#sliqmakeover

Often when we hear about aesthetic, we tend to equate it to plastic surgery. Where we fix something we don't like, change it to something else, and make our face to look like someone else. This is the culture in South Korea where there are trends of having a certain celebrity features, whose nose is 'in' now, which type of lips is most wanted now. In contrary in Malaysia culture, we are more conservative in the things we do therefore the aim of the outcome is entirely different.

It is however its between the consultation and discussion between the patient and the aesthetician, where a goal is establish, whether or not the end result is achievable by non-surgical method or patient is better off to go with surgery. At the end of the day the decision is patients to make.

Below is a video of a #sliqmakeover where we use Radiesse, to improve a patient existing feature. To further define his jawline and chin, in just over 30 mins. There is no downtime, no bruises, in fact the whole treatment is very tolerable, he can in fact return to work the next day or he can even attend a function the same day after the injection.

click link for more information about the product https://global.radiesse.com/

Topic on gender aesthetics

Aesthetic medicine is no longer a taboo topic and we often hear people speaking/discussing openly about it. The same way males are more accepting towards aesthetic treatments in a recent trend. There is no denial that major face care companies are developing male specific product range, appearance of beauty spas catering to only male clients and hair saloon specializing in mens grooming mushrooming around, even here in Malaysia. The old rules applies, if there is a demand for it, there will definitely be a supply.

So what is so different between a man and a woman doing same aesthetic treatments? There are key differences when between different sexes especially on the result do we want to deliver, for that we need to have an understanding on the key difference between the anatomy of a man versus that of a woman. And if we are not careful, we can feminize a mans face and masculinize a womans face.

For a woman, the shape of the face has soft angles and more heart shape as compared to man where the face is more squary and has sharper more defined angles. The bony prominence of the men is more defined and exaggerated in man than in women, and man has a deeper set of eyes due to the protrusion of forehead bone (frontal bossing). In the temple area (sides of the forehead), the shape are more convex man and in woman the temples are more concave.

Eyebrow shape in female is arched laterally as compared to man with thick and more horizontal brows. The eyebrows are higher in a woman from the eyes as well. As for the shape of the eyes, man has a narrower more oval shaped eyes, where in woman they have a more almond shaped eyes. Female has higher and more lateral cheek than man. And when doing cheek augmentations, we are more concern not to exaggerate the cheek especially, as it will feminise a mans features.

Nose in a woman is shorter and narrower. And looking from the side profile, the angle is more prominent as compared to a man with a straighter, less angled nose from nose bridge up till the nose tip.

Lips are thicker in woman and man has narrower upper lips. The jawline is prominent and defined in man for a stronger masculine look. The shape of a man's chin is broader. Typically, during treatment of jawline and chin, man requires more volume for support for a more squared mandible.

Skin and muscle bulk on the face are thicker in a man than woman, so in neuromodulator treatment such as Botox(R) a higher dosage is often needed. However, man usually prefers to have some lines as compared to woman who prefer to have no lines so its between the consultations between each individual client we will customized to  individualized need.

Interestingly, there is a study led by Dr Chris Solomon, a world expert in facial mapping, that asked people to put together a composite of the perfect face using the EFIT-V PhotoFit software used by UK police. And the results of features of an ideal woman and man was summarized as below.

*picture from telegraph.co.uk

'T' stands for Transformation

Sometimes, with just a subtle improvement we can transform a existing beautiful face to something more wow than before. We think Quist Chan throughly enjoys and pleased with her transformation with us. During her initial assessment with me, I noticed she has beautiful proportions from her forehead length to her chin. What she was lacking is actually quite common in a typical chinese face which is the lack of defined nose bridge which make the lower part of her nose look wide and round. She however possess full & high cheek bones, not to mention that perfectly shaped chin. So by just adding a little hyaluronic acid filler to her nose bridge and nose tip, I managed to further define her nose, giving her overall sharper and slimmer face. 

And what astounds us most is by just doing one single treatment, we immediately notice a drastic improvement of her overall features, without the awful downtime or pain of surgery. She can immediately resume her social engagement right after the treatment. If you wish to get an assessment on how to further enhance your look, do get in touch with our clinic and watch yourself transform!

Dr. Steve

Go to fb.com/sliqclinic for more videos.

Know your basics pt. one

We often hear of people talking about common aesthetic treatments like botox, fillers and laser. So what are these treatments actually? How can it help my skin? If you want to get a quick crash course on these terms we use in aesthetic, you have start with the basics first. This is part one of know your basics.

1. BOTOX (R)

Botox(R) is a brandname for neuromodulator that are used not only in cosmetics, but also in other medical fields such as surgery and opthalmology (eye department). The basic gist of what it does is, it renders part of the treated muscle weak or non-functioning (depending on the dosage) for a temporary period of time. Think of it as a sleeping pill to the muscle. We used this unique character of this medication to treat conditions where there is hyperactivity of muscle movement e.g. muscle spasm, nystagmus (involuntary movement of eyes). Its then tried on the facial muscle at very tiny dose to improve appearance of wrinkles and its now widely used for many cosmetic condition including facial slimming, brow liftings, correcting gummy smiles and hyperhydrosis (sweaty underarms). So is Botox(R) safe? Its an FDA approved treatment for cosmetic and approximately 10.9 million vials of it have been sold in the United States since 2002. Millions of people have already made Botox(R) a part of what they do for themselves. Its action is quick, predictable and does not has any long term side effects. Safe in the hands of trained aesthetic doctors.

There are many brands in the market for neuromodulators including Dysport(R) or Neuronox(R), basically different in origin, price and the technology involves in producing the product.

2. Fillers

Fillers include a large group of products where we use to 'fill' certain area of the face. Aging involes a main component which is de-volumization of the face caused by resorption of skin layer, fats, muscle and bone layer causing an appearance of sunken and old looking face. So by using fillers we are able to restore the loss volume to give an appearance of fuller more youthful face. The same filler is also used widely for non-surgical nose, chin or lip augmentation. Sounds good? So whether it is safe or not, it will be largely dependent on what type of filler material used. We have many types of fillers in the market, HA or hyaluronic acid fillers being the one most famous one, and others including Calcium based fillers, Poly-Lactic acid fillers, collagen fillers and now banned silicon fillers.

The safety profile of each individual fillers lies on many factors, so its through the consultation between the doctor and patient, where the decision on the choice of fillers is made to achieve the best aesthetic outcome for the client. Besides that, each filler will last for different duration.

Sometimes, we refer to this procedure as liquid facesculpting or liquid facelift because essentially we are using liquid to improve ones facial features. Often, the results looks natural and it comes with little to no downtime. In my practice, there is a high demand for this procedure, more commonly done to correct tear through (deep and sunker undereye area often referred to as dark eye circle), flat nose bridge, thin villainous lips and short, receeded chins.

Same as neuromodulators, fillers come in many different brands and be very sure of what product you are using, in my practice, I only use FDA-approved fillers for its high safety profile and to ensure that my patients receive top quality material. And never do your treatment especially injectables by non medical personnel.

3. LASER

LASER stands for light amplitude of stimulated emission of radiation. What it means is that we pass a broad spectrum light through a medium to filter them into specific desired wavelength e.g. 1064nm or 532nm to bring benefits to the skin. Laser technology is widely used in the industrial, military, dentistry and also medical field. In aesthetic, we largely deal with skin conditions which can be treated by using laser such as pigmentations, acne, hair removal, skin rejuvenation and scar/mole removal. We have few hundred types of laser system in aesthetic alone depending on the manufacturing countries and brands.

Some laser comes with downtime and some do not have any downtime. Most laser need more than 1 treatment to achieve the best outcome and the result depends largely on the machine used and the experience of the operator.

So how do you choose your laser? How do I know it is safe? I will always recommend FDA approved laser system for assurance of quality and safety profile so the price of treatment should never be the main considering factor when choosing your treatments. Instead, focus on the brand and quality. Do talk to your doctor and do your research online before signing up for any laser treatment. There are plenty of information and customer reviews on the internet for most, if not all FDA approved laser treatments. The general rule of thumb is, if you couldn't find any information of the treatment you're doing, you should never sign up for it!

And lasers are only allowed to be operated by professional who undergo intensive training so you should not engage in any treatment if you doubt the authenticity of the operator doing your treatment. In Malaysia, only doctors are allowed to do laser treatments as they are considered medical devices.

If you have an enquiry, please do send us an email at sliqclinic@gmail.com or contact us through our official facebook page at fb.com/sliqclinic.

A little bit of this and that.

Sometimes in aesthetic, all we need is just a little and subtle touch up to improve someone's feature tremendously. Yet nobody know what has been done. This is the beauty in what aesthetic can do as compared to surgery.

Below is an usual case of a young working female looking for a more permanent solution for her oily to dry skin and watch the video to see what treatment she has done.

In the next few posts we will discuss about facial enhancement with fillers and how can it help enhance your existing features.

In the meantime, enjoy the video.

Dr. Steve

Welcome

Welcome to Sliq's Aesthetic blog, where we will share some aesthetic related knowledge and information here. Hope you enjoy our articles and we hope to disseminate valid and accurate information for those who are interested in getting some aesthetic treatment done or for those who are always keen to learn new knowledge.

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Sincerely,
SLIQ TEAM