Beauty enhancement 101: Doctors give dos and don’ts
MANILA, Philippines — With the advent of social media, people have become more beauty conscious now than ever before, said Dr. Irene Gail Robredo-Vitas.
“Nowadays, because of social media and because you’re seeing yourself in more angles unlike ever before… Now, your profile matters, how you look from above and the sides, matter,” she expounded at a recent media roundtable event organized by Merz Aesthetics.
“More and more people now are aware of how the skin moves and feels, so if then, clients go to dermatologists when they already have problems, now, they visit the derma to determine the best skincare regimen,” Dr. Gail added.
In turn, a lot of doctors and practitioners have also shifted to treating their patients holistically by starting with skincare products before proceeding to treatments, said Robredo-Vitas.
“People nowadays are into enhancement. More than looking at someone else, they want to be the best versions of themselves,” she enthused.
“During the pandemic, you get to try all the filters. Now that we’re back to face-to-face, the challenge is to look the same… A lot of people were awakened by the pandemic to start preserving their health.”
But, instead of Christmas cheer, beauty enhancement could turn into a Halloween horror story. To prevent this from happening, Dr. Robredo-Vitas and fellow board-certified dermatologist Dr. Jonathan Yu gave tips to make sure one’s beauty improvement goals are achieved for a better, and literally a more beautiful, new year ahead.
Go only to legitimate, certified centers
Jorge Libanan, Merz Aesthetics Philippines General Manager, shared that their company, which created and owns the rights to the only United States Food and Drug Administration-cleared non-invasive skin lifting treatment Ultherapy, took legal action against 53 centers in the Philippines claiming to offer Ultherapy. According to him, Merz Aesthetics Philippines’ website has a complete list of certified Ultherapy providers in the country and if a clinic is not on the list, then it is best to avoid it for one’s safety.
After searching in an e-commerce site, Dr. Yu discovered that Ultherapy machines are sold at P150,000, when ones installed by its only legitimate provider, Merz, are at about P4 million apiece. The legitimate machines also bear Merz’s authenticity sticker, with the latest being 2022.
Although the real and fake machines look the same, Dr. Yu, who has performed hundreds of procedures including Ultherapy, can quickly spot the differences.
“One, we’re not even sure if they’re delivering enough energy to treat the skin, you don’t know what it’s actually doing,” he said of fake machines.
“There will be a lot of centers that claim they’re offering the real thing, but remember that it’s your safety, your money. If you go to these centers, you don’t know if they’re properly trained.
You don’t know if you’re getting the effective treatment. In the end, you’re going to spend more than getting the actual treatment from the authentic provider.”
Dr. Yu said that for Ultherapy, for example, to be effective, it should be able to address at least 800 lines in the face, and the “promo price” of P20,000-worth Ultherapy treatments in bogus clinics seem to only get rid of 50 lines, which almost have no effect on the face.
“The number one advantage of Ultherapy is it works… (Whereas Ultherapy is only one session), other treatments need three to four sessions to achieve effects, so they would come out more expensive,” he explained.
Trust only properly trained practitioners
Besides wasted money, burning and scarring are some of the consequences if a beauty procedure is not done by certified specialists, Dr. Yu warned.
For instance, since the Ultherapy machine is a medical device, theoretically, even a nurse cannot administer it, he said. “But if certified by the company, (then the nurse) probably can,” he pointed out.
Libanan said since the treatment is deemed premium, it is not installed in just any clinic and they make sure that every center where there is a machine, there is a doctor, who is the first to be certified to use it.
The machine is the only one of its kind with active visualization wherein ultrasound is used to visualize the skin, thereby allowing the doctor to appropriately apply energies on layers of skin, Dr. Robredo-Vitas explained.
“It ruins the reputation of other doctors if the center’s practitioners do not know where to look for lines and are not trained,” fretted Robredo-Vitas, who underwent series of trainings before getting her certification.
While other machines just target the skin’s surface, Ultherapy works by enabling ultrasound waves to go to the collagen, bypassing the outer layer of the skin to improve its foundation. Like in a house, if the skin’s foundation is good, any beauty procedure would complement it, said Yu.
“Ultherapy stimulates collagen, so the younger you are, the better the collagen production would be,” he said, explaining why Ultherapy treatments are done a year apart for younger clients and six months for older ones.
Don’t be afraid to ask
While it is not bad for people to be trustful of what their doctors tell them to do, according to Dr. Gail, it is very important to address one’s concerns and doubts. Here, she said, are what to ask your doctor before an enhancement:
- Do I really need this treatment? Is this procedure the best option to meet my needs?
- What enhancement can give me the confidence I need?
- Will there be a downtime?
- Will there be pain or discomfort? If so, how painful and uncomfortable would it be? Am I prepared for these in terms of tolerance and existing health concerns?
- Will the treatment suit my budget? What options are available for my budget?
- What are the treatment’s immediate and long-term results?
From her experience, Dr. Robredo-Vitas said her clients who are in their late 20s and 30s are now more into preventive treatments because they realized that prevention is easier –– and cheaper –– than cure.
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