As a result, we've gone through all kinds of hair loss treatments over the past few years, mostly with disappointing results. The brochures and data are always impressive, the science irrefutable, but the results not impressive. Actually, only mesotherapy worked. All other topicals were a waste of space. We went through Minoxidil, Floxia Hair and Ballvic Serum & Shampoo. We don't stock any of these now. In fact, we got the distributor to take back virtually the entire Floxia range as we really didn't think they were as effective as the other medical skincare brands.

So when I was introduced to XL Hair, I was skeptical. If not for samples being available, I may not have even tried the treatment. So when the hair growth was unrefutable after just a month of weekly treatments, I was very impressed!

We've since treated 2 men and 2 ladies. One lady was not compliant with the treatment schedule at all, but just based on the home spray alone, has now grown a very luscious head of hair that is the envy of all around her. The thinning area which occupied her entire crown previously, is barely visible now!

The most recent gentleman, still in the middle of his treatment program, has started sprouting baby hairs in the receding temple area, which has been totally bald for many years now. We had not held out any hope for this area, the prime aim of treatment being to stop the hair loss in the crown area, which was thinning out very quickly. That seems to be responding well too!

So I could't be happier to offer this new XL Hair hair loss treatment at Simply Aesthetic. Finally, we have something that is as effective as mesotherapy, without the discomfort. Infact, most describe it as a very soothing treatment! And yes, I'm drooling... My hair's not thinning by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm lusting after luscious locks too!

                  

I know that hitting 30 was hard. I really agonised over it for a good couple of years until it happened. With that, the ageing process began, with sun damage and dull skin becoming apparent. I never did succumb to "old" clothes and fought like crazy to avoid looking fat and frumpy.

And then "Aesthetics" happened. Thank God for that! So my third decade was dedicated towards reversing the ravages of time. I remember one Dermatologist condemning my face as a veritable library of dermatological disease. That was at the start of my aesthetic training. After numerous peel, jabs and zaps, plus buckets of potions, I'm happy to say that I definitely look better now than I did 5 years ago.

For me, it's just part of the job. Reading the article in the Daily Mail, I see that without a bit of help, it'll soon be really obvious those who do, and those who don't. The ones that make the effort to look after their skin will have an ageless appearance. Those who don't, are resigned to being forty and frumpy. And the divide will continue to increase as the current 40s hit their 50s.

The joys of accessible aesthetics! I love this industry!

                  

During a recent dig-about, I found a couple of bottles of Reparastim HA. This is a serum formulated by Dr Philippe Deprez, a French dermatologist and the man behind Skin Tech and Aesthetic Dermal. I've always loved his products. Since I'd just run out of a few anti-aging creams at home, I tossed a bottle in my bag.

I wasn't unfamiliar with Reparastim. I've been using the super-potent treatment serum for a couple of years already. That was part of my rejuvenation cocktail, and provided nice results with its combination of antioxidants, growth factors, vitamins, minerals, etc.

But, I never expect miracles with skincare. Guess I'm spoilt with the more invasive treatments in the clinic. But, I'm always open to trying, although I will dump products I don't like.

My first impression of this product was neutral. Nice light serum, easily absorbed, but a bit of a strange smell.

Surprisingly, after just 2 days of use, it seems quite apparent that my skin appeared fairer and clearer. Hmmm..... Nice! It's supposed to refill, relax and stimulate. Interesting. I may just become hooked!

I'm waiting to find out the pricing details of this product. There's a very high chance we'll be retailing this at Simply Aesthetic & Divine MedSpa.

                  

We discussed the ros & cons of private practice. I, of course, would never return to SGH full time, but am no longer in the position to comment about full time Anaesthesia in private practice either.

At that point, he labelled me as a Beautician and walked off!

HA!

Stunned speechless!

It's funny the Plastic Surgeons seem terrified of us doing their work, and my colleagues think I don't do much more than a Beauty Therapist?!!!

If he bothered to find out more of my real scope of interest, he'd be in the clinic hooked up to a slimming device straight away. This is a man who tried to lose weight by doing a few squats in his bathroom once many years back, and ending up laid up in bed. Can't remember if he did his knees or back in...

And looking young of course. The joys of ageing gracefully by not ageing much at all! That and slimming is medical aesthetics. And that's what I do.

                  

I also polled my friends on Facebook and picked at Julie's brains. The consensus was "go do it"! So I agreed.

As usual, if it's not urgent, it gets forgotten. So fortunately the e-mail came to send over the lecture slides with a 48 hour deadline. Arghhhhh!!! Talk about pressure! So everything else got swept to the side last Monday, and the lecture prepared in one night. Phew!

Yesterday was D-Day. I really did not know what to expect. And I was too busy to mull over & memorise the slides. All I had was Julie in the audience to cheer me on. Fortunately it was the second lecture of the conference, so I could get it over and done with ASAP.

So at just after 10 am on 1st March, I stepped up on stage for the first time in years, and rattled on about my views of Aesthetics & Medical Tourism. Fortunately, I have had a significant number of patients in this category, so I could just ramble on and talk nonsense. I ended to a dead silence and no questions. Oh God! Oops!!!

But fortunately, the audience were nice during tea break & said they enjoyed my speech! I was caught by one person after another, after another. Folks from South Africa, Korea, Japan, Indonesia and Taiwan came to say hello. I guess the speech can't have been that bad then! And Julie said she enjoyed it. She took lots of pictures, which I'll add to this blog at a later date.

The South African doctor was also an Anaesthetist by training, had gone into Medical Tourism and now wants to open South Africa's first medical spa. So we brought her back to see our facilities and told her more about the aesthetic business. Won't it be fabulous if we were invited over to be her Consultants! I've always wanted to visit South Africa!

All in all, it was a good experience. Something different to add into my CV. And Julie treated me to a yummy Chinese buffet lunch after to celebrate. Thanks Julie! )

                  

Straits Times: Nov 17, 2009

Burned at slimming centre

Fat-burning procedure goes awry; 83kg housewife left with welt on belly

By Kimberly Spykerman & Amelia Tan

Housewife Rose Lee wanted to burn off her excess fats but ended up being burned instead.

SHE was undergoing a slimming treatment to burn off her excess fat, but she ended up being burned instead.

Housewife Rose Lee now has a 20cm-long welt that stretches across her abdomen, and had to be on painkillers and antibiotics for several days.

The 35-year-old had gone for a slimming treatment at the Geneva Face Body Spa outlet in Ang Mo Kio Central on Oct 28. The treatment, which involved igniting an alcohol-soaked towel on her abdomen, cost $250.

Madam Lee, who stands at 1.58m and weighs 83kg, had not heard of such a treatment before, but she decided to try it anyway. 'It sounded safe and I thought it was a 'purer' way of losing weight,' she told The Straits Times in Mandarin.

It was her first visit to a slimming centre and it was prompted by her children calling her 'da fei' ('big fatty' in Mandarin). There, she was led into a room where an employee lay an alcohol-soaked towel on her abdomen. 'They didn't really explain the procedure in much detail,' Madam Lee said. She did not probe further.

It was only when the therapist whipped out a lighter that she felt slightly alarmed. 'But the employee kept telling me that she was here with me, so I shouldn't be scared,' she added.

Nov 17, 2009

Burned at slimming centre

Fat-burning procedure goes awry; 83kg housewife left with welt on belly

By Kimberly Spykerman & Amelia Tan
		Housewife Rose Lee wanted to burn off her excess fats but ended up being burned instead. -- ST PHOTO: WANG HUI FEN

SHE was undergoing a slimming treatment to burn off her excess fat, but she ended up being burned instead.

Housewife Rose Lee now has a 20cm-long welt that stretches across her abdomen, and had to be on painkillers and antibiotics for several days.

The 35-year-old had gone for a slimming treatment at the Geneva Face Body Spa outlet in Ang Mo Kio Central on Oct 28. The treatment, which involved igniting an alcohol-soaked towel on her abdomen, cost $250.

Madam Lee, who stands at 1.58m and weighs 83kg, had not heard of such a treatment before, but she decided to try it anyway. 'It sounded safe and I thought it was a 'purer' way of losing weight,' she told The Straits Times in Mandarin.

It was her first visit to a slimming centre and it was prompted by her children calling her 'da fei' ('big fatty' in Mandarin). There, she was led into a room where an employee lay an alcohol-soaked towel on her abdomen. 'They didn't really explain the procedure in much detail,' Madam Lee said. She did not probe further.

It was only when the therapist whipped out a lighter that she felt slightly alarmed. 'But the employee kept telling me that she was here with me, so I shouldn't be scared,' she added.

                  

In my naivety, I assumed volume replacement was it. However, it does so much more! From filling out hollow temples, plumping up cheeks, flattening out nasolabial folds and marionette lines, to lifting the cheeks and improving skin texture. Oh it can help reduce acne scars too!

My brave volunteers have had 1-2 sessions each now, and the nasolabial folds, in particular respond amazingly well.

There is some downtime involved though. Some bruising & swelling. But in general, it's not that bad. A bit of concealer does the trick.

Our trainer, Dr Scott, a Dermatologist from Australia was fun! Great teacher and very encouraging. He thinks I have a good aesthetic eye, and am very confident with needles. Not surprising with my professional vampire background! I do enjoy it as well. The contours change immediately, so it's really very satisfying for me. And seeing the changes in my friends' faces as the skin thickens and lifts is great. Love it!

                  

After abandoning it for some time now, I suddenly decided to do a little post in the very neglected blog on that site tonight. I usually post more important updates in the Simply Aesthetic Sandbox blog which is incorporated in the main Simply Aesthetic website template.

So today's little post is on what could happen when one visits a Slimming Centre? I almost got trapped a decade ago, without realising the danger I was putting myself into by answering the free ad. Since then, I've interviewed Therapists & Sales Consultants in the industry, plus cheated clients of course. So I just put some of my knowledge into this little blog entry.

                  

The surgery went smoothly. My pre-op fat volume estimation was pretty spot on, as was the surgery time. Contours looked great too. And the patient responded perfectly to the sedation, waking up to turn just at the right time.

I still can't believe that I may never use my Body Jet again. It's been a wonderful little machine. Now I have to find a new owner for it. But I'm in no hurry. I'm going to let things settle for a bit before deciding whether it really is the end of an era. Even if it is, it's been a great experience, and I loved almost every second of it.

All is not completely lost. Even if I can't continue personally, I'm using my knowledge to build a couple of authority sites on the subject. That'll be my gift & legacy to this era of my life. The first site which I've been working on is AllAboutLiposculpture.com, and I'm planning to register LiposuctionSurgerySite.com later this evening. Why two almost identical sites? That's all about SEO!

                  

Recently, after my return from Bangkok in early January, I decided that I had to lose weight. I'd gained 15kg since opening Simply Aesthetic and it was getting beyond a joke. Sometimes, I'd even be breathless going up a flight of stairs! Big change from the days where 3 hours of back to back gym classes was a breeze.

A friend of mine, once he found out I was planning on going on a detox diet, challenged me to a competition. One month, biggest loser wins. Obviously I wasn't going to refuse! We both planned to start exercising and eat healthily. I have all the best weight loss machines, he sells some of them. What a competition!

It all started well. I was on carrot sticks for the first few days & feeling miserable without my wine and coffee. By day 3, I felt better, and was really enjoying the taste of roasted root vegetables. I omitted chicken, pork, wheat and rice initially. Plus tomatoes and sweetcorn, being blood group B. I had all the fruits I fancied, plus nuts.

By week 3, I was starting to eat quite large amounts, with many meals out. I tried to srtick within the food groups as well as I could, but often had deep fried battered seafood. Not good. I didn't even dare weight myself as although the physical change was very fast initially, thingsseemed to have stabilised.

For machines, I got onto the Thermojet whenever I could. Which was about two to three times a week, some weeks none. Certainly not the daily (or even twice daily) treatments I'd planned.

Anyway, the month finally ended today. I jumped on the scales and despite all the indescretions, I'd lost 4k g! Pretty good loss of 1 kg per week. Healthy & right on target. Phew! (My other friends were getting really worried that I was planning on losing 15kg in one month, which obviously is unrealistic & dangerous to health).

My friend... he gained over 1kg! Blame it on stress at work.

He bought dinner and drinks as promised, but I have to say, he was a bit of a sore loser!

Anyway, I'll rub it in a bit more... I win! I win! I'm the biggest loser! Heehee! )