We all want to look the best that we can possibly be.
I don’t want to look like someone else but I would love to look like the prettiest version of me possible. To do that, I struggle with balancing stress, incorporating exercise, eating healthier, using the most effective skin care, highlighting my face with make up and having a good dermatologist.
If you have a trainer at the gym to watch your body and tell you the ways you can improve it, it only makes sense to have a doctor who can do the same for your face. I know many people do take it a step too far and completely change what they look like with multiple plastic surgeries but then again, it’s no different from the kind of guys at the gym who workout too much and turn themselves into a non-functional Hercules with tiny heads.
I’m not advocating of dissing plastic surgeries, like most people, I don’t know enough to decide what is good or bad. However, in my opinion, the downtime and pain are major drawbacks for me. Whenever possible I hope to make easy simple choices that do not involve any cutting or downtime.
Recently, at Halley’s Medical Aesthetics (I love the decor and will share more photos next time), I met with Dr. Terence Tan and he introduced me to this amazing FDA approved cutting edge technology called Ultherapy.
While I hope to delay aging as much as possible, I do acknowledge that some ways are better than others and it’s absurd to try and stop aging altogether. As we grow, gentle lines (those not caused by premature aging) around face are important reminders of living life and treasuring the many emotions that have resulted in the forming of those lines. That being said, what I dread most about aging (aesthetically speaking) is gravity. The saggy jowls and cheeks are just awful at any age.
I’m in my mid 30s and at my age, I wouldn’t say I need a face-lift yet. But I do need good anti-aging creams or avant garde method to slow down the side effects of aging. I’ve learnt that Ultherapy is one of the best anti-aging weapon for thwarting gravity’s’ hold on our face.
These days, everyone is on their electronic gadgets all the time. Be it a tablet, a smartphone or a kindle, we just can’t imagine not having access to such technology as they take an invariable place in our lives. The price we pay for that is what has been coined as a “Tech Neck” which brings about saggy skin and noticeable creases above the clavicle bone.
They say the neck is one of the tell-tale signs of a woman’s age and constant downward glancing to our gadgets are accelerating gravity’s impact on your lower face like never before.
Although I’m relatively youthful, I can see a little sagginess on my cheeks and the sides of my lower jaw. The photo above is a relatively recent one that show the side of my jowl beginning to sag while the two photos below were taken a year ago where there was no sagginess on my cheeks or the sides of my jaw.
Ultherapy is almost like investing in a one time skincare routine that is assures gratifying results. Of course you will still continue to age but you have effectively slowed down the effects of gravity for awhile (and maybe reversed some of the damage).
Unlike lasers that work their way from the surface to the deeper layers of your skin, Ultherapy uses ultrasound and treats your skin from the inside out to stimulate collagen production resulting in a tightening effect. No downtime, no major side effects, no foreign substances, no need for repeated visits, no medication or after care. More importantly, it forces your body to produce tightening collagen NATURALLY! It can be used all over the face to rejuvenate the skin, reduce sagginess and even bring about a mini brow lift effect over time. The only consideration is that the effects need time to manifest itself. There’s no immediate magic to be seen.
As I waited for my numbing cream to ease into my skin, Dr Terence Tan patiently demonstrated to me how it works. Ultherapy is a very clever concept using a sophisticated machine to give impressive results. It’s one of those brilliant solutions that have been carefully planned all the way down to the finer details.
There are 3 sizes of transducers to target different areas of your face. The ultrasound shows exactly which point the transducer used will focus the ultrasound waves to target deep into that sweet spot above your muscles to heat up the underlying tissues.
The specific (everything about Ultheray is specific and precise) heat placement will then force your body to coagulate proteins such as collagen and elastin (all the good stuffs) to heal. Your body’s natural response to heal will lift those tissues over time to achieve the effect you wanted. How very intelligent!
Dr. Terence Tan used the 3.0 and 4.5 for my cheeks and jawline while reserving the 3.0 and 1.5 for the upper face such as the brows and forehead. Ultheray does not remove dynamic creases (the kind of creases you get when you frown) but it will help remove static creases (the kind of lines that can be seen on your resting face).
In a methodological manner, Dr. Terence Tan worked across my forehead, cheeks and neck while constantly chatting with me to ease any anxiety I may have.
Ultherapy is widely known for its’ non-invasive “face-lift” effect but it can also be used to tackle very precise issues such as giving you a “brow lift”. As you age, sometimes the skin around the brows can sag a little giving you a sad, lethargic or even fierce expression and tightening the skin around helps to solve the issue. Traditionally a “brow-lift” requires surgery but with medical advances you can now use either Botox or Ultheray for a non-invasive solution. Each method has its own pros and cons. Ultheray needs time ( a few month) to fully see the effects but it lasts much longer.
For most part, I only felt a warming sensation and it wasn’t painful at all. The sensitive areas for me was when the tissues near the bones were targeted (such as the jawline). By the time we were almost done, I had a slight achiness on some areas of my face.
My skin is naturally sensitive so I expected the redness that appeared on my skin during the procedure but as you can see (from my next photo), my skin looks perfectly fine right after the treatment and I went ahead to meet friends for dinner. No downtime at all.
You can still see the sagginess on the sides of my jaws and cheeks as you do not get immediate results with Ultherapy. However, I can still feel a slight tingling sensation (especially over my cheeks and jaw area) for about a week after the session which indicates that my body is busy creating collagen to tighten and heal the area.
At this point, I’m going to sidetrack a little to tell you how much I love the little girly dressing room that Halley Medical Aesthetics has for their patients to freshen up after any treatment.
It definitely lends a warmer cosier touch that is absent from most clinics and a well appreciated gesture. I have always felt that doctors that have a high handed attitude with clinics that are cold and sterile is an outdated approach. I’m happy to have found one like Halley Medical Aesthetics whose friendly doctor and pretty furnishing are aimed at improving their patients experience.
I’m sure you guys are dying to see how the Ultherapy works out for me. So am I. Unfortunately, it takes quite a bit of time so I’ll update in a month or two to see how much lifting I’ve been able to achieve. It’s really exciting!
If you want to find out more give Halley Medical Aesthetics a call or better still, pay Dr. Terence Tan a visit. Sometimes you just need a friendly opinion from an expert to realized how easy it can be to alleviate your skin care concerns.
Halley Medical Aesthetics
248 River Valley Road #01-01
Singapore 238302
Tel: 6737 8233
http://halley.com.sg
Thanks for reading.
