Flawless recommendations

Gold’s Gym is bursting at the seams this time of the year — what with so many clients wanting to shed off the calories of Christmas past. What is wonderful about working out in Gold’s, however, is that all branches (except the ones in Timog and Waltermart) are open till 12 midnight and this gives you the option to avoid the peak hours that begin at 5 p.m. and end at around 8. Starting at 9 p.m., Gold’s is all yours and you can work it out in comfort.

The beauty clinics are likewise full. Both Belo Medical Centers and Flawless are crowded these days with clients who are trying to reverse the ravages and abuses of the holiday season: Lack of sleep, stress and eating the richest of foods that are bad for the body and skin. (I also suggest you see your physicians for a check-up to start your year right because I plan to do that — on Chinese New Year though.)

I was in touch with Flawless’ Rubby Sy and head doctor, Michelle Cruz recently and I asked them which procedures they would recommend this year to their endorsers to keep them, well, flawless. Dr. Cruz suggested the following for the celebrities below:

Mark Herras — Cosmelan. The Cosmelan method is designed to eliminate darkened skin spots of melanic origin. It works on the cells responsible for skin coloration and stops color production in areas on the face where there is so much pigmentation. Mark may need this because he is mestizo and he is prone to freckles. For those with the usual Pinoy color (which foreigners so envy), some may also have skin problems like what we call in the vernacular as “pekas.”

I saw how Cosmelan magically worked on Dr. Cruz herself. When I first met her, she reminded me of Carmina Villarroel — skin and all. But for all of Carmina’s pretty mestiza features, she has a lot of freckles. Dr. Cruz tried Cosmelan on herself and when I saw her last, she still looks so fair and beautiful, but without the freckles. Cosmelan also worked on other Flawless clients I regularly see in the Robinsons Galleria branch. I swear the “pekas” marks disappeared and in its place they now have skin that radiates.

Yasmien Kurdi — Flawless hair removal. This is a problem for a lot of women (and some men, too), but since I am not bothered with my body hair, I don’t really pay much attention to this treatment. But I know of Flawless clients who go through hair removal and I can tell if they are doing this because they are hidden inside the doctor’s room (for privacy) when this is done. I spoke to some of them and they say that Flawless hair removal is safe for all types of skin.

Judy Ann Santos — Waxing. I know Juday swears by this because when her schedule gets too tight, she even has the Flawless aesthetician come to her set to do the waxing there. Now you know why her skin is smooth all over.

Richard Gutierrez — Ultra Rejuvenation. Even if you are as handsome as Richard, you still need maintenance, especially in the young actor’s profession where he gets exposed outdoors during shoots and that can cause sun damage, uneven skin tones and, sigh, age spots. But Ultra Rejuvenation will fix all that for Richard if he encounters such work-related problems. What’s wonderful with the treatment is that there is no downtime and you can immediately return to your normal schedule after your Ultra Rejuvenation.

Alyssa Alano — Body scrub. Alyssa is already doing this regularly and this gives her the confidence to show skin in Startalk because her arms, back and legs are smooth like that of a baby’s — and even all over.

Lorna Tolentino — Photogen. I was the one who recommended this to her (sorry, Dr. Cruz, I beat you to it). Since Lorna lost a lot of weight (she still is in mourning, but slowly recovering), she ended up with some loose skin. Photogen is good for her because it can tighten skin to make her look even more svelte. For those still with problematic areas that make them look like they have excess fat, Photogen can tighten the skin and so they look slimmer. It’s actually wonderful on the face — it can either tighten it or sculpt it (with no downtime!).

In my case, I’ve already been trying Photogen for a while and now I do less sit-ups because my abs are tighter (don’t tell my gym-mates that who hardly see me doing crunches). For the face, I do derma roller and that is my way of saying goodbye to my pimple scars because I may be fair of skin, but prone to breakouts. When I started doing the derma roller, I noticed that I now rarely grow pimples because even my skin pores have tightened — disallowing those nasty bacteria to come in and develop acne.

Admittedly, I started late with my skin maintenance routine (only last year). Now, I swear by Flawless’ Iskin products and my favorite there is Radiance because it really makes your skin radiant by removing discoloration and giving it a glow.

Rubby Sy and Dr. Cruz, however, told me only days ago about Flawless’ new product called Even, which may solve problem areas on the face, around the eyes and even the entire body because the way I understand it, it is anti-cellulite. Fortunately, that is not a problem for most of us men (we may have that but we can choose to ignore it). But women have issues with that and Even promises to take away cellulites and will also tighten, firm and soften the skin on the body.

For the face, it has products designed to reduce signs of skin aging. Around the eye area, it is supposed to take away the dark circles, wrinkles and fine lines.

I have yet to ask Gretchen Barretto about this, but I was told that this still divinely beautiful actress pampers herself by sending over to the Philippines a team of beauty experts from Switzerland to help maintain her radiant skin. Sometimes, I heard that she flies there, but I am not sure of that and this may be another urban legend about Gretchen, whose every move is always talked about by everyone (although she’s been quiet these days).

What I am sure of is that Even is a Swiss product and you need not fly to Switzerland anymore to maintain your skin. The farthest distance I am traveling is to the nearest Flawless branch where I plan to get my Even kit. Switzerland really just got nearer.