6 minute read
Peel Away Your Insecurities
How one woman’s changed outlook on aesthetic treatments transformed her confidence for good
While 38-year-old Bijal had never suffered from acne when she was younger, following the birth of her son five years ago she started to experience regular flare-ups due to stress and hormonal changes. She notes, “Spots were never really a problem for me. Of course, I had the odd zit once in a while as everyone does, but until I was in my 30s I never experienced full-face breakouts.” This had a huge negative impact on her self-image and self-esteem. She reflects, “There were a lot of days that I didn’t want to leave the house because of how my skin looked. At work it was okay because as a dentist I could hide behind my mask, but it was going out socially that I struggled with, and I would turn down plans because of how insecure I was with my face and my skin.”
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Finding a solution
After working with aesthetic practitioner Dr Uma Jeyanathan for several years and seeing her achieve great results on darker skin tones, Bijal approached her for help. “I’d never had any aesthetic treatments before and to be honest I was very skeptical of the industry as a whole – I wasn’t aware back then of how much science is behind the products and the treatments, and I thought it was a load of rubbish! I also didn’t think that there would be anyone who could treat my skin effectively, as you don’t see many practitioners who regularly treat brown skin. However, after seeing people with the same skin type as me leave Dr Jeyanathan’s clinic with amazing results, I really felt like she would be able to help.” Bijal made it clear to Dr Jeyanathan that she wasn’t comfortable
Before Before having any injectables such as botulinum toxin or dermal fillers but was interested to know what other non-invasive options the aesthetics industry could offer to help improve her skin. During the initial consultation Dr Jeyanathan assessed Bijal’s skin and took the opportunity to educate her on the benefits of aesthetic treatments. Bijal adds, “Education is so key for helping people understand how effective aesthetic treatments can be and why they work and talking to her really changed my opinion on the industry. If you have any skin concerns, I really recommend having an in-depth conversation with a practitioner as it can be eye-opening.” Following the consultation, Dr Jeyanathan created Bijal her own bespoke skincare treatment plan. To begin with, she had a course of NeoStrata chemical peels containing mandelic acid to help calm down her acne flare-ups and get rid of any existing spots. Chemical peels exfoliate the skin, removing the top layer, allowing dead skin cells to shed more effectively and stopping excess oil from clogging the follicle and reducing spots, and can be particularly good to have over the winter period. She recalls, “I had a chemical peel every four weeks until I was happy with my skin’s appearance. Because that left me with some acne scarring, I then had a NeoStrata citric acid peel to help lessen the appearance of the brownish marks. At the same time, I was also using the NeoStrata homecare products, because I was advised that there’s no point doing all these peels if you aren’t using the right products at home to maintain the results. I used the Mandelic Clarifying cleanser every morning and evening, alongside the Bionic Face Serum and Bio-hydrating Cream.”
After After
The next steps
After having six peels over a six month period, and ultilising her skincare regime, Bijal’s acne had completely gone and Dr Jeyanathan suggested they progress to microneedling treatments to further improve her acne scars and promote collagen production for a healthier appearance. Bijal had two sessions of SkinPen four weeks apart. She comments, “Dr Jeyanathan waited for so long after the initial consultation before she introduced SkinPen because she explained that if I had any active spots while having a microneedling treatment it would spread the bacteria around my face and actually make it worse, so we wanted to ensure that they’d completely gone before we proceeded with this step. I was very nervous about getting microneedling, and it was slightly painful, but I would honestly recommend it to everyone. My skin felt incredible afterwards, and the next day I looked and felt absolutely fine, although my skin was a bit tight for a couple of days. I was so happy with the results and my self-confidence completely skyrocketed!”
Adapting your treatment plan
Although she had sorted her acne woes, more recently Bijal approached Dr Jeyanathan with a new skin problem – wrinkles! She notes, “The good thing about going to an experienced, registered, medical practitioner is that they will tailor the plan specifically to you and your skin, and adapt it accordingly. Knowing that I was happy with my skin in terms of acne, but that I was worried about signs of ageing, Dr Jeyanathan changed my current treatment plan and put me on a new skincare regime using skinbetter science products.” The skinbetter science AlphaRet range is designed specifically to tackle ageing concerns, with the main ingredient of retinol used to exfoliate the skin, increase skin cell turnover, and stimulate collagen synthesis, helping to reduce fine lines and wrinkles while improving skin texture.
After using the products for 10 days, Bijal could see a real difference in her skin and now 10 months later she is delighted with the results, commenting, “It’s changed my life! I can’t express how amazing the results are. I was always a bit skeptical of retinol and whether it really worked, as I had never used it before, but it’s made my face so much tighter and plumper. Not only has it helped with fine lines, but it also helps to clear up any acne spots if I do get any! I’ve honestly never been happier with my face. Now, unlike before, I’m actually upset that I have to wear a face mask due to the pandemic, because I want to show myself off!”
Find a trustworthy practitioner
Bijal is planning to get another microneedling treatment this year using the Morpheus8 device which combines radiofrequency with microneedling to provide a multi-layer approach to skin resurfacing, alongside her skinbetter science product regime, and is also continuing to get a chemical peel once a year to help maintain her results. “I can’t believe I used to be so against aesthetic procedures,” she laughs, “Your skin is so important, and if you start taking care of it now, you’re going to look so much better when you’re older! It’s something you really need to invest in, but I don’t think I understood that until I saw the results for myself and Dr Jeyanathan had educated me on the science behind everything. So, I would advise researching before and after results, going to a medical professional, and getting them to design a plan specifically for you. Then you can sit back and enjoy the results!”
Dr Uma Jeyanathan,
dentist and aesthetic practitioner, Uma Skin Clinic, Purley IG: @uma.skinclinic
Practitioner perspective
When looking to treat acne, it’s always important to have to look at the reasons behind why it could be occuring. As Bijal's was stress-related due to having a new-born, it wasn't something that she could deal with herself and so we decided on chemical peels as a good option for getting the acne under control. In addition, darker skin tones are more prone to hyperpigmentation, and she had a lot of active acne, so dealing with the active acne first meant that we could effectively target skin texture afterwards. Chemical peels are great for addressing specific skin concerns, and mandelic peels specifically target bacteria in the acne. I typically see my patients with adult acne once every four weeks to perform a peel for optimal results. I'm looking forward to treating Bijal next year with the Morpheus8, as it works well to stabilise acne, remove hyperpigmentation, and stimulate collagen to tighten the face. This helps to target all her skin concerns at the same time!
