How I got my skin to normalize after -32C

I haven’t gotten round to blogging about a lot of my trips but if you follow my facebook page or my instagram (@renzze), you’ll probably know that I headed to lapland for a super long vacation earlier this year. It was an awesome holiday with skiing, dog sleds, reindeers and the aurora borealis. The downside of the holiday however, was extreme temperatures. In fact, there were some days that I just froze and turned into a popsicle, any exposed part of me simply hurts and any moisture turned to ice.

On an average day, this is how I look! My lashes are frozen and what ever stray hair gets frozen as well. My skin really hated extreme weather too! When I got back to Singapore, it was dry, coarse and dehydrated. Of course this was after a whole month of dry and cold weather.

It’s not like I didn’t take any measures  I had dutifully protected my face with creams and masks everyday. Otherwise, I can’t imagine how much worse it would have been. In fact a lot of the products I used worked very well and my skin had stood defiant to the elements until I got quite lazy during the last week of my trip.

When I got back to Singapore, I was on a search for anything that could help normalise my skin.

That’s when Face & Body ArchiTech came to the rescue. Although it’s a medical clinic, it certainly felt more like a luxurious secret spa. Located in the middle of Bishan park, Dr David Jen wanted his clinic to away from the hustle and bustle of busy city life. It’s so easy to get caught up in the day to day routines in Singapore that any form of relaxation is a welcome respite.

This clinic is only available by appointment and they would only take a few appointments each day. I had expected prices to be unimaginably steep because of its exclusivity. To my surprise, it’s actually quite comparable to the “market rates” and even cheaper than most dermatologists you find in the city.

I filled out some general health questionnaire and my details in the comfy reception area. It felt more like being a house guest in this beautiful glasshouse in the middle of greenery rather than a patient. Usually I imagine doctors waiting rooms to be stiff, unwelcoming and crowded with patients.

When they brought me out back to the consultation room to meet Dr. David Jen, I was even more impressed with the foliage and beauty of the clinic. It gives you an instant vacation atmosphere which is almost impossible to find in Singapore and even less likely in a clinic.

The consultation with Dr. Jen was very detailed. Dr. Jen has several clinics and has been practicing Obstetrics and Gynecology for more than 25 years. It is through his constant feedback from his female patients that he finally expended into aesthetics to cater the demand. Being in O & B, he certainly understands women problems, hormonal changes and our needs to be healthy and pretty.

Till date, he has about 20 years of experience handling medical lasers. While Dr. Jen offers, botox, fillers, thermage , lasers and other aesthetic treatments, he advocates a more long term balanced holistic approach to aesthetics unless otherwise necessary. That suited me perfectly as I was there to find a solution to my dehydrated skin that does not include any sort of needles or knives involved.

Dr. Jen is a very humble man (which explains why there is no photo of him in this post) but the tons of certificates and diplomas around his office tells of his sound credentials as a doctor and his active participation in finding the newest technology available for aesthetics  He’s one of the few rare doctors that actually undersells his services. He doesn’t promise results that he cannot be certain of so you can be sure that when he tells you it works, it really works. Dr. Jen also subscribes to the philosophy of constant habitual rejuvenation. There is no point going for a quick fix and not maintaining the care of your face or body. Which is why other than the usual lasers and peels, he offers a unique treatment called hydrafacial where his clients would come by every now and then as a sort of maintenance.

It’s priced about the same or cheaper than many upmarket facials but offers the expertise of a doctor’s consultation, trained nurses and medical grade equipment that usual facial salons cannot use.

After a quick consultation where I could clear any doubts I had, it was decided that my dehydrated face would gain a lot from a Radio Frequency (RF) treatment for my eyes and a hydrafacial. It doesn’t need any needles, knives, or even downtime to get glowing skin. What more can a girl ask for.

I was brought to a comfy room to lie down and prepare for my treatments. You can choose to have dim lights so you can take 40 winks while it’s being done or have the window blinds open so you can enjoy the nature right outside.

Nurse Cathy is very experienced and informative. She answered all my questions with ease and I was reassured at her knowledgeable hands.  The RF treatment is painless and all you feel is a little heat on your skin.

Radio Frequency (RF) treatment uses electrical pulses to effectively tighten skin and reduce wrinkles. It works by selectively delivering heat energy to the middle and lower levels of skin stimulating new collagen growth. Radio Frequency technology remains a popular procedure because it can deeply penetrate the lower levels of skin without causing any damage to the surface.

Cathy did a double cleanse of my face to make sure it was clean before we started.

Unlike the usual treatments you get at the doctors office where they rush through the whole procedure (after all, doctors generally don’t have much time to waste with you), Face and Body Architect seeks to relax your body and mind while providing you medical grade treatments so Cathy really spends time working every pore on your face.

The best RF treatment out on the market is actually Thermage where skin tightening and wrinkle reduction can be seen almost immediately. Face and Body Architect offers Thermage treatment where it will be handled personally by Dr. Jen. My RF treatment was not Thermage as I (thankfully) didn’t have much saggy skin or wrinkles. The RF I did was only for the area around my eyes and it was done more for a general maintenance to encourage my skin’s production of natural collagen.

Next treatment is the HydraFacial. This particular machine model is the best of their range and is currently found only in 2 clinics. While many other clinics offer Hydra Facial, a lot of them choose to take the step down version of the same machine to reduce cost. The machine that Face and Body Architects has  will pump the right amount of each of the 4 solutions needed for your skin.

Cathy prepares 3 brand new nozzles for the treatment. They give new nozzles to every patient so that it’s more hygienic.

To share more about HydraFacial, I extracted the paragraph in italics from their website.

WHY HYDRAFACIAL?
The “HydraFacial” treatment is the newest advance in non-laser skin resurfacing. HydraFacial is the only hydradermabrasion procedure that combines cleansing, exfoliation, extraction, hydration and antioxidant protection simultaneously, resulting in clearer, more beautiful skin with no discomfort or downtime. The treatment is soothing, moisturizing, non-invasive and non-irritating. The HydraFacial treatment improves the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, congested and enlarged pores, oily or acne-prone skin, hyperpigmentation and brown spots.

If you are going to spend hundreds of dollars on expensive skincare for your skin anyways, you can definitely consider doing HydraFacials every once in awhile to maximise the absorption of those expensive creams and serums that you use since this is one facial that suits all skin types as they can customized the solutions that best suits your skin.

• ctiv-4™ Skin Solution:
  Designed for most skin types. It helps to promote the overall health of skin; improve the appearance of hyperpigmentation, brown spots, fine lines and uneven skin tone. 
• Beta-HD™ Skin Solution: 
  This Salicylic Acid based skin solution is specifically designed for acne-prone and oily skin. It softens sebum, dislodges skin debris and aids in painless extractions of whiteheads and blackheads. 
• Antiox-6™ Skin Solution: 
  Containing Vitamin A, Vitamin E, White Tea Extract and Hyaluronic Acid, the Antiox-6™ is designed for overall antioxidant protection and deep hydration on most skin types.

You can improve the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, acne, hyperpigmentation, congested pores and uneven skin tone with no surgery, no injections, no discomfort and no downtime.

Cathy went through every inch of my face to throughly cleanse my pores and then infuse them with the skin solutions that will help recover my skin to it’s best.

It was so relaxing that I forgot for a moment that this was a medical treatment and basically dozed off to dreamland.

Face and Body Architect also have some basic skin care solutions for home care. They don’t push for any services or products  as they don’t believe in “selling” products or services that their patients didn’t need. I didn’t get any of these take home skincare as they said my skin was doing well. Don’t change what is working unnecessarily!

I’m sure you must be curious about how my face was after the facial.

I was amazed! This photo was taken by Cathy immediately after my facial. I had no makeup on at all! My skin was definitely soft and supple. More importantly, I looked positively radiant with no makeup, no foundation, no BB cream, no powder or anything at all. My skin was so flaky and dehydrated when I went there and within a few hours, my skin normalized. This is why I so highly recommend others to give HydraFacial a go. As a regular maintenance, it will also help your skin to absorb all the wonderful facial nutrients that we slather on every day and night. Medical science is wondrous and you can be assured to get the best in the hands of Dr. David Jen. He totally under promised me on the results I would get from the HydraFacial. I understand that each person’s skin is different but I saw vast differences in mine.

Of course, like the name of the clinic suggests, Face and Body Architect also offers an array of body treatments that I’ve not really touched in this post.

If you are keen to learn more, I suggest you give Renee Cheng a buzz at 81283303. Otherwise, you can contact the clinic directly,

Face & Body ArchiTECH
1384 Ang Mo Kio Ave 1
@ Bishan Park II (next to Aramsa Spa)
Singapore 569932
Clinic Mobile 65 8189 3098 / 8128 3303
T 65 6455 3380 F 65 6455 2808

info@face-bodyarchitech.com
Opening Hours (by Appointment)
Mon to Wed & Sat: 10am – 5pm
Thu & Fri: 10am – 9pm