Tried & Tested for this season..... Lalala......

It has been a very dramatic weekend in Malaysia as the 13th General elections took place and for the first time in history the turn up of voters were estimated around 10 million people which is the most so far. And most people were parading for change. So with the announcement of BN still remaining as the federal government, there were a lot of grouses and dissatisfaction from the voters. Especially since they are calling foul play as to be the reason for the current party to retain its victory. Despite the results are out, there is possibility of a rematch, or change in power in view the opposition leaders are determined to get justice. Many Malaysians wore black as a sign of protest as to how the election results were finalized, with many who were on duty confused as to how the amount written on the Form 14 and mutually agreed upon suddenly became a different number when announced by the election committee. Some were even more confused with the sudden black outs during the finalizing of vote counts, and TNB (the national electric company) claims they have nothing to do with it which made more people suspect foul play. Not to mention the appearances of ballot boxes that may have possibly fallen from the sky to side more on the ruling government. 

Since the election fever has not really subsided, I finally have some time to review some products that I have been trying out.

1. Rejuve TruWhite & Black Magic Whitening Soaps.

These are 2 whitening soaps from the same company. Black Magic has glutathione with papaya extract to help reduce inflammation. It is mainly for acne prone skin. Personally I haven't tried this one since I do not really have acne much except for the occasional hormonal spike break outs but based on what I gather from those who have tried, it does help to a certain extent especially for acne on the back and very oily skin on the face. I have been using TruWhite for the past month since I came back from Penang. It is a 100gm bar soap. Normally I am not a fan of bar soaps as the usual commercial ones give me break outs. Out of curiosity, I decided to give this a try. The soap has a very nice fragrance and on application makes the skin feel very clean. Its active ingredients are glutathione and sheep placenta extracts. It is slightly drying for those with dryer skin. After a week of using this soap, my skin does feel a little bit softer. In terms of whitening, I did notice an improvement of tan (I was really tan from Langkawi, Penang and Singapore). Fairer than I usually am? Perhaps not, but what could you expect from just a soap. Still, it does give me a softer feel, a more evener skin tone and it is very safe, even for children. Aina loves it. The retail price for this soap is roughly RM 35 +/- only, and is worth trying out. 

2. Age Defy Crystal Tomato

This is a new product in town which I found during my conference in Singapore. Crystal Tomato is a 100% vegetal extract from a special type of tomato grown in a controlled environment. The colourless caratenoid has been found to be a very potent skin whitening agent and through research and technology, they have managed to extract it into an oral form taken once daily. To make these tablets more effective, they have also included L-Cysteine which is a precursor for glutathione production in the liver to give you a more anti-oxidant effect.

Crystal Tomato™ has been scientifically proven to offer the following benefits:

1. Serves as a natural sunscreen against UVA and UVB rays to protect against UV damage, photo-oxidation and sunburn.
2. Acts as anti-oxidants to protect against free radical damage caused by environmental aggressors.
3. Contains anti-inflammatory properties against wounds and UV damage.
4. Inhibits melanin synthesis to prevent pigmentation spots from forming.
5. Reduces the melanin present in the cells including dark acne scars, freckles, dark underarms and age spots for an anti-ageing and anti-photo ageing effect.
6. Prevents DNA damage.
7. Promotes even skin tone and radiant complexion.
8. Protects and enhances the efficacy of other active ingredients and their activity.

Personally, I have been consuming this product religiously every morning and now entering my second week. The most striking difference I can see is the radiance that emits from my skin even without having to wear make-up. My skin tone seems to even out more, but pigmentations still remain. According to the literature study, it is suppose to help with pigmentation as well as it also affects the eumelanin pathway. I also notice that I do not tan as much as compared to before even without applying sunblock and this could be the sun protective effect that they mentioned about. But its only 2 weeks, I'll have to finish the box and write another review later with more explanation about the science. This product's retail price should be around RM 450 a box of 30 capsules, single tablet a day. The tablet is pretty big, but you can chew on it, it has a tomato taste actually. The product is still undergoing registration process in Malaysia. It is already registered in Singapore since last year. 

3. SRS e-Co2 Gel Mask

This is not a new product in the market. I have been using this mask on my patients for the past 4 years. as a rescue mask after doing procedures. One of the most significant case was a patient who was allergic to arbutin and developed redness and swelling over the face. She was allergic to a lot of other stuffs as well and her birthday was in 2 days. We tried the mask on her, and it help reduce the redness by 50% on the 1st application. I gave her another one to use at home and by the second day, only a slight redness that is concealable by make-up. Not only the redness disappeared, but her skin became softer and more radiant afterwards. So why does it work so well? Carbon dioxide has been known to cause blood vessels to dilate if present in a concentrated amount. When applied into the mask, the CO2 granules create a relative gradient of higher concentration of Co2, hence increases blood circulation to the area of application (usually face). It also increases local tissue metabolism and enhances the separation of oxygen from haemoglobin thus increasing tissue oxygenation. This in turn improves tissue healing and thus, the almost instant result. 

I tried out this mask last night after having a chemical peel and arbutin iontophoresis done to the face. It had a warm prickly sensation which was not uncomfortable. After the 30 minutes, we took it off and I can feel that my face felt tighter and my pores appeared smaller. Even pimples seem to have shrunk. Immediately, my skin felt very soft and smooth. Today when I woke up, my face still felt smooth and soft. The whitening effect of arbutin kicked in, hence my face did appear brighter so I can't really say it was an attribute of the mask. However, for the past couple of days, I noticed my face to be very oily when I wake up in the morning that I require Turnover to reduce the oil. This morning, my face was not  oily and I only washed it with water before sending my kids to school and chilling out in KLCC for breakfast. Even without any make up or sunblock my skin looked healthy. This mask is sold at RM 250 a piece if you would like to bring it home. If you like to try the effects yourself, you can opt for one of our rescue facials - I have taken the liberty to include this mask into some of our treatments since it has shown to be very effective.

Interested in any of the above products, feel free to contact us at  Faceworks Clinic : 03-21440080 / 014-2233236 or email your enquiries to faceworksclinic@gmail.com. For facials, please book prior appointment. Thanks.

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.