tried. I was intrigued by another sample which had a strange plastic tool and capsule of cream. I have to say that it was the tool that really grabbed my attention! After fiddling about, pulling & twisting it, it broke! Then I realised that the fancy "tool" was nothing but a spatula to scrape out the cream. What a joke!

At this point, I have to say that I gave up on trialling the products & decided to try something "simple": choose the lipstick with the most compelling design. The age gap then surfaced with the little princess going for something hip and the old mother insisting on something classy. The real judge won that battle and we decided on a lipstick with a beautiful shape and unique matt black finish. Settled one item out of 90.

Tonight's task will be an attempt at sorting out the products into the correct categories, choosing some to bring on holiday with me this weekend, and packing the ones for the spa. Then slowly trying out the makeup one by one. If I can find eye makeup that is resistant to my compulsive rubbing, that'll be a miracle!

New Clinic Opening Hours

With immediate effect, we will be changing our opening hours to the following:

Weekdays: 11.00 to 20.00
Saturdays: 10.00 to 15.00
Sundays: 14.00 to 17.00

We'll be Closed on Tuesdays and Public Holidays.

As before, consultations are by appointment only, although we will try to see walk-ins.

We should be moving to Robertson Walk by the end of next week. Please check this blog for the exact date and closures for move. We'll also be revamping our website, so keep an eye out for this!

See you at our new clinic soon!

Simply Aesthetic at Robertson Walk

This project has kept me well occupied for the last few months. We have been searching for a suitable new home since November last year. We're happy to finally show the photos of the new location of Simply Aesthetic... Robertson Walk.

This first photo is a pre-renovation view of the clinic side of the unit. The French doors gives it a bright, airy feel. The glass will be frosted, so no privacy issues here! We will have one consultation room and 3 treatment rooms in this section of the unit. Plus a washroom for the desperate!

Robertson Walk has a very laid back atmosphere during the day time. Incredibly private, very European. From the balcony outside our main door, we can catch a glimpse of the Singapore River in the distance. It's just a short stroll away, so fantastic for a mid-day de-stress stroll. Wonder if I'll be motivated enough to go jogging?!!!

The main square at Robertson Walk comes to life at night. Lots of excellent restaurants surround the area. The DBS Repatory Theatre faces us from across the square.

The clock tower is directly above our unit. The open French door that is just visible will be our main doorway. The clinic will be on the left side and the spa on the right.


Renovations begin on 11th May. We are expecting to open the spa by mid-June, but MOH licensing will delay the clinic move till late June. Fortunately, Robertson Walk is just next to UE Square, so disruption will be minimal. The couple of months will be busy but exciting. Our private label line (organic, no less!) is coming together.

Trying out Velashape

I had the opportunity to try out Velashape this morning. It's the first FDA-approved device for cellulite and circumferential reduction.

It combines four different modalities:

1. Infra-red
2. Radiofrequency
3. Mechanised massage
4. Vaccuum suction

Being a chicken about any kind of pain, I was a little apprehensive initially. Fortunately, the treatment was pretty comfortable. Some areas felt a little too hot, some areas were a little sore. I treated my arms, calves, thighs & buttocks. I wasn't looking at the clock, but it didn't seem to take too long... about an hour I think to do all those areas. My arms certainly feel more toned immediately after. The full results from this one session will not be seen for a few more weeks.

The trainer came from Lebanon, where she says the procedure is massively popular. They have been selling the machine for over a year, and there have been no complaints, and most importantly, no problems. The satisfaction rate is extremely high. All good news.

We will be looking into adding this to our repertoire. It certainly does help to fill the small gaps in our services, particularly fat reduction in smaller areas that are not great candidates for liposuction, such as chin and calves. It also has the added benefits of targeted fat reduction, skin firming and stretch mark reduction. Most importantly, it is pretty comfortable!

Waterjet Liposuction on "The Doctors"

I have had quite a few e-mails from Americans recently, asking about the feasibility of coming to Singapore for liposuction. They all said they'd seen the procedure on "The Doctors" and were convinced that this is the procedure for them.

Having a few minutes free this evening, I decided to try to find this video clip. I did the usual youtube search and just found some clinic adverts, one short clip in Spanish, but not the show that had intrigued them enough to find me.

Eventually, I found the program's website, and happily they had the entire video clip online!

http://www.thedoctorstv.com/main/procedure_list/162

They used the standard treatment philosophy for thigh reduction. The results are pretty significant straight after the operation. I think I still prefer the waterjet-plus technique for "skinny jeans" results. But then, I am biased! ;o)

Body-Jet(R), State of the Art Water-Jet Assisted Liposuction Technology To Be Featured on National Television Show, The Doctors This Week

Body-Jet(R), State of the Art Water-Jet Assisted Liposuction Technology To Be Featured on National Television Show, The Doctors This Week

Finally, Waterjet Liposuction reaches the USA! Looks like they've got FDA approval at last! I'm so pleased. It's a fantastic technique, but many people are only looking for the FDA label. This of course takes years for a device from outside the USA. I've had my fair share of skeptics grilling me on this exact point.

Congratulations Humanmed! Well done on clearing FDA & getting Body-Jet into the USA!

Moving Forwards Into New Horizons

I am very excited to finally be able to announce officially that we are on the move again! Our clients who have been visiting the clinic over the past few months may have heard some snippets of our exciting new venture, but nothing could be confirmed until we found the right location!

I have just had confirmation this morning that we will be moving to Robertson Walk. The location is perfect as we will be in a much larger space, just across the road from our current UE Square locale. We'll be on the second floor, above Queen's Tandoor, so privacy & convenience will still be integral. Parking is downstairs in the basement, also free on Sundays, with the big bonus of no one getting lost in the massive multi-sectioned UE car park.

The big move will happen around 1st June. The clinic will be larger, with three full sized treatment rooms. The spa will be massive, with aesthetic, spa and holistic services. We will also have a yoga/meditation studio and mani/pedi services. I'm exploring incorporating foot jacuzzi services into the mani/pedi area after an inspirational trip to Bangkok! We are developing a private label line which is organic and incorporates aromatherapy principles.

I've been itching to blog about the building of the spa for months. We've not had anything exciting for the clinic side, but boy have we had a blast choosing services for the spa! The new spa blog has just been started: www.divinemedspa.blogspot.com. I'll be updating that site regularly to document the progress. Enjoy!

Manual Lymphatic Drainage after Liposuction

I operated on a friend a week ago. It was a straightforward abdominal liposuction (waterjet-plus of course!), removing over 3L of fat. She seemed to trap water quite significantly, so I was concerned that she would be swollen for quite a long time.

There was a small reduction in girth when I saw her 2 days after surgery, and the oozing had stopped. I was pretty happy about that. I was able to keep an eye on her as I was attending a course with her mid week.

The interesting thing about her recovery was her use of her therapist background to speed up the healing process. In particular, reducing the swelling and bruising. Her trick was to do post-natal wraps, use dead sea mud and do manual lymphatic drainage. And it worked! One week post surgery, her reduction is significant! I have to admit that I'm very impressed. I don't think any old lymphatic massage will make such a significant difference. This girl is truly the best Therapist I have had the pleasure of being massaged by. She has magic hands combined with a deep thirst for knowledge, deep passion for spa therapy.

I'm really looking forward to the day when I can combine medical with effective spa treatments such as these to really deliver the best results. In other words, watch this space!

Finally! SMC Approval!

I finally received confirmation from SMC today that our protocols for List B procedures have been approved. So finally we can continue treating our patients with acne scars and cellulite. It's been a long hiatus, since November last year, but I'm glad we've finally received the green light to proceed LEGALLY.

There has been some changes with how we are allowed to practice, so we'll adhere to those. Lots of forms of course, but that's no issue. Also the no advertising clause, hence my not mentioning which treatments we have had approval for! But it's no secret which treatments have been classified as List B, so it won't take a genius to figure out how we treat acne scars and cellulite!