Happy New Year! Although the phrase is getting a little old now that we are halfway through January, with many people just starting to dribble on back to work from summer holidays it really does feel like we are starting the year anew.

I hope you are returning from holidays well rested and ready for a great year ahead. With all the glorious sunshine we’ve been getting, we thought we’d do a quick reminder on the benefits of the Heliocare sunscreens over standard sunscreen, namely the Fernblock™️ technology which has enzymes that help repair the damage to the DNA done by the sun, alongside antioxidants to mop up any roving free radicals. If you haven’t tried these sunscreens, ask your therapist our front desk team next time you are in, to play with the testers and explore what’s right for you. I love the tinted sunscreen, it’s a great colour and coverage, and means I don’t need to wear makeup. 

From the first days of opening The Face Place back in 2001 (yes we are a quarter century old next year!) what set us apart was our focus on comprehensive, tailored consultation processes. From day 1 we have always offered a 1hour initial consultation, whether on the medical or skin side of the clinic, to enable us to dive deeply into what’s going to suit you best. In the last 5-10 years we have started to see the industry focus more on the consultation process, but even now, many are only 15-45 minutes, and only just scratch the surface, let alone leave time for education about the different options and have the appropriate informed consent. Our skin team share what happens in the skin consult, and why it’s important, in this month’s skin blog. Not sure about you, but I’m pretty tired of the ‘new year, new you’ slogan that gets bandied around every new year! I stopped doing New Year’s Resolutions or goal setting about five years ago and instead set an intention for the year, which feels a lot less rigid than trying to attain a specific goal (does anyone remember SMART goals? 

My intention for this year is purely personal – permanently cancer free, healthy, happy and in the best shape of my life by the end of the year.

I’m currently halfway through my chemo treatment, with my final chemo infusion due on 10 February, and I’ll then progress to radiotherapy in March. I’m not going to lie, the first week after chemo is tough with fatigue, nausea and gut symptoms due to the chemo killing the gut lining (it targets rapidly dividing cells to try and kill the cancer cells, which means it also knocks out normal cells that divide rapidly, like the gut cells and hair follicles).

I’ve managed to hold onto about half my hair so far thanks to doing the cold cap – a freezing cold cap I wear before, during and after each chemo session to reduce blood flow to the hair follicles, with the aim of reducing the amount of chemo the hair follicles are exposed to. Most of the hair usually falls out in the third week after chemo, so it’s still coming for me for this second chemo round. Last round I had one day where I washed my hair (they recommend only washing it once a week) and about half my hair fell out in the one day! It was pretty confronting, but luckily I have over thirty – yes 30 – cheap wigs now that I can play with and cover up my thin, greasy, unwashed hair! It’s fun having a new hairstyle or colour every day, and not having to wash, brush or style my hair! I’m totally rating wig life and will probably continue wearing wigs long after my natural hair has replenished 😹

On 28 January it will have been 5 years since I was first diagnosed with breast cancer. With at least 6 surgeries over the last 5 years, I have a LOT of scars, which I proudly bear as a survivor – my mum calls it my ‘scar-chitecture’  😹😻

I do a lot to prevent the scarring from looking unsightly, such as taping the scars for the first 3-6 months to stop any pressure on the scar pulling it apart, and using Environ ACE body oil on the scars once they are healed. We also have a comprehensive arsenal of treatments to treat all different forms of scarring, both new and mature. Some of these include skin needling, RF needling, filler, IPL and some treatments that we are not allowed to discuss due to medical council advertising guidelines. Some exciting new treatments we have been trialling on scars have been Botox, insulin and Exosomes, and Marilou writes a great report on the use of Botox for scarring in this month’s medical blog.

I know a lot of people are happy to see the end of 2024 and have described it as a ‘roller coaster’ of a year! Here’s hoping that 2025 provides a much smoother path 😹 (thanks to Botox, fillers and skin care – excuse the terrible pun) and that the year brings you everything you desire.

We look forward to working with you even more closely in the coming year! Thank you so much for all your love and support,