Category: MUST READ

Pico Smooth – Ironing Things Out with Acne Scars

Acne scars are irksome and troublesome. They can give a person low self-esteem, especially in this day and age where razor sharp features and baby smooth skin actually have a certain influence over matters such as success at job interviews. There is little wonder, photography apps that can perform facial slimming and airbrush dull or blemished skin to that coveted superstar glow is all the rage right now. THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK For those who suffer from acne scars, there is a new acne scars resurfacing treatment (not an app, but in real life!) which SKINMAG has discovered. Picosecond lasers stimulate collagen production, like how other fractional resurfacing lasers also do, such as the CO2 laser, but that’s really where all the similarity ends. CO2 lasers work by heating water in skin cells, and fractionated CO2 lasers basically vaporize tiny columns of skin, leaving skin surrounding each column intact. The heat causes the skin to regenerate and repair by stimulating collagen, and skin resurfacing occurs over the following Continue Reading

The Cost Of Beauty: Rogue Aesthetic Treatments On The Rise

Getting cosmetically enhanced is becoming common. Women, and increasingly, men, are getting more accustomed to the idea of various degrees of beauty fixes. Botox used to be done for older folks who wanted to rid their faces of wrinkles, but enter Botox prejuvenation today, where Botox is done in much younger people to delay the formation of wrinkles. For those with flat asian noses, the “lunchtime rhinoplasty” is a fuss-free nose augmentation filler or nose threadlift procedure which can be done at the doctor’s office in under 60 minutes, from prep, numbing and discharge from the clinic. Botox is a powerful neurotoxin that can be used to relax or paralyse muscles. In aesthetic doses, Botox is harmless and can be used effectively to smoothen skin, lift or depress certain muscle activity. Dermal fillers are actually soft, moldable, biocompatible and biodegradable materials that can be safely injected by a qualified and trained medical professional. In the right hands, the results are natural without much downtime. In the wrong hands, a botched Continue Reading

Think Before You Ink: Tattoo Regret In The Eyes Of A Doctor

Tattoos may seem like a good idea in the moment, but sometimes, tattoos are inked on impulse. We spoke to Dr Kenneth Lee, founder of the SW1 Clinic (who also co- founded The Sloane Clinic in 2003) about tattoo regret.   SKINMAG: Do you often see patients who have tattoo regret? Dr Kenneth Lee: Yes, I have seen quite a few over the last decade. They range from pretty young to working professionals who regretted the tattoos they got in their younger years, because the tattoos didn’t fit their lifestyle anymore. The tattoos range from professional, self-inked, very new, old, black tattoos and multi-coloured ones.   SKINMAG: What kind of tattoos do people normally regret? Dr Kenneth Lee: Usually people regret tattoos that label them, such as gang tattoos. I have had to help a young man remove massive yakuza style tattoos on his chest, back and both legs because he wanted to become a policeman. Sometimes people remove easily visible tattoos such as those on the fingers and wrists Continue Reading

Cool Shaping: Ice Stubborn Fat Away Permanently

I am not fat, but I have always had issues with my not-so-flat belly. In my mind, there are 3 types of bellies in the world. The first of two extremes being the rock hard, washboard beaten abs, and the other being the super soft Winnie The Poo pooch. But the most punished of all abs would have to be my kind of abs – the neither fat-nor-nothing kind of abs. The plague of the not-so-flat belly is very real. You see, if I had the abs of Victoria Secret babe Karlie Kloss, or Lily Aldrige, I would be able to pick any bodycon favourite and carry it off with style and with confidence. On the other hand, if I were Homer Simpson, wearing baggy clothes all the time would not draw strange looks because that is the norm for fat people – there is nothing to see. Dealing with Problem Fat In the land of nowhere, most people are generally both skinny and fat. They are skinny or slim Continue Reading

Are You Sweating Too Much?

  How much sweat is too much sweat? There you are, minding your business, limbering up on your mat in a late evening yoga class when you notice another wannabe yogi completely drenched in sweat. You wonder, am I sweating too little? Or does she have a problem? Although it’s one of the things your body does to help you, most of us would rather leave the sweating to the poolside glass of iced tea. That’s because excessive sweating is a lot like watching the Kardashians — tolerable in small doses, unbearable when you’re exposed to too much of it. We speak to private fitness instructor Steven Jim and Dr Chua Han Boon from The SW1 Clinic to give us some insight on this ‘sweaty’ issue. Why Do I Sweat? Sweat helps maintain a normal body temperature. “Sweating is your body’s way of reducing your internal body temperature,” says Dr Chua Han Boon from The SW1 Clinic. When temperatures rise — for any reason — the sweat glands kick in Continue Reading