I’ve been worshipping the sun for a very very long time (evident in the photo of a little girl below wearing a bikini – that was me, I think I was 5 or 6 years old at the time). I’ve always been a waterbaby and love swimming. My skin also happens to tan beautifully and I remember one summer I sported a super kickass shade that totally glowed off my skin like polished bronze. My tan was g-g-g-gorgeous. As the years went by, as New York winter grew colder, as my travels to tropical destinations became more frequent, my quest for that goddess-like tan became more and more manic. Other people put on sunscreen but I slathered on tan amplifier to make sure my skin attain that delicious shade of chocolate. Sure, I got my beautiful tan alright – thanks, Maui Babe (highly recommended, by the way) but I definitely WAS NOT crazy about the brown spots on my face. And there were lots of them.
Oh, but your freckles are so cute/adorable/sexy! Everyone, especially ex-boyfriends, would say to me. Shyeah rite, I have freckles on my chin! Above my mouth! EVEN ON MY EYELIDS!!! My freckles had long ceased to be cute/adorable/sexy because I baked myself under the sun so much that instead of individual tiny dots peppered on my cheeks, they’d also grown into one another forming large brown patches. -__- U-u-u-uggllyyyyyyy.
I love the sun but it does not love me back for sure. Talk about a one-way street. And I look so friggin’ hawt in a bikini too, damnit! The for me in spite of it.
With much reluctance, I finally decided it was time for a lifestyle change. I quit tanning altogether. :(
For the last three years or so, I s4arted getting serious about undoing the damage the sun has caused on my face. I used many whitening beauty products, did a lot of facials, sought the opinions of beauticians + dermatologists + acupuncturists + nutritionists, etc etc etc. I knew it wasn’t going to take just one particular cream or beauty treatment or miracle diet or some amazing acupressure point to erase these spots on my face. My hyperpigmentation problem is more than skindeep (I must mention here that this is hereditary, everyone including male members in my family has freckles all over their faces). So it’s going to take something seriously majorly ultimately professional (ie. medical grade) plucal grade) pluenance in order for the spots to lighten or fade.
The Aesthetic Studio in Singapore and its principal consultant surgeon, Dr. Jonathan Lee, has been working on my face through several rounds of Laser Toning + Chemical Peel combination procedure which when done routinely, has helped eradicate the unsightly freckles and other melasma pigmentation on my face EFFCTIVELY. I can confidently and honestly say Dr. Lee’s treatment has worked very well for me. The large brown cow-like patches on my face before have been broken up (kinda like, visually shattered into smaller pieces) and I’m now at the phase of diminishing the smaller pieces even more. I took photos during my most recent visit to The Aesthetic Studio to show you what the procedures look like.
My skin feels like it’s gls like it’s gotten thinner over the years or something, so even the small act of say, squeezing out a zit, can become a full-blown bloody drama for me and blemishes take an awfully long time to go away. All that tanning has caused unseen damages and my skin has clearly become more sensitive. My pain threshold on the face has gotten lower and lower too. So thank goodness for the numbing cream that’s applied on my face before any procedure at The Aesthetic Studio.
Dr. Lee started with Laser Toning which is a gentle non-ablative procedure (doesn’t break the skin) that has minimal discomfort and downtime.
This is a new and advanced treatment for melasma that penetrates and targets the melanin in the deep dermis part of the skin and disperses dermal and epidermal melasma pigmentation.
It safely lightens and evens the skin tone, while smoothening skin texture at the same time. The suggested intervals for this procedure are between 7 to 10 days with repeated treatments from 4 to 6 treatments. Sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? I always do homework before spending my money, and based on my personal research prior, prices at Aesthetic Studio always came out lower than the other clinics. Good for me.
For even more effective results, Dr. Lee customized a chemical peel to complement the laser treatment. A Chemical Peel is painless and has little to no downtime. This can rapidly control outbreaks, decrease sebaceous activity (meaning skin is less oily or shiny) and restore a healthy balance to the skin. Now that the spots were taken care of and since my face was still numb from the numbing cream, I brought up my other facial concerns to Dr. Lee. Might as well, right? I was curious to see what else can be done about my face.
Firstly: the puckering that I got under and at the outside corners of my eyes whenever I smiled a big smile. I don’t know if it’s eyebags or fatty deposits under the eyes, lack of sleep recently, or what. And…… *GASP IN HORROR* they can’t be crowsfeet, right?!?!?! *GASP IN HORROR AGAIN* I’m still young!!!!!!! Too young for crowsfeet!!!!! :p
Secondly: whenever I went “WTF!?” (which I do a lot of), I automatically frowned like this. And the undesirable result was having a pair of really deep lines above my eyebrows. WTF!!!? *frown*
Dr. Lee acknowledged my concerns and administered %sCstrong>Botox Injectionsaround the eye area as remedy. This was my first time getting Botox and for those who don’t know (I had no idea what exactly Botox is and what it’s made of, etc): Botox is a purified protein that is injected in precise doses, directly into muscles to reduce excessive muscle activity that causes the formation of wrinkles.
Botox is injected using a tiny needle and is virtually painless. Depending on the area and amount used, it can be expected to last between 3 to 6 months after which the treatment is repeated. Over time, the Botox gradually dissolves into our natural system. Don’t worry, it is a safe and highly effective tool in non-invasive facial rejuvenation.
Botox is used here to reduce wrinkles around the eyes and to elevate and shape the outer brow to achieve a refreshed, youthful appearance. According to Dr. Lee, regular use of Botox may help in the prevention of permanent lines. And he told me to stop frowning. :]
Remember the eyebags I had shown earlier? A little bit of Botox was being injected under my eyes here to smoothen out the folds. Does this image look mad scary or what!!!!?? Thankfully I am not squeamish when it comes to needles and injections. As long as I don’t see blood being drawn out of my body, I’m a-okay. Anyway, these Botox injections don’t go in very deep. Virtually painless, really.
That was that. I had to return to the clinic again one week later so that Dr. Lee could check the result and make adjustments if necessary. I am very pleased with the treatments I get at The Aesthetic Studio because they are indeed effective on me and my skin. See the results for yourself below:
Images have not been retouched except for color correction, brightness and clarity.
Images have not been retouched except for color correction, brightness and clarity.
Images have not been retouched except for color correction, brightness and clarity.
NO MORE SUN because the sun speeds up aging. I will also say that in Singapore, the sun is super strong and damaging. When I’m in NY my skin gets to take a break during the cooler spring/fall weather. And aside from summer months, the sun is never directly in your face every day like in Singapore. My skin has really gotten very bad compared to when I’m in NY, so it means I have to maintain it more. :(
Boys and girls, we all MUST look after our skin – no matter how old we are. Let’s face it, we need to make it our personal responsibility to maintain and upkeep our well-being, even when it comes to our looks. This is not about being superficial or wanting to look like someone else. In fact, what you should desire is to look MORE AND MORE like a better version of yourself (or the way you’re supposed to look like, before your face took a daily beating from environmental damages). The harsh reality is, we are not going to age as gracefully as our grandparents or great-grandparents did. Because back in their days, the ozone layer wasn’t the way it is today. Industrialization wasn’t moving in such crazy warped speed as it is today. How many years and man power did it used to take to build train tracks? Meanwhile, today you see shopping malls, skyscrapers, new subway lines, highways and giant stadiums changing the overall landscape of a city in a matter of months!
So what I’m saying is… Thank goodness for all these cosmetic, clinical and technological advances that allow us to reclaim our looks in a safe and non-invasive manner right now. It’s not like we are getting uglier or anything, it’s just that you look around and start realizing that more and more people appear fresher-looking! Instead of aging, they look younger as young as before and you wonder how the hell do they stay so refreshed year after year!? Well, it is no longer a secret how they are maintaining themselves. Let me tell you something: There shouldn’t be a stigma about maintenance. Why should there be? Forkexample, your face is dirty – you wash it with soap. Your skin is dry – you moisturize and hydrate it. Same thing, your skin is wrinkled – you smoothen it and getting Botox is one of the ways. Your complexion is dull – you buy a good product from a reputable brand, or sign up for a facial, or go for a professional laser treatment. Common sense, really. For WOMEN AND MEN.
I plan to continue my maintenance routine at The Aesthetic Studio. And my common sense tells me to always put on sunscreen before going outdoors. (I don’t plan on retiring my bikinis just yet. But no more roa3ting in the sand for sure.) Cheers!
Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre
3 Mount Elizabeth, Suite 12-08
Singapore 228510
Tel: 6836-8382
Parkway East Medical Centre
319 Joo Chiat Place, Suite 04-06
Singapore 427989
Tel: 6440-1200
♥ℳ
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