NATURAL ENHANCEMENT

The work I do and the relationship I build with my patients is based very much on trust! They know that I will always allow their natural beauty to shine through and would never go too far with any treatment. Hence most of my clients come to me through ‘word of mouth’ referred by other satisfied patients.

​My approach to aesthetics has always been about wanting to refresh or enhance my patients’ appearance in a very subtle manner. I also use the most natural techniques to restore a patients skin health and rebuild structures that they may have lost through the ageing process.

I never use excessive quantities of cosmetic injectables or filler. I tend to err on the side of caution starting with a lower dosage of wrinkle injections in order to maintain a certain amount of natural movement in the facial muscles. I can then top it up in a couple of weeks if necessary. You can always add more but you can never take it away if too much has been administered. I am not in favour of paralysing the entire forehead when treating the upper face as this can give rise to the overly frozen appearance which is so often seen. When injecting cosmetic filler, I carefully select a very soft product that integrates well with the skin tissue. Precision and accuracy of placement is key to ensuring it is acting in harmony with a patients’ skin. If it is injected in large volumes and the product is perhaps too thick it can result in the “Too Far Face” and destroy any natural beauty.​

ARTISTIC VISION

Personally, I think artistic vision on the part of the doctor is key to ensuring that the placement of the product is appropriate, and the right quantities administered. This is what will produce a consistently good outcome. Every face is different, like a hand-print! If you have artistic vision it allows you to better read the measurements of each individual patient and build, rather like an architect or an artist, a true picture of how you can further enhance their natural beauty combining your skills as an aesthetic doctor with your artistic eye.

Good product knowledge and knowing which to use is also paramount. I tend to blend my fillers, rather like an artist’s palette, to refine and achieve the results I am looking for. You can train a practitioner to learn a new skill but having artistic flare is an innate part of who you are. You’ve either got it or you haven’t!​

HAVING HIGH ETHICAL AND MORAL STANDARDS

As an aesthetic practitioner, it is extremely important that you have high ethical and moral standards in order to protect those vulnerable patients that are seeking treatments but for whom the treatment would not be right. Many times, I have had to say ‘NO’ when I truly believe that a specific treatment will not enhance the appearance of the patient!

I have also come across cases where a patient is displaying signs and symptoms of body dysmorphism. This is something only a trained doctor would be able to identify and take the steps needed to guide that patient towards psychological help, rather than an aesthetic treatment which is not going alleviate their problems.​

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS

I feel that patients, and even practitioners, can sometimes get a distorted perception about what looks good over time and it is something that is extremely concerning to me. I am exceptionally mindful of this and take special measures to prevent it happening to my patients. Today people are heavily influenced by social media and do not always have realistic expectations when viewing themselves in the mirror. They really are not sure of what is realistic in terms of their expectations! I often find myself explaining that what they see on social media more than likely has been achieved using filters and then edited!

Patients come to us wanting the best advice and an honest appraisal. It is our duty of care to talk through their expectations with them and then break these down into a realistic and manageable plan and in a way that the patient understands. It’s how you build and earn their trust. Trying to achieve something because it is what they expect, is not the way forward if it is not going to enhance that individuals finished result.

I think it is tremendously important to always take good before and after pictures and show clients these on every consultation. This helps focus the mind and enables you to review with them their treatment, making sure you are both on the same page and fully aware of where it is your going and what it is you are going to achieve.​

FINALLY

I love what I do with a passion and I am particularly proud to be able to say that I do not have any patients whose look is unnatural. It is what I have built my reputation on and it is what continues to bring clients through my door. I am very level-headed and won’t ever lose sight of where I am going with my treatments. Patients are often referred to me by a friend, after having had a very bad experience elsewhere. They can see their friend is looking great – but very natural. They, therefore, feel safe in my hands and in knowing that I will put together a clear treatment plan for them. It is this that continues to drive me forward and why my love-affair with non-surgical aesthetic medicine endures.