Happy New Year! Whether you have resolutions for a ‘new you’, intentions or a theme for the year, or are just going to go with the flow, I hope 2024 has started well for you and you have an exciting year ahead. It’s been lovely having the sun out (at times) for our promised ‘kiwi summer’ – may we have many more sunny ☀️ days ahead! (Just remember your sunscreen! 😹 )
At The Face Place we have a lot of exciting things happening this year! From moving our Britomart clinic to a new building next to Commercial Bay, to the re-launch of our training academy, an exciting addition to our Takapuna clinic and some innovative new treatments in the pipeline, you’ll be wanting to keep an eye on our newsletters and social media to see what happens next!
We are still waiting for our consents to go through council for the fit out of the new clinic so at this stage it looks likely that we will be opening what we are calling our ‘Commercial Bay’ premises (despite being ‘beside’ Commercial Bay rather than in the precinct) around about March. This gives you time to get in for at least one more treatment at Britomart ‘for old times sake’ 😹.
The new premises will be bigger and yet more private, with even more of a focus on natural elements and sustainability, to align with our green logo rebrand last year. We can’t wait to share it with you!
From a training perspective, we’ve offered highly rated, small-group, hands-on training for the NZ cosmetic medicine industry since 2015, starting with the Vampire Academy, then adding in our Hyalase Workshop and then the Profhilo Workshop, as we saw gaps in the available training. Last year we held a successful Complications Workshop, where attendees were able to present and discuss challenging cases and then explore and present the latest research available, to update everyone attending on the newest protocols.
This year we are delighted to be adding core online modules that will be a precursor to small-group hands-on practical training for beginner and intermediate injectors in cosmetic injectables, as well as adding training in excessive sweating, hair and skin rejuvenation and other advanced techniques. Our fabulous nurse Marjorie has been working hard bringing together an excellent training program that melds world class training with the artistry of cosmetic medicine. We’re proud to be growing and expanding our offering, so we can continue to raise standards in the industry. If you or someone you know is looking for training, follow @tfp_academy on IG or check out this link https://academy.thefaceplace.co.nz/ 🔗
In the spirit of ongoing education (one of our core values) we have a couple of excellent blogs in this month’s newsletter – Dr Vinka’s highly informative blog on treating the chin with filler (read about some lesser known benefits of chin treatment, such as treating a double chin!), and Tegan’s excellent blog on the benefits and myths of chemical peels.
For those who have not experienced them, peels can sound scary – often because of TV shows that have depicted red raw skin like a burns victim. While there are deep, aggressive, old style peels that were used in the past (and sometimes still today) and created essentially a ‘burns victim’ for a week after treatment, these are not the types of peels we use at TFP. We specifically avoid treatments that cause the scarring form of healing that the deeper peels and ablative laser resurfacing cause, and focus on more gentle – yet effective – regenerative treatments with less downtime and a more natural long term result. There’s a wide range of superficial to medium depth peels that can be used for different concerns and tailored or layered to the individual. Tegan has done an excellent job of explaining where they fit. So if you want to treat your sun damage, melasma, scarring, acne, or just find out how to get beautiful glowing skin, it’s worth having a closer look at her blog!
Another exciting development we have starting is our Web Chat Live feature on our website! Now, connecting with us is easier and more discreet than ever. Designed to enhance your experience with us and our website, Web Chat Live allows you to ask questions, schedule appointments, and engage with our team in real-time, all with the convenience of a simple chat interface. This adds to the communication options we already have available for you, The Face Place App, email, phone and text. Whether you’re seeking information on treatments or products we offer, assistance with booking an appointment or rescheduling, or wanting to make the most of a promotion we are offering, our Web Chat Live is another way for you to contact us. How good! 😍
From a personal perspective December was a big month for me, as I started back seeing a limited number of patients each week. I have absolutely loved getting back to clinical work but probably ended up getting too excited and pushing myself a little too far in the middle of the month, with a 2 day Speaker Masterclass with Miriam at Naked Audience (honing my presenting skills in the hope of doing more professional speaking), the fabulous premiere of the Wonka movie (loved it – it’s a must see) and flying down to Ashburton for my nephew’s 11th birthday all in the space of a week, on top of seeing patients and my usual workload. It’s frustrating for me that I hit the wall with activities that in the past would have been just a normal part of my social calendar, but I’m learning to adjust. So the word/theme for 2024 that I have chosen is BALANCE.
I used to sit down each year and set resolutions or goals for the year, but in the last couple of years I’ve moved away from this (too much pressure! 😹 ) and instead have set a word or theme for the year. For me it feels more intentional than doing nothing but more achievable than having a big list of goals to tick off. As we’ve learned in the last few years, life often doesn’t go to plan!
If you were going to invite something into your life this year, what would it be in just one word? How can you then bring this into your everyday life?
Balance is something I’ve never been that great at – even on the yoga mat I used to get wobbly! As a workaholic, my idea of balance was to cram as much stuff into my day as possible to ‘balance’ the 60-80 hour weeks I used to work – exercise, meditation, social catch ups, self care, dating, personal development, writing books, yoga, learning, travel and so much more! Which made me even busier!
This year I am trying to create more space in my life to allow balance to flow more easily in my world. I’m setting myself visual reminders and planning my year to create intentional spaces – travel is a big part of that for me. I’m prepared that there will be times where I’ll be out of balance, but I’ll need to be kind to myself and just look for solutions to bring the space, flow and balance back.
Yoga, especially Kundalini yoga, has been a big part of my world for many years, and was integral in my cancer recovery process, so I was super sad to learn that my favourite Kundalini yoga studio, Golden Yogi, was closing its doors after 11 amazing years! But like often happens in life, where one door closes, others open. The owner of Golden Yogi, Erin O’Hara, is also an incredible naturopath and medicinal herbalist, who I’ve known for many years. As the studio was shutting, she needed a new space to work from as a naturopath, and she casually asked if the Takapuna room that Jess (our previous holistic nutritionist) used to use was available.
Knowing that Erin does a lot of work with skin conditions, hormones, women’s health and cancer, we felt that it was a perfect fit, so you will be seeing the lovely faces of Erin and her receptionist Cathy in our Takapuna clinic from now on! If you would like to book an appointment with Erin you’ll need to book online at www.erinohara.co.nz, or you can chat with Cathy when you’re next in the Takapuna clinic!
It’s only the first month, and already it’s starting to look like a big year! As we start into a new year I want to thank you for your support, especially over the tumultuous last few years, and wish you a happy, prosperous and healthy 2024!
Love and hugs,
Dr Cat 😻
