1. Celebrities embraced botox
Anything celebrities do is news-worthy and sells newspapers. It became almost a national sport to ‘spot the botox user’. After a while, any bad photograph taken of a celebrity was blamed on botox, regardless of whether it was true or not. Certain Doctors chasing column inches, would comment on these bad photographs and ‘guess’ what the celebrity may have had done. In their dogged pursuit of free publicity they didn’t stop to think how their comments would damage their own industry. Long after the magazine has been discarded the reader will remember the negative press more readily than the name of the commenting Doctor.

2. Botox cannot be advertised
Botox is a prescription medication and under UK law, cannot be advertised. That is why you never see an advertisement for botox like you see in US magazines (they have different laws). Botox is a major threat to all the cosmetic companies out there selling lotions and potions which promise to eradicate wrinkles and, as they pay to advertise in the glossy magazines, they can manipulate how botox is reported. Think about it, if you had a pot of cream that you were paying a magazine a hefty sum to be featured in, you wouldn’t be too pleased if they constantly extolled the virtue of your biggest competitor (who wasn’t advertising), would you?

3. The Botulism thing
Botulism is a bacteria which causes paralysis. Botox is a protein derived from this bacteria. Understandably, the closeness of the two have led some people to think they are being injected with botulism. The medical efficacy of botox has been proven over the last 50 years and, whilst botulism can lead to death, there is not a single reported death from botox injections – the amount of product used is in miniscule amounts and directed into very specific muscles.

Before you write off botox just consider whether it’s because of the negative botox bashing of the press manipulating your decision. Do you agree? I’d love to know what you think so please let me know your comments below.

Dr Natalie

So, with flawless skin, the only other area I want to concentrate on is my eyes.  As long as I haven’t been kept up for half the night with my 18 month old then I can live without concealer, otherwise my new beauty favourite is the By Terry Touche Veloutee concealer.  I don’t like to apply it too often as I worry about the delicate skin under my eyes, but every so often I need to cover the evidence of a broken night’s sleep.  Head to the lovely staff at Space NK in Guildford for our nearest stockist.

One problem I find with eye make up is that it tends to run and smudge.  That’s why I am a huge fan of semi-permanent make up.  After just 30 minutes with Bridgette Softely, here at the Clinic, you can have secret eyeliner or lip liner added to enhance what you already have naturally. With results lasting up to 2 years, that’s a lot of make-up you don’t need to worry about buying, or applying!

Finally, for the all important eyelashes.  Mascara is something I always thought would be a make-up bag staple.  But not so after we introduced an incredible eyelash lengthening solution to Light Touch Clinic.  This solution is the best on the market and is so potent it has to be prescribed by a Doctor – anything you can buy over the counter just doesn’t come close.

So, my tip for National No Make-up Day is to resolve to care for your skin, book in for a quick appointment for semi-permanent make-up and grow your eyelashes and in no time at all you could be enjoying No Make-up Day, everyday.

Until next time,

Dr Natalie

Our Elastiderm by Obagi is our best selling product – our patients return again and again for the skin rejuvenating qualities it provides.  Click on the link below to read more:

Secrets of the Red Carpet

You only need look at the recent PIP scandal to see that choosing the cheapest option is often not the smartest move you could make. 40,000 women in the UK are now left with the horrifying choice of whether to leave in their sub-grade breast implants or pay for further expensive operations. Why? Because the ‘leading’ (read largest) cosmetic surgery companies Transform and Harley Medical Group chose price over quality and bought the cheapest implants they could, sometimes spending just £90 for a pair of implants instead of the best on the market at £600. Ask yourself, if they skimp on breast implants, do they too for dermal fillers and botox?

If a beauty therapist or dentist is offering a great deal on botox, or their dermal fillers are half the price of the best Clinics in town, is it because they are buying cheaper, lower grade products than their competitors and can afford to drop their prices?

Being treated by an expert, specialist injector, with the very best qualifications and experience should be your determining factor. There are a number of us around and the best place to begin your search is at cosmeticdoctors.co.uk. Members must be GMC registered, hold a certificate of competence and attend regular educational and scientific meetings.

The next factor you should consider is, which product or medicine they propose to use for your procedure. Is that brand a market leader with full clinical trials to back up their claims for efficacy and safety? With the internet offering a wealth of information you can always research the product to check it’s quality before you go ahead.

I am firmly of the belief that the best products, the highest quality products, will likely be the most expensive but will ultimately yield better, longer lasting results. Hopefully meaning that you will require less top-up treatments going forward.

If you really are concerned with looking the best you can, at any age, you’re only going to achieve your goals by trusting your appearance to a well trained doctor using the best products on the market, regardless of the price.

So, what is the INTRAcel machine and what makes it so good?

The INTRAcel machine is a needle-delivery system which treats tissue in the deeper dermal layers of the skin. This increases the production of elastin and collagen fibres. it is intuitive in that it combines three cutting edge technologies, radio frequency, dermal needling and fractional treatment.

It can also be used in conjunction with our Thermage machine to deliver a ‘radio-frequency face-lift’ – sparing yourself from the surgeon’s knife and all the potential complications which can flow from that.

For a limited time only we are offering a 30% saving on London prices – call us now on 01483 568013 to book your free consultation with me.

Dr Natalie

The Times front cover today led with this story, in the wake of the PIP breast implant scandal and called for regulation of this product, something which Light Touch Clinic wholeheartedly agrees with. As a medically qualified Doctor with years experience in the cosmetic medical industry, I find it astonishing that there are no minimal standards for either the injector or the injectable.

Here are my top 5 tips for finding the very best dermal filler practitioner in your area:

What are their qualifications?

As a minimum they should be a medically qualified doctor and registered with the General Medical Council.

What are their industry specific qualifications?

Furthermore, your Doctor should be not only basically trained to perform a dermal filler injection but also advance trained and be able to show considerable experience in doing so.

What dermal filler brand do they use?

With over 300 dermal fillers on the market there are very few which are FDA approved or meet the standards of the International Organisation of Standardisation. Check which brand your Doctor proposes to use.

Research the dermal filler recommended to you. The Internet is an excellent source of information and most dermal filler brands will have very comprehensive websites, offering you all the information you need to satisfy your queries of safety.

Research the reputation of the Doctor. Does your intended practitioner have good references and testimonials? Most Clinics will have testimonials on their website, in Clinic or found elsewhere on the Internet. Word of mouth recommendations are also an useful way of understanding if the Doctor is the right one for you.

Above all, trust your instincts, if your Doctor is highly qualified and specialised in what she does and you are satisfied with the brand they propose to use then it’s most likely you are ready to go ahead with the procedure.

Until next time,

Dr Natalie

The same can also be said for the dermal fillers we use. We only use the top 3 brands in terms of quality and expense, even though there are now over 300 on the UK Market.

Why do we do this? Dr Natalie will always put the safety and well-being of our patients ahead of profits and knows that the best products will ultimately yield the best results.

Light Touch Clinic has, will and always will be a Clinic that you can trust to deliver the best, clinically proven products using the very best and up to date techniques.