The eyes are windows to the soul, and for me, the first facial feature to show signs of ageing.
I have been struggling with dark under-eye circles from since before I hit puberty thanks to my Indian ancestry; and sadly and more recently, ageing has thrown fine wrinkles, and loss of under-eye fat and connective tissue into the mix.
Fortunately I have been able to counter some of these problems with Restylane and Teosyal fillers and Dysport botulinum toxin treatments administered by Dr Lam Bee Lan from Ageless Medical Centre. Last year, I began using Cyspera cysteamine cream which helped reduce and prevent under-eye pigmentation.
Last year I began travelling for work at an unprecedented intensity. Between May and September 2019 I was shuttling between Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur on a practically weekly basis; and in February this year when our accountant showed me that business travel expenses had nearly tripled I nearly fell off my chair! It was a miracle that we made a decent profit in spite of the spike in costs!
Even before stay-home measures were implemented to stem the spread of Covid-19 causing business activities to slow down to a crawl if not a complete halt, I thought hard about how I could continue to undergo quality treatments while saving costs.
Wanting to make the most of the strong Singapore dollar, naturally I looked to Malaysia, where I was fortunate enough to have been working with top trainers in the medical aesthetics industry. Dr Anna Hoo from Anna Hoo Clinic in Petaling Jaya came highly recommended, so I met her for a consultation at the end of February this year.
While I knew all along that she was not a cookie-cutter injector, it was her beauty philosophy that won me over. In her practice, Dr Hoo does not merely correct skin-deep imperfections, but seeks to restore harmony in her patient’s facial features such that he/ she exudes confidence, trustworthiness, and gives the impression that he/ she is content and doing well in life; that edge that could subconsciously influence more clients into trusting me with more projects!
According to Jean Baur, a career coach and author of the book “The Essential Job Interview Handbook”, it takes three seconds for someone to determine whether they like you or want to do business with you in the future. If I could skew the odds in my favour when meeting a potential client for the first time, even before I begin to speak, I would certainly do it.
Her prescription was however a little different from what I have been accustomed to. In addition to correcting my tear troughs, she also suggested restoring volume in my temples with the Juvéderm Voluma filler, which would resolve some of the slacking of the skin around the eyes. As the injection was delivered under the skin and into the muscle just above the bone, it was not painful at all. When the filler was injected I heard a soft sound not unlike liquid being drawn up through a straw.
The temples are one of the under-rated structures that keep the eye area looking youthful. As we age, the temples start to depress as they lose fat and connective tissue, causing us to look tired and haggard; in some people this can cause the face to have a “skeletal” appearance. This loss of fat and connective tissue also reduces the support of the outer brow, which can cause the upper brow to droop, adding to the tired and haggard appearance.
My under-eyes were then tackled with intradermal injections of the Juvéderm Volite filler which was also mostly comfortable. The treatment was concluded with the Dysport Dermalift treatment — my go-to treatment for reducing wrinkles such as glabellar lines and crow’s feet since 2014.
Upon returning to Singapore after the treatment, I experienced a little swelling at the temples but it was not unbearable, resolving after a few days with the tiny needles marks.
It took about three weeks for the effects to fully settle and I loved the results; I looked rested, gently confident and youthful and could not help but revel in compliments doled out by the usually critical aunties at a wedding that I attended soon after. I also liked that the base of my nose looked slightly narrower than before.
Dr Hoo has a light touch and the unique ability of assessing the face in 3D which can be gleaned only with experience and a keen eye for balance and aesthetics. And whether you are paying for your treatment with your hard-earned Malaysian ringgit or Singapore dollars it is certainly worth every sen/cent!
I cannot wait for travel restrictions to be lifted so I can return to Kuala Lumpur for nasi kandar with my team mates and more treatments with Dr Hoo!
Call +603 77267626 or visit https://annahooclinic.com.my/ for more information