At Clinetix we do more than just “care” for your skin, we understand that we all have different concerns about our skin care and we know that we can visibly improve the quality and health of anyone’s skin.
Category: Patient Journey’s
Get Your Skin Wedding Ready!
So you’ve just got just engaged! Has the initial excitement worn off yet? Well probably not but now there will be hundreds of ideas and plans bobbing about your head for the big day, but after you get the date, dress and venue sorted out, thoughts turn to how your want to look and feel on your big day!
5 Things To Do Before Having Anti-Wrinkle Injections
Anti-Wrinkle injections are an ideal treatment if you are looking to refresh and rejuvenate your appearance. Anti-wrinkle injections work by temporarily blocking the signals from nerve endings that tell the muscles to move. This causes a reduction in movement of the muscles. Once these muscles are relaxed the lines and wrinkles will disappear very quickly. Before having this treatment there are 5 things you should do.
1. Do Your Research
The most important step before having any medical treatment is to do your research! Many clients often seem to forget that anti-wrinkle injections are in fact a medical treatment.
With so many people performing anti-wrinkle injections it has never been more important to research the practitioner who will be performing your treatment. Not only should you make sure they are a registered nurse, doctor or dentist you should also ensure that they have completed training in aesthetic medicine. Look for a practitioner who attends a number of aesthetic conferences and keeps up to date with all the latest in aesthetic medicine. Excellent aesthetic practitioners will often be published in journals and magazines such as Aesthetic Journal, Aesthetic Medicine Magazine and PMFA News.
Trained medical practitioners will be able to perform advanced procedures and manage complications. Although complications are uncommon you’ll want to go to a doctor who is able to treat complications if they do happen to occur.
Prior to treatment, you should also research the clinic you are going to. From April 2017, all independent clinics in Scotland will have to be registered with Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) to perform anti-wrinkle injections. Unfortunately, this does not include untrained practitioners such as beauty therapists. Look out for the HIS Logo and research the clinic to make sure it is registered with Health Improvement Scotland. If you would like to find out more about the new regulations coming into place read Dr Simon Ravichandran’s interview with the Herald Scotland here.
Remember you are under no obligation to undergo treatment. If at your consultation you don’t feel confident about the practitioner, treatment, cleanliness of the clinic or anything then you do not have any obligation to have the treatment. Most clinics will offer complimentary consultations without same-day injections. That way you can get to know the practitioner, decide if you feel comfortable with them and not feel pressured to go forward with the treatment if you are not completely comfortable.
2. Get Familiar With Common Side Effects
Often people are frightened to have wrinkle relaxing injections because they’re scared of needles. The needles used for anti-wrinkle injections are as thin as possible to make the treatment as painless as possible. We ask all of our clients to rate their pain on a scale from 1-10, 1 being none and 10 excruciating pain. Most clients rate their pain as 1 or 2 relating it to the feeling of a pinch or a flick.
Now toxin injections are often called ‘lunch-time’ treatments because there really is little to no downtime. Most clients experience swelling at the injection sites for approximately 5 minutes after the treatment. The swelling is normally completely gone by the time you actually leave the clinic.
Occasionally there can be slight bruising at the injection sites. This bruising can easily be covered by makeup and will fade within a few days.
3. Understand that you won’t see instant results
Anti-wrinkle injections take up to two weeks to take complete effect. You will see significant results 3-4 days after your wrinkle relaxing treatment but the full effect will be visible after two weeks.
When choosing your aesthetic clinic we recommend choosing a clinic that offers complimentary 2-week review appointments. At your review, your practitioner will discuss the results of your treatment and most importantly check if you are happy with the results. If required your practitioner may top up your toxin to make sure you are completely satisfied with your treatment.
4. Be Realistic About How Long It’s Going To Last
Anti-wrinkle injections impact everyone differently. For some, they may only last a couple of months whilst for others, they may last around 6 months. For the majority anti-wrinkle injections typically last between 3-4 months. If it is your first time having wrinkle relaxing injections you may find that results wear off in less than 3 months. However, as your facial muscles condition to anti-wrinkle injections, the results can last longer.
5. Stop Thinking That More Is Better.
When it comes to anti-wrinkle injections more doesn’t necessarily mean better. A trained aesthetic practitioner will understand the difference between a natural rejuvenated appearance and creating a fake appearance. If you are not happy with the results of your treatment after two weeks you can always have a little more! When you have your two week top up express this to your practitioner and they can top up your toxin.
We hope that you do all these things before having anti-wrinkle injections and hope you consider Clinetix when you are doing your research. If you would like to find out more about Clinetix and our clinics click here. If you would like to find out more about our medical team made up of Drs Emma and Simon Ravichandran click here.
TCA Peel Results
A few weeks ago I had a TCA Chemical Peel. If you missed it, click here to watch our live feed of Dr Simon Ravichandran performing my chemical peel. This blog will go into detail about what a TCA peel is, how I prepared my skin, how I felt during the treatment plus what my skin looked like each day after the treatment.
What is a TCA Chemical Peel?
So what actually is a TCA Chemical Peel? A TCA peel is a medium depth chemical peel used to resurface the skin. A solution of Trichloroacetic acid (TCA) is applied to the skin to remove the outer surface layers allowing new, healthier skin to emerge. The majority of peels we perform at Clinetix are superficial peels. As TCA is a medium depth peel it penetrates deeper throughout the epidermis and sometimes into the dermis as well. We often find that we get faster results from TCA chemical peels so it is one of our go-to anti ageing chemical peels at Clinetix.
The TCA peel is effective for treating a variety of skin concerns such as improving fine lines and wrinkles, pigmentation abnormalities and acne scars. On top of this we usually see an improvement in skin tone and texture. TCA also stimulates collagen growth creating firmer, fresher and tighter skin.
How I prepared my skin for the peel.
Before having the TCA peel I had to make sure that my skin was prepared. Having prepared skin allowed me to get the maximum benefits and results with the minimum side effects. To prepare my skin I had been using an AHA Cleanser for a number of months, a retinol product and an SPF 30 to limit my sun exposure. Using these products has helped improve the quality of my skin which allowed for an even penetration of the TCA peel over my entire face. Even penetration of the solution meant that I had a much better result which a much lower chance of side effects.
What steps are involved in the treatment?
To start off the treatment Dr Simon applies an ointment called aquaphor to sensitive areas on my face (such as around my eyes) where we didn’t want the peel to take effect. He then used a preparation solution to clean my skin. This removed any excess oil on my skin allowing the TCA solution to soak through any oil that otherwise would be on the skin. Dr Simon then placed a bit of tape over each of my eyelids to prevent any of the TCA solution from getting in my eyes. Dr Simon then began to apply the TCA solution.
Once there was some visible signs of frosting Dr Simon then applied the neutralising solution to neutralise any of the superficial acid that was on the surface of my skin. After the treatment he recommended that I continually moisturise my skin and stayed out of the sun (not very hard in Scotland) until my skin has stopped flaking and is completely rejuvenated.
How I felt during the chemical peel.
During the peel my skin became quite hot and slightly uncomfortable. Throughout the treatment I was given a handheld fan to cool down my skin. When the neutralising solution was applied my skin did become increasingly warmer however the fan continued to cool my skin. Although my skin was quite pink and uncomfortable throughout the treatment, at no point would I have described the peel as painful. Once Dr Simon had finished neutralising the chemical peel my skin temperature had already began to return to normal. Around 30 minutes after the peel my face was no longer pink and flushed.
What my skin looked like each day after the peel
Immediately after the treatment my skin felt very soft and smooth. Downtime after a TCA peel can last up to a week so I decided to document each day after the peel to show you what you can expect!
Day One.
The first day after the peel you wouldn’t really be able to tell that I had a chemical peel! My cheeks were a bit flushed but at this point there was no signs of shedding or increased tightness in my skin. My skin felt really smooth and soft but no drastic changes had occurred yet. I was able to go out on the first day without having to worry about my skin starting to peel.
Day Two.
Day two after my TCA peel my skin was a lot tighter and started to become what I call ‘cling film’ skin. What I mean by this is that when I pressed onto my skin the appearance of it became like cling film. As my skin was tight it did feel quite uncomfortable. To combat this I used a moisturiser and SPF to relax the tightness in my skin. At this point there were still no signs of shedding however on certain areas of my skin such as my cheeks I could see an increase in dryness and could tell that this was likely to be one of the first areas to peel.
Day Three.
On day three my skin began to shed quite significantly around my mouth. It wasn’t particularly obvious unless the light was shining on it. The skin underneath my eyes and around my nose had become quite tight and like cling film! I could tell that these were the areas that were likely to peel next.
Day Four onward
My skin was still slowly peeling by day four. You could see areas of uneven skin tone on my cheek and around my eyes where the skin was yet to peel. You could also see that my forehead would be the last to peel as it was still the texture of cling film.
I stopped taking pictures after day four as there was very little change. My skin was simply peeling on different areas of my face. From day 6 my skin tone began to even out as the majority of my skin had already shed.
This photo was taken just over a week after my TCA chemical peel after I had cleansed my face. I am so happy with the results! The TCA has resurfaced my skin by removing the outer surface layer of my skin revealing smoother fresher skin. My skin feels so much healthier and my fine lines are completely gone. My acne scars have reduced significantly and after a course of these peels they will continue to reduce further. As the TCA chemical peel also stimulates collagen growth my skin will continue to become firmer and tighter over the next few months.
I’m so pleased with the results and I am planning on having a few more TCA chemical peels over the next few months to further enhance my results.
If you have any questions about the TCA Chemical peel or my personal experience with it then please email us on info@clinetix.co.uk or call 0141 221 0229 (West End) or 01698 854 221 (Bothwell) to for a chat.
Click here if you would like to find out more about the variety of chemical peels we offer at Clinetix.
Gummy Smile Treatment
Last week Dr Simon Ravichandran demonstrated a gummy smile reduction treatment with anti-wrinkle injections at 3.30 on our Facebook live feed. Unfortunately we had a few technical problems with the internet dropping out and our treatment camera not recording. However the video is still available to watch on our Facebook live feed – just click here!
Gummy smile is a condition caused by 
over-activity of the central lip elevators. What this means is that when someone smiles the middle of the lip pulls upwards excessively. This exposes the gums in the central portion of the smile, hence “gummy-smile”.
Previously clients looking to reduce their gummy smiles would be directed towards surgery. However, we have a much safer option in the use of anti-wrinkle injections when used in experts hands. Small doses of anti-wrinkle injections are applied into the lip elevator muscle to relax the muscle. In the Facebook live feed you can see that we injected Laura with 2 units of Belotero into each side of the lip elevator muscle. Anti-wrinkle injections need two weeks to take full effect. If we find that a gummy smile is still apparent at her two week review we can inject another small dose of anti-wrinkle injections.
Keep an eye out on our social media channels to see an after photo of Laura’s gummy smile reduction.