LADY@LXG: Mum's Radiesse and Botox makeover at EHA Clinic

“I once laughed at the vanity of women of thirty or forty who whitened their ruddy old skin with lead, but now I know such salves are not disguises for old crones who wish to catch a young husband. Instead they are only a mask we wear so that we can, for a little while, still recognize ourselves.”                            - Rebecca Johns, The Countess

Last year, as a surprise birthday gift to my mother, I treated her to some much needed facial fillers. You can read more about it here: Mum's Birthday treat with Radiesse. Although she is in her mid 60's, my mother (unlike me) has really lovely fair and relatively flawless skin. After much nagging, she is now even taking collagen supplements, which has greatly improved the texture of her skin, but age, neglect, gravity and genetics has left her with sagging jowls, pigmentation and wrinkles, which I felt compelled to eradicate with the help of modern aesthetic medicine.

Because she was really comfortable after her first filler experience last year with Dr. Tam from EHA Clinic, I decided to schedule her next session there as well. Personally, I think its important to find a doctor you like and trust and then stick to them. That way, they know your medical history and concerns and can help recommend treatments that suit you.

Immediately after the injections of filler and botox, my mum's skin looked noticeably smoother. Her crows feet and deep forehead wrinkles were instantly a thing of the past, while her marionette lines, which are normally quite prominent, were also greatly reduced. Based on her experience from her last filler (a little over a year ago) she said that her skin and face looked its best, around three-months after the injections. Thats because, thats around the time when Radiesse stimulates the body to create its own collagen.

After the procedure, she experienced slight bruising and swelling around the injection sites and mild discomfort once the effects of the numbing cream wore off. But the discomfort only lasted the first day. The treatment she said was mostly painless and all she had was topical numbing cream, so I am quite impressed. I think it has a lot to do with the doctor's skill, as I have heard horror stories of painful fillers from my friends, which is why I was careful about finding the right doctor and clinic for my mum.

The photos below are of my mum directly after the treatment. 

If you would like to treat yourself or someone you love, do give Dr. Elias Tam at EHA Clinic a call. The doctor and his staff are very down to earth and helpful. Because it was our first experience with Botox, we had many questions and the doctor was very helpful and patient. We paid $400 for the botox and $1,500 for the Radiesse filler. The effects vary on each individual, but on average Radiesse can last up to a year, while botox will need to be touched up after around four to six months. For more information, call EHA Clinic on 6235 3325 or visit them at #15-01 Shaw Centre (Orchard). 

EHA Clinic is on Facebook! You can click on the link and join the page for daily beauty and skin care tips.

STYLE@LXG: Katie has her first Medi-facial

It’s been around nine months since my last facial, which to be quite honest is quite good for me. With time taking its toll on my otherwise, pretty decent skin, I have been concerned about the few fine lines that have popped up recently.

It will come to no surprise that I have never been for a medi-facial. I mean, to be quite frank, to find the time for an ordinary facial is hard enough with my work schedule, and until today, I had never even heard of such a thing as a medi-facial.

I was a bit nervous, never having been to an aesthetic clinic before, but the staff were lovely. Very friendly and welcoming and my therapist Winnie was very attentive and guided me through all the steps of the procedure, so that any residue of nervousness was soon a thing of the past.

The facial felt so amazing! It was pampering but most importantly, it used medical grade machinery and products so I knew that the effects would be more long term in comparison to a regular run of the mill facial. I especially loved their own Japan-made skin care range that felt light as water and wasn’t greasy or overly perfumed like most skin care products in the market today. 

After the treatment, my skin was a little flushed but a few hours later, it felt very smooth and much more hydrated. A week after the treatment I kept receiving compliments on my glowing complexion and I noticed that my skin did look smoother and free of blemishes. Although my fine lines are still present, I believe with more treatments they will soon be a thing of the past!

A big thank you to EHA Clinic and Winnie for this wonderful experience and I do recommend you try it, especially if you have an important date, meeting or interview coming up so you look your very best!

For more details and to schedule an appointment for your medi-facial, contact EHA on 6235-3325. The clinic is very conveniently located at Shaw in orchard. Join their facebook page for special promotions and giveaways - www.facebook.com/EHAclinic.sg

LADY@LXG: Mum's Birthday Treat!

Sometimes a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do: Time to send Mum in for some much deserved aesthetic enhancements - simply 'cos she deserves it! 

I, like probably many of you out there, am totally guilty of taking my poor mother for granted. That's why I decided that I would surprise her (for a change) this year for her 63^rd birthday by taking her to one of Singapore’s top aesthetic doctors to have a little bit of “work done”. After all, its about time she got a bit of TLC.

If you are a regular reader of this blog (which I hope you are), you will know that I have acne-prone, congested skin, which I can thank my father for, since all the women in his family have some issue or the other with their skin. My mother on the other hand, has lovely fair porcelain-type skin, which ironically, she has completely neglected, to the point where she doesn’t use sunscreen and often forgets to use the pricey serums and night creams I have presented to her over the past few years...

The reason I chose to go to Dr. Tam at EHA Clinic, is because after much research, I felt that he would be the best to do any injectables should he deem them necessary. I honestly feel that we should make the effort to do our research before embarking on having any procedures done, as the last thing we need is to have too much of something done, to the point where we look like caricatures of ourselves. 

EHA Clinic is located on the 15^th floor of Shaw Centre in Orchard and we were welcomed by his friendly staff who offered us freshly brewed Chrysanthemum tea before taking us in to meet Dr. Tam.

Dr. Tam was very sweet and gentle with my mother - which I totally appreciated as this was her first time at having anything aesthetic done (yes, she is one of those bizarre women who have never even had a facial). After examining my mother’s skin carefully he suggested that she consider some laser (q switch) and IPL for her pigmentation - due to unprotected sun exposure (and to sheer laziness I might add) and fillers to add some volume to her features. 

Dr. Tam explained that this would be a work in progress, and he would not be pumping my mother’s face with fillers. Instead he would inject enough to smoothen her skin and lines and leave her looking like a more refreshed version of herself - not some over injected plasticine model.

Dr. Tam recommended Radiesse Volumizing Filler, as not only would it add volume and lift to the areas that had sunken, it would also more importantly act as a sort of scaffold under the skin, providing structure while stimulating her own natural collagen to grow. The production of natural collagen would then continue for several months, which extends beyond the initial effect of Radiesse. Best of all, the natural results are clinically proven to last a year or more. To me, this made so much sense as it would be cost effective since the effects would last so much longer than a regular filler, but what I loved most was the fact that it triggered the growth of collagen.

I must admit that I honestly thought that my mother had a naturally boxy shaped face. Its only when I was going through the Radiesse brochure and looked at their ‘ageing process’ image that I realized that the boxy shape was due to ageing and gravity and had nothing to do with her actual face shape. I realize that this makes me sound quite awful, but honestly, how closely do we actually look at our parents? 

After being examined by Dr. Tam, his nurses cleansed and photographed my mother from a number of angles and applied some numbing cream on her face. Thirty minutes later, the procedure began. 

 Dr. Tam carefully injected Radiesse around my mother’s cheek, mid face area and marionette lines to add volume. 

 The procedure did not take too long, but the doctor was diligent in ensuring that he injected just the right amount to make her look natural. He answered all her questions and advised her to avoid sleeping on her face or side for the first few nights. 

 The end result? My mother, an injection-phobe was ecstatic with the results. The procedure she said was painless (thank you numbing cream and the expert hands of Dr. Tam) and she was really happy with the results, which although subtle, Dr. Tam ensured us would look even better after a few months when her collagen started to grow.

A few days after the treatment her skin looked much smoother (even my totally unobservant brothers commented that she looked rested and younger). It was as if someone took an iron to the wrinkles and lines. Her naso-labial folds were barely noticeable and her marionette lines greatly reduced. She looked literally like she had spent a week at a spa; rested, relaxed and fresher. 

A month after her treatment, she has noticed that her jawline seems more defined and her marionette lines are even less visible. She says that the results are not overly obvious, but subtle enough to be noticed without anyone knowing that she had work done. Her pigmentation after just one treatment of IPL and q switch has lightened tremendously and she now takes oral sunscreen pills and applies (when I nag) her sunscreen almost daily. Getting her to reapply her sunscreen every two hours is still a work in progress, but hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day!