Every year my friends and I rack up the same resolutions: get back to the gym, cut back on the booze and eat more healthily (or all of the above!). Sadly, the reality is that clocking in more hours at bootcamp might keep the pounds at bay, but it doesn’t change the fact that the stress from our hectic lives (juggling high-pressure jobs, motherhood, career — aka trying to have it all!) is showing up in the most obvious place: our faces.
Expert help required
As someone who has written about beauty for years, I know that great skincare will only take you so far. Past a certain point, you need professional treatments to see significant effects. Why? Here’s the science part: as we age, our collagen (a protein that gives structure to our hair, skin, bones and nails) decreases. This is when we start seeing surface effects. Plump cheeks start to sag, once-perky brows droop, jawlines become less defined and, well, we end up looking tired and feeling less than our best.
Thankfully, there’s now an array of cutting edge treatments which help keep your skin looking smoother, more toned and wrinkle free. I’ve discovered that one of the most popular is Ultherapy, a non-invasive facelift which visibly lifts, tones and redefines the contours of your face and neck.
How Ultherapy works
The treatment uses FDA approved ultrasound technology which is applied to your skin using a probe controlled by your aesthetician. The energy pulses through to the deepest layers of your skin (up to 4.5mm in depth), which stimulates the growth of fresh new collagen and strengthens weak stores. Your doctor can see everything happening on screen using ultrasound imaging, so they know precisely where to focus on.
Depending on what surface area you’re focusing on (face, neck or both), an Ultherapy treatment lasts about 30 to 90 minutes in all. It can feel hot and at times uncomfortable, but your skin is numbed and prepped properly beforehand which minimises sensation as much as possible. Some may see an immediate lift right after the treatment, but results become most visible between two to three months (things get better with time!) What’s more, there’s no downtime bar some redness and tenderness, so you can walk out and return back to your daily routine instantly (with a knowing smile, of course!).
Long-lasting effects
I spoke to Dr Tommy Ng from Trinity Medical, who shares that Ultherapy has long been an A-list beauty secret, with celebrities like Jennifer Aniston and Christie Brinkley scheduling regular appointments as part of their beauty routines. “I’ve been performing aesthetics procedures in Singapore for more than a decade, but I find that Ultherapy, an ultrasound facelift, has been getting very popular in the last two years,” he says. Dr Ng advises his patients to come back once a year to maintain a youthful glow, but the results often last over a year. And at the cost of nice holiday ($2,088 for full face or $2,388 for face and upper neck), I think my visage is worth the cost!
Written in collaboration with:
Trinity Medical Centre
87 Marine Parade Central #01-503
440087 (beside Parkway Parade)
sgtrinityaesthetics.com | 6344 0027
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