redoy | The Face Place

Lauren’s Blog: 7 Best Skincare Products For Winter

by redoy | Jul 5, 2022 | Skin

Winter is here and a combination of cold and heating will potentially sensitise and dry the skin – so it’s time to amp up the moisture.

We have some excellent new skincare products at TFP that are ideal for adding moisture. They have to be pretty great for us to add them to our shelves because we are highly selective in which products we stock! We always test them out on the team before they get the green light.

Super-Charged Sheet Masks

A great way to add to your existing skincare routine is the Aspect Dr Intense Hydration Sheet Masks and the Cosmedix Micro Defense Microbiome Sheet Masks. To be honest, I was really surprised how effective they both are – my skin has felt incredibly soft, hydrated and calm. I’m quite taken with them and they are now a staple in my weekly routine. Once or twice a week really has a cumulative effect. They can be used as a ‘pep up’ before a social event or just for some pure indulgence on the couch. They are a powerhouse of antioxidants and hyaluronic acid, with The Cosmedix option containing ‘prebiotics’ to establish the skin’s natural flora to ease discomfort and improve the skin’s natural barrier. If you’re struggling to choose, don’t worry, you can’t really go wrong with either, but I’d veer to the Cosmedix if you are on the sensitive side.

These masks are a free gift with purchase when you buy three full-size serums – click here to see all the details.

Mega Moisturisers

We also have some fabulous new moisturisers from Cosmedix. Firstly I love the new pump packaging which is air- and light-tight and easy to use.

We have the Harmonize moisturiser which is another product targeted at supporting the skin’s microbiome with a nourishing probiotic and protective antioxidants. It’s a light formulation which is also perfect for an acne prone skin.

During initial consultations, we regularly see a disruption to the skin’s natural barrier and biome. Once this barrier protection is broken down it leads to the skin leaching moisture and losing its protective antibacterial and antiviral properties.  The breakdown of these protective excretions from the skin exhibits itself as sensitive, dry, potentially acne-prone and dull skin. In fact, it really affects the whole internal workings or metabolic processes of the skin.

We now have Cosmedix Emulsion. If you enjoy the beautiful iridescent Eye Doctor from Cosmedix with its ‘Liquid Crystal’ technology, it’s likely you’ll love this too. Liquid crystals help replace and encourage the skin’s natural barrier function and it’s laced with a super antioxidant called spin trap. If you’re after deep, lasting hydration this is the moisturiser for you.

The first night cream from Cosmedix is Resync – its main point of difference is targeting environmentally stressed skin, particularly blue light, which we are all exposed to but which we don’t have protection against in sunscreens.

This revitalizing night cream is enriched with potent plant-based extracts. It’s uber-nourishing and antioxidant-rich to help revitalise your skin while you sleep.

Sensational serums

One of my favourites is the Skin Better Science Trio Rebalancing Moisture Treatment, which is really like a hyaluronic serum and moisturiser in one. It’s unique in that it feels light but is incredibly moisturising – it’s billed as ‘heavy-but-weightless’. It has a beautiful synergy of ceramides, lipids and skin natural moisturising factors – I absolutely love it! ( Skin Better Science is available in clinic only.)

Finally Environ have bought out a unique product called 3D Synergy Filler Crème. If your corncern is hydration and addressing volume/fat loss in the facial area, then this is the serum for you. It contains a synergy of advanced peptides that stimulate hyaluronic and improve the volume and integrity of the skin.

P.S.

If you’re lucky enough to get to the sun this winter or take a ski trip, why not use some of the best sun protection available with liposomal technology? This means the active ingredient is encapsulated and released slowly, to give you superior UV protection. We have two ranges that offer this technology:

Cosmedix Peptide Rich Defense
Heliocare 360º, with a wide range of consistency and tints including the new Heliocare 360º Pediatrics Spray which obviously can be used for adults too, all over the body.

Not only do these products contain UV-protecting ingredients, but both brands contain peptides that repair skin at the same time.

Your skin guru, Lauren

Lauren’s Blog: Is IPL Right For You?

by redoy | May 31, 2022 | Skin

I’ve been treating skin for over 30 years and there was a period in the early days when some clinics would use the IPL device (intense pulsed light) on just about anything! Fortunately, things have changed.

IPL is an amazing tool and can give almost instant gratification, but it’s really important that you are the right candidate for treatment.

It cannot be used on darker skin types as the energy will heat up ‘normal’ pigment in the skin, not just the darker, sun-damaged patches. This would potentially cause a burn and further pigmentation issues. Melasma is also another condition than can be exacerbated with IPL. IPL and lasers create heat, and melasma can be triggered by heat.

However if you have light to medium skin, IPL is very efficient at removing freckles and sun spots. In my 30 years of treating skin, I have found IPL to be one of the most satisfying treatments to perform. To give you a quick breakdown of how the IPL journey works, follow my simple guide.

It’s important to remember though that IPL can diminish these unwanted brown spots but it is the use of your skincare – topical Vitamin A, antioxidants, and good sunscreen – that controls the way the skin behaves, and the amount of pigment distributed in the skin. You can’t treat pigment long term with IPL alone. I’m a big advocate for treating the skin holistically, as there is really no one way to treat the skin.

If you’re keen to find out if you’re a good candidate for IPL skin rejuvenation – or if other treatments might suit you better – we’d love to see you for an Initial Skin Consultation.

P.S. Click here to see some amazing Before & After photos!

Your skin guru, Lauren

Dr Cat’s News Update June 2022

by redoy | May 31, 2022 | Dr Cat

Bonjour from Paris! I’m currently in Europe to finally attend Paris IMCAS – one of the largest conferences in our industry, with 10-12,000 attendees – for the first time in over 3 years! Usually IMCAS Paris is held in cold and snowy January, so it’s lovely to be attending in June when it’s spring in Paris and starting to get cold in NZ! I’m so excited to be learning about new techniques and technologies ‘in person’ again, not to mention catching up with old and new friends from across the globe!

I’ve mentioned before that I’m part of a global group of trainers for BotoxⓇ and fillers called ‘The Hive’ – many I’ve met in person, and some who I’ve only met online so far. As many of the top injectors in the world come to this conference, there are some people I’ll finally get to meet in person for the first time! One of the research papers that a group of us wrote during lockdown has just been announced as being in the top 5% most popular research papers on this topic, despite only being published less than a year, so I’m looking forward to celebrating with my co-authors, and hopefully popping in to attend the seminar one of our team is presenting on it.

I was thrilled to get an upgrade on my flight to London with Emirates!

In London before the Jubilee celebrations (I was jumping here but we took the photo a second too late!)

It was wonderful to get back to London after almost 3 years and catch up with my friends over there. It’s crazy what a time warp Covid has created, as it only feels like it’s been a year or so since I’ve been up! London is abuzz with preparations for the Queen’s Jubilee, and my friends are members at Soho House, The Ned, and Annabelle’s members clubs, so we had some wonderful lunches and dinners, including some time by the rooftop pool at The Ned, taking advantage of the sunny London afternoon while catching up on emails!

While in London, I caught up with my friend Liesel, a leading cosmetic doctor who works at Ouronyx, a stunning high-end clinic launched during lockdown by the ex-global head of Allergan, who shoulder-tapped some of the finest injectors in the industry and set up Ouronyx clinics in both London and Dubai. I was able to visit Ouronyx and chat with some of the team about their concepts, sharing ideas around best practice and different techniques. Ouronyx – derived from the words ‘ouro’, meaning gold, and ‘onyx’ which is black – represents the light and dark sides of all human personality, and has some incredible commissioned art using the butterfly symbol of transformation. Like us, they offer a one-hour initial consultation, and complimentary makeup (when we’re not in Covid restrictions!), and have focused on quality care and quality products, so we had a lot of similarities and ideas to share!

With Dr Liesel Holler at Ouronyx cosmedicine clinic.

With my fellow Allergan Teachers Dr Jake Sloane and Dr Sophie Shotter in London before the Paris conference.

While waiting for my flight to London in Auckland, a call went out in the Koru Lounge for anyone with medical training to make themselves known to the front desk. After checking to see if anyone else had put their hand up, I cut short the phone call I was on and presented myself to the front desk asking how I could help. A young woman who had been working in the lounge had collapsed in the bathrooms, without anyone seeing her. She was still on the floor, in the recovery position, with one of her teammates supporting her. Fortunately it was only a few minutes before the paramedics and then the ambulance arrived. I was beyond impressed with the compassion, clarity and skills shown by the St John’s ambulance team, as they assessed her, roused her out of her low level of consciousness to be able to help her onto the stretcher, and whisked her off to hospital just as my flight called final call! I asked the flight attendants to let me know how she went, and as I exited the plane (after a wonderful flight in first class!) they said she was stable in hospital and having some tests. It was such a treat to be in Emirates first class – although it will make it very difficult to go back to business class on the way home!

After Paris, I’ll spend 5 days in Mallorca with friends before coming back for my next operation, which will be fat grafting and a scar revision to improve the shape and contour of my reconstructed breast. Once I’ve recovered from surgery, I have a couple of training workshops that I’m running on Profhilo and Hyalase, then the Vampire Academy in September. Our Profhilo workshop sold out super-fast, so we’ll be running another one later in the year (the waitlist for that is almost full too), potentially in October.

We had our quarterly team training day last month, where our medical team has the opportunity to practice new techniques on our team and share ideas about how to make our practice more efficient, sustainable and safe, while providing the best possible patient experience. This time we had a focus on temples, cheeks, tear troughs and jawline with filler, and the team did some spectacular (subtle but significant) work. I don’t usually get treated at Team Training Day, as I spend most of my time floating between rooms and facilitating, but with my early sagging I was a great candidate for these techniques. I had essentially the whole team treating me, and received filler in my temples, cheeks, angle of the jaw, chin crease and mouth corners. You can see from the before and after photos the team has done a lovely job, and got me looking and feeling great to face my peers in Paris!

The photo on the right is immediately after I had dermal filler treatment from the team.

A wonderful birthday dinner for Dad at The Duke of Marlborough in Russell.

As you probably know, we have some incredible nurse injectors on our team, so we celebrated International Nurses Day and said ‘thank you’ with some fun ‘syringe-topped’ muffins turning up at work for the team to share. We are so grateful and appreciative of our nursing team and the amazing work they do every day. Thank you ladies, it wouldn’t be the same without you!

The other big celebrations for me last month were Mother’s Day, and my dad’s birthday. I flew up to the Bay of Islands with my brother and his family, and took great delight in taking my nephews to the Koru Lounge for the first time! It was a very special weekend spending time together as a family. We had a delicious lunch at Omata Estate, and then a special birthday dinner for dad at The Duke, where the whole restaurant sang him ‘Happy Birthday’. While Dad had limited energy as he was due for another blood transfusion, he did surprisingly well at taking part in the mealtimes with family. In between times I took my nephews fishing off the wharf with my dad’s fishing gear, and we had some great family walks, beach adventures and pool time with my brother and his family. It has been such a joy to have the opportunity to spend quality time with family, and such a gift to have us all together to celebrate dad and his life.

It’s been wonderful to be travelling again, and I feel like my brain is slowly starting to get back on track! Five days of intense conference and training will be a test for it, the first big test it’s had in a while. I’m much more conscious about listening to my body and giving it the appropriate rest, nutrition, exercise, water and sleep, so it will be a much more sedate conference experience this time compared to my previous conferences, where my FOMO used to kick in and I would push myself to do everything and attend as much as I possibly could. There are many gifts to slowing down, and being a bit more selective will be one of them. I can’t wait to get back and share all the new concepts with our team, and to incorporate them in our training! Keep an eye out over the next 6 months as we hopefully start to share some of the things I’ve learned.

It’s incredible to believe we are now halfway through the year, in June! Wishing you a fabulous month ahead, and we look forward to seeing you in clinic!

Love and hugs, Cat 😻 xx

Mother’s Day Tributes & Treatments

by redoy | May 3, 2022 | Team

To celebrate Mother’s Day this year we asked a few of our team to share a photo and a message about their mums along with their Mother’s Day treatment picks.

Bryony

“Being a mum is the only thing that is exhausting yet truly delightful at the same time and has been the most humbling experience for me. I never appreciated how hard it must have been for my own mum, mostly alone in a foreign country, raising two children. It has definitely brought us closer together and brings me so much joy watching my mum become a kid again with her granddaughter. I have learnt that these simple moments are the most precious and memories I will treasure forever.”

*Bryony & her daughter Maia – Auckland, NZ, 2021*

“My Mother’s Day treatment pick is Healite Light Therapy. The best thing about a Healite treatment is that it’s suitable for everyone and has no downtime. Healite uses gentle, UV-free light to reduce inflammation and improve healing and boost the skin’s healing processes. It’s a great treatment to have after a nutritional peel or even following an injectable treatment. The post Healite glow is like no other!!“

Eve

“I am so proud of having such a beautiful and strong woman to call mother. She has basically raised my sister and me by herself, overcoming many challenges and very difficult times. She always had to work so hard to ensure that we would have anything we needed. When I was a child I always thought my mother was my superhero, after I grew up and especially after having my little boy I admire her even more. Motherhood has changed me in many aspects, it is a selfless love in which I would give everything just to see Tommy’s captivating smile.“

*Eve & her son Tommy – Auckland, NZ, 2022*

“My Mother’s Day treatment pick is dermal filler for under-eye hollows. It is a relatively simple procedure with minimal discomfort and results in a fresh, rejuvenated eye area – like you’ve just returned from a restful holiday away (which I think we can all agree are few and far between for busy mums!).”

Cat

“My gorgeous Mama and I have a very special bond. She had me when she was 19, so we ‘grew up together’, and people often ask if we’re sisters! We can talk about anything, and often do – despite mum living in Canada we speak most days. It was really tough for her not to be able to be with me through my recent surgery, so it was incredibly special being able to have her help me through the tough times with Tamoxifen while in Mexico. Mamacita, I love you so deeply, and am so grateful that you are my mama!”

*Cat & her mum Lizzy – Zipolite, Oaxaca, Mexico, 2022*

“My favourite treatment for Mother’s Day is the O-Shot. This PRP treatment is fantastic for reversing some of the damage caused by childbirth and the effects of menopause. My mum had the O-Shot for menopause symptoms a few years ago and found it very effective! (We really DO talk about everything!)”

Sophie

“As long as I can remember I would tell people I was adopted… I’ve always felt incredibly lucky having two Mums. One who gave me life and one who chose to be my Mum. My adoption was never hidden and I will forever be grateful to have been able to have both wonderful women in my life. Once my children were born my respect and understanding of them and what it means to be a mum only intensified and continues to do so (hello pre-teen I’m looking at you!).

I hope you all celebrate the fabulous women in your lives whether they be Biological mums, Adoptive mums, work mums, or male mums. Whatever name you give them they are the people in your lives who are patient, empathetic, strong, respectful, supportive, loving and humble”

*Sophie with her mums Judith & Mary – Auckland, NZ, 2008*

*Sophie with her sons Gabriel & Noah – Auckland, NZ, 2022*

“My Mother’s Day treatment pick is a rejuvenating Nutritional Skin Peel. We have a range of different peels, the type of which will be determined by one of our skilled Medical Skin Therapists. It will be a bespoke treatment based on the specific needs of your skin and can leave your skin feeling more hydrated, plus looking smoother and luminous. It’s a great option to follow a peel with a Healite to further accelerate your results!”

Treat your mum this weekend with a wrapped gift card via courier or an e-gift card via email.

Or to book any of the above-mentioned treatments click here.

Dr Cat’s News Update May 2022

by redoy | Apr 29, 2022 | Dr Cat

We’re excited and delighted to have our lovely Advanced Senior Nurse Marjorie back from maternity leave from the 9th May! Marjorie has a huge following of clients, and is also super-excited to get back to seeing everyone again in clinic. It will be wonderful to have some extra hands on deck again, as we have been short-staffed through a combination of health leave (me and Hannah) and maternity leave (Marjorie, Marilou and Kaitlin) since coming back from Covid lockdown last year (doesn’t that feel like a lifetime ago?).

We have some fabulous new injectors joining the team. Dr Sanja Cook joins us from London where she had a successful cosmetic practice, and is confident in highly advanced techniques such as nose filler; while our new Nursing Team Leader, Queza (who starts her onboarding on 7 June), has nearly nine years experience as a cosmetic injector in Wellington. We have had industry experts rave about her skills! A little birdie also tells me that Marilou will be returning part time in November… we will all look forward to that 🤩

In the meantime it’s a huge thank you to our amazing team who have been holding it together, especially our fabulous injectors who have been working super hard to compensate for our staff shortage. Massive thanks to Beck, Eve and Camille who have been superstars. Camille has just gone on maternity leave, and we wish her all the very best for the arrival of her little boy.

You may also see some new faces on the front desk in the next few months, as some of our team have been offered incredible roles that are a big progression in their careers. We are delighted to have been part of their journey. Poemy will be joining a law firm as an account manager, Lisa has been offered the big step of becoming GM for a hairdressing business, while Skylar is following her Comms degree training and is moving to a PR role! We are super proud of how well we (usually) retain our team, and also excited for them when we are part of their career progression into fabulous roles that we know they’ll excel at. The lockdowns have been a time for all of us to reconsider our lives and what we are passionate about, and it’s lovely to see our team following their passions. They will all be with us for another month or so, so please feel free to pop in to say hi and bye. As always, they will remain part of our supportive ‘TFP family’ no matter where they go, and we look forward to seeing them succeed and fly!

*Running through dermal filler safety training with Dr Sanja and Nurse Hannah.*

I’m a big believer that every ending is the start of exciting new beginnings, and we are currently recruiting for some amazing new people in reception and skin therapist roles to join the team. If you know someone who might be a great fit, please send them to our careers page.

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, we are sharing the love to all our mums, along with some heartfelt messages from a few of our team about our mothers. Mums are special people – I have massive respect for anyone who is a mum, it seems like the hardest job in the world! If you’re a mum, or you want to celebrate your mum, we do gorgeous vouchers where she can choose what to spoil herself with! Just get in contact with the team at info@thefaceplace.co.nz

Mother’s Day almost always falls on or around my dad’s birthday, which is the 9th May (a big day this year as it’s also Marj’s first day back in clinic!). This year is very poignant, as it might possibly be Dad’s last birthday. Although he is considered medically stable for now, he seems thinner and more pale each time I see him. I went up and visited Dad in Russell a few days after getting back from Mexico, and while he was mentally sharp and in good spirits, he was obviously more physically frail. I will be joining my brother and his family as we all fly up to the Bay of Islands from 6-10 May to spend some quality time with dad for his birthday.

.
_{Visiting my dad in Russell}

With my cancer journey, and my dad’s, I’ve been really focusing on spending time with friends and family. My energy gets better day by day, and my mood and brain function are slowly coming back online. I’ve moved my surgery date to 20 June so that I can attend one of the two big international conferences of our industry in Paris, and I’ll then spend some time with friends in Palma, Mallorca before coming home for surgery.

I’ve been spending some of my allowed 10 hours of work a week doing training for the incoming injectors on ‘how we do it here’, and helping out a little in the background. It’s unlikely I’ll be back seeing patients in clinic before September, as my focus until then will be training, support and compliance. When I do come back into the clinic, I’m planning to reduce my workload, as stress and cortisol have been linked with breast cancer. As I’m not able to take Tamoxifen, I’m going to make lifestyle changes that support my ongoing health. I’ve already handed over the CEO role which took up a significant proportion of my work time, and I’m grateful to Dee for doing an incredible job of taking that over. I’ll still be involved with injecting and guiding the clinic, but just not working 60+ hour weeks like I was!

You will notice from 1 June that our prices will be going up – as you know, wages and costs have been increasing dramatically, and we have held our prices stable for quite a few years now. If this is a challenge for you, we have our prepayment plan ‘My Face Plan’ which can spread out the payments, or get in touch with our admin team to discuss your individual situation.

I was honoured to be interviewed on Seven Sharp this month on the use of masks and how this has affected people’s choice of treatments – along with some hints on how to treat the dreaded ‘maskne’. If you missed the interview, you can check it out here. A big thank you to everyone who saw it and reached out with messages, pics and videos!

*At the Dawn Parade in Rotorua with my friend Maree.*

One of my achievements from this month was climbing Mount Maunganui for the first time ever! Surprisingly, I have never spent any time in the Tauranga area 🤷‍♀️ My friend Maree lives in Rotorua and found this out, so when I went to stay with her over Easter Weekend, she picked me up from the Tauranga Airport and we went and ‘knocked the bastard off’ (as per Ed Hillary – although I think he was probably a lot fitter than me!). I loved it down there so much, I flew back to Rotorua the following long weekend for the ANZAC Dawn Parade at Ōhinemutu Marae where many of the Māori Battalion are buried or commemorated. To me, ANZAC Day is a time to reflect on those who lost their lives to give us the freedoms we have, and the senselessness of war. A timely reminder with what is happening in the Ukraine, along with other places like Venezuela, Sudan, and Myanmar. We are so very blessed to live in NZ and I’m grateful for the freedoms we have.

War, Covid, cancer – every day I am getting reminders about how precious and short life is, and how important it is to invest our time wisely while we are here on this planet. We never know when our time might be up, we could be in a car accident tomorrow. It’s a great question for all of us to ask ourselves at any stage of life – if you knew life would change dramatically for you in 6-12 months, what would you do with your life? And how close is it what you are doing now?

I know I absolutely love what we do at TFP and can’t wait to get back to seeing patients again! I am also respecting my body’s wishes and giving it the time and space to rest and recover, and to spend quality time with the people I love.

Sending my mum – and all mums – so much love for Mother’s Day, and a special birthday blessing for my dad. Please cherish the people you love this month! We appreciate all your support and patience as we navigate the changes that are happening in the team, and I know that we will have a butterfly emerging from the cocoon over the next few months with the incredible team that is coming together.

So much love and hugs,

Love, Cat 😻 xx

Dr Catherine Stone