Happy New Year 2013

Happy New Year Peeps... it's 2013 already. And this year my life has turned a serious 180 degrees from a super party queen to more of a soccer mum. Oh well, hence the late entry for the year. Yes, handling 2 school going children is a pretty major task and takes up a lot of my play time.

Still, this year Faceworks Clinic has a new direction and there are a lot of new things in stored for all our lovely patients and fans. It is also entering the 5th year of me holding the helm of this clinic, so we will definitely be having a big anniversary event at year end to celebrate this wonderful achievement. 

For the time being, let me give you a brief of all the new products we have decided to bring into the clinic.

This is just a brief review of what we will be carrying this year, the full review will be written up later:

1. Neostrata Skin Active Range

This range came out early last year and I have to say, it is one of my favourite. (Especially the cleanser). Its designed for more mature skin, to help exfoliate dead skin as well as rehydrate the epidermis. The eye cream helps reduces fine wrinkles around the eyes. However, for best results, you will need to continously use this product diligently and studies shown 87% improvement after 3 months. The price for a whole set is : RM 840/= which is affordable if you are comparing with high end cosmetic brands like Lancome, Shisheido and SKII.

2. Neostrata Enlighten Range

This is a new range just launched end of last year. I've been trying this out and I find that it helps to lighten out my PIH (post inflammatory hyperpigmentation) post acne in a span of 2 weeks. I was a bit sensitive to the pigment controller since it has retinol in it but otherwise, it is a good set for peiople who wants a brighter face and have pigmentation scar issues like me. The whole set costs only RM 475 and can last you up to a month and a half. 

3. Dermaceutic Home Care Range

Dermaceutic is a new range from UK which came about during early last year. The trend of physicians in Europe going away from lasers and concentrating more on peels have led to this. It has a variety range of peels but unfortunately in Malaysia, we are only allowed until the Spot Peel. Neverless, it does have a very good home care range which is more versatile to be used together or combined with other things. Each product is pretty affordable with prices starting from RM 150 onwards for a bottle that can last approximately 1-2 months. My personal favourite in this range is the turnover cream which I use at night before my serums if I feel my skin is not up to par. Love the silky feeling and evening out of skin tone in the morning.A must have for busy people like me.

4. Heliocare Sunblock Oral and Compact Powder

I admit. I am crazy about sunblock. The SPF 50 gel is my all time favourite but now I am also bringing in the compact and the oral sunblock (although actually it has been around for years). The compact is a cool kit for ladies since it has 2 tones, a fair and skin tone. So instead of carrying your compact powder around you can use this oil-free compact to touch up as well as get the sun protection you need. The oral sunblock is also a cool thing to have especially if you are planning on outdoor training or beach holidays. I was consuming this when I went to Legoland recently. It helps to reduce risk for sunburn and redness although it does not replace topical sunblock. The compact is selling at RM 120/= each and the oral sunblock is RM 180 per bottle of 60 tablets.

5. Instant Demake - Make-Up remover & Instant Calm Spray.

These are two new products that can come in handy. I love this make up remover because its really clean despite no water. I use it before doing fillers on patients hence reduces washing face time by half. Also if I partied hard the night before and have some left over mascara, it helps take them off. It comes in a big bottle of 250mls which is more than enough to last months. The instant calm spray is another cool item that helps to reduce redness almost instantly. I use this after extractions or procedures which causes redness. I've even used this to soothe skin irritation. It is made of natural products that you can actually drink it. The make up remover is going for RM 108/= 1 bottle and the instant calm is priced at RM 99/= each.

6. Phiderma Cerum, Retinol and Linurase

This is another range of products that I love. Cerum is vitamin C serum in small ampules. Each tub has 50 ampules which is for 50 applications. This eliminates spills, hassle of having to keep in the fridge, oxidation issues and it is very hygiene and easy to bring on travels. The revitalizing retinol complex is an alternative to people using retin-A creams. It is a lot softer but penetrates deep and helps control acne and other skin problems. Linurase contains alpha hexapeptide-8 that acts on the same area as botulinum toxin A to help reduce wrinkles. Single application lasts between 6-8 hours but daily usage continuously for 2 weeks or more shows significant reduction in line appearance. It is a good adjuct to people who have had botox/BonTA done to make the effects last longer or for those not keen for injecting the toxin into the body. The prices are RM300 for Cerum, RM 320 for Linurase, and RM 350 for Revitalizing Retinol Complex.

7. SRS Home care range

SRS is known for its mesotherapy range. However, it also has a cool home care range of serums for a lot of needs. I will be launching this range this coming weekend, so will write more on this later.

8. Dermclar Biological Homecare Range & Dermclar Liposome Range.

This is the latest product in the clinic which comes from Spain. Dermclar specializes in transdermal delivery of products which has enabled them to come up with this special range called virtual mesotherapy. Imagine having mesotherapy like results using products without having to endure the pain of multiple needle injections to the skin. At first I thought that they were kidding me, but after trying it myself, I am a believer. It tackles things like eye bags, skin tightness, double chin, cellulite, lifting and also wrinkles. I will be launching this product this weekend, so if you are interested to know more, just drop by the clinic between 2-5pm this Saturday where we will be having a talk and live demo on this product. Lucky draws and more goodies to be won during this event. We are also having a spring sale of product items up to 50% off.

For more info please contact us at faceworksclinic@gmail.com or call 03-21440080 / 014-2233268.

Tried and tested........... (Part 1)

I have been super busy with so many things that sometimes I wonder what is it that is making me so busy to begin with. Well, one of the things I was up to was actually testing out supplements and products to see how good they are. So here are a list of things I have been trying and the outcome.

1. Tiox-C Glutathione and Vitamin Capsule tablets.

At first when I saw this product I was skeptical. Oral glutathione and vitamin C? But since it was provided in gelatin capsules, it would survive the acidic PH of the stomach. I took some for the clinic and some of my patients tried it out. I gave a box to my sister, and she took 10 capsules a day at different intervals. (The recommended was 2 capsules daily). In one week she was fairer than me by at least 2 shades. Anotehr patient took 4 tablets a day, and she was fairer after 2 weeks, despite spending some time in the sun over that weekend. Besides the fairness, my patients also commented on the brightness of the skin and healthier glow. So I decided to try it out, so I am currently on my 2 week and I think I am a tan lighter compared to usual. This product is from Japan but packed in Malaysia. The bovine gelatin capsules are from Pakistan, and has a Halal certification. Other benefits of this product is that it is a good anti-oxidant and was actually promoted as a supplement for detox. One box comes with 90 tablets with 150mg of vitamin C and 150mg of glutathione in each one. The price for a box is around RM 328/= which is pretty good since you have 90 tablets to take. So instead of going for vitamin C injections, you can take orally for cheaper with results. You can get this product in my clinic.

2. Linurase Serum from Phiderma

This is a new product in town called Linurase. As the name entails it is designed to erase wrinkles and lines. Fine ones that is. I have tried this product for about more than 2 weeks everyday twice daily application without fail and this is what I think about it. First of all, the product is in a serum form. It absorbs quickly within 2 minutes. Initially I had a little bit of a tingling from using this product but after a few days it felt better. After a few minutes, I do notice my wrinkles improving, even the dynamic ones. They claim to be better than botox or BTA, but after 2 weeks, I'd say that they are competitive, but you need to apply daily to get the best effect. Once you stop, the muscle action will return and expressive wrinkles will come back again. Nevertheless, it is a good alternative for people who have needle phobia or not keen to get BTA/botox done yet. Daily usage of this serum actually stalled some of the wrinkles on my forehead, until I stopped a few days ago to try out another product. The lines came back after a few days. After reading more about the active ingredient, you need to use it consistently for more than 30 days to have a lasting effect. It contains Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 which acts on the same acetyle choline receptors as bta/botox thus blocking muscle actions. Other ingredients are Hyaluronic acid, anti-oxidants and seaweed biopeptide extracts. If you are interested with this serum, you can contact my clinic and we will order for you. It is selling at RM 300/bottle which may well last up to 3 months.

3. Double X from Nutrilite

Previously being on stem cell supplements and later HCG diet has actually turned me into a pretty health freak where I am seriously into organics and reducing artificial colourings, flavours and sugar based foods. But stem cell supplements are expensive, and it would be not so ideal for people of the working class to take on a monthly basis. So I scoured the internet for solutions and I came across this particular brand of multivitamins. Nutrilite actually has the largest organic farm in the states, and has passed accreditation for few years already. (4 or more) My major turn off was the fact that it was sold under Amway which is a multi-level company. However, being a curious and caring doctor, I decided to search for it anyway and give my opinion on it. I have been taking this vitamin for almost a month now and for what it is, it is super affordable. (RM 150 per box of 62 X 3 tablets for non Amway members). What I felt after taking these vitamins is that my energy level came up again, despite my super busy schedule. I looked less tired and these changes started perhaps after a few days after taking them twice daily and after a week I felt healthier. What I really like about it is the fact that they divide 2 separate doses in a day which is actually what is recommended by all Nutritionists and dieticians since 3 years ago. The reason for this is that the gut has a saturation level for all nutrients so if you were to take too high a dose at a time, you will only absorb as much as the saturated level allows thus wasting the vitamin. Another good thing is that they separate vitamins from minerals which allows accurate concentrations to be achieved since in processing a lot of the minerals get binded by the vitamins - e.g. sodium to vitamin c - ascorbate and others. They even added a third component which is more of a traditional preparation but known to have good benefits like cranberry extracts, apple extracts, etc as anti-oxidants to complete the multivitamin. The only thing is, you cannot take this on a completely empty stomach since when I tried, there was some reflux felt, so I'd recommend some food before taking them, but definitely not on a full stomach. Another downside would be having to swallow 3 hard tablets which I know there are some people who do not like popping pills. But otherwise, this is certainly a keeper to maintain on a daily basis for good health. Personally I do not sell this, but if you are interested to get some you can contact my clinic and we will get you in touch with my friend Ed.

These are but a few of the other things I've been testing. I welcome any feedback or comments.

For more information or if you would like to try out these products you can contact my clinic at 03-21440080 or email to info@faceworksclinic.com.