Ask Alice

Hi, you’re right, cosmetic surgeons dislike patients having energy-based treatments (eg ultrasound, or RF needling) in the year or two before surgery because the way the treatment contracts and tightens up the collagen makes it trickier for them to do their job when it comes to separating the layers of the face or neck. Check this with your surgeon, but I’d hold off and wait for the surgery. I hear that you are finding your neck hard to live with but if you are looking at a surgical neck lift, you will find RF needling doesn’t give you the result you are looking for.

If you’ve got a Dermalux, I’d stick with that. Home-use lasers tend not to be very high-powered or effective.

Ask Dr Shotter or her team to take you through any potential side effects, risks,  complications or contraindications, these will be listed on the consent form. Also, if it’s any reassurance for your husband, Dr Shotter’s staff are well trained in the procedures they offer, like Sofwave, so you will be in good hands.

Hi, Profound RF (which I wrote about here) gave me the most definitive result of these – but it’s an intense procedure that left me bruised and swollen for the best part of a week.  I’ve haven’t tried ultraformer but most ultrasound-based treatments hardly need any downtime.

Hi, I’m sorry to hear this – there’s not much advice I can give. I am sure you have already considered fillers for restoring volume to your face. If you decide to move ahead with a face lift, go and have consultations with at least two surgeons, and then take time to assess their advice before booking anything.

Hi, surgery will give you the best result but I know it’s not for everyone. Ideally, go for a consultation with an oculoplastic surgeon (a cosmetic eye surgery specialist) who also offers non-surgical procedures – it might be that an energy-based treatment like RF needling or Tixel could work for you, but you need a professional to advise you on that.

Hi, I first used the ‘normal’ type of Morphiya, then during recovery from an intense energy-based treatment last year I used the SOS. They did a great job and yes I used them around my eyes.  If you’re using Morphiya, just use that, morning and night, nothing else (just put sunscreen over it in the morning). You don’t need to use retinoids or acids alongside it. When I asked Dr Tunc Tiryaki (who launched Morphiya) whether I should alternate it with retinoids etc, he said that Morphiya would do me more good than all the other skincare products put together. You might think, ‘Well he would say that, wouldn’t he?’ but the point is that it is designed to work on its own. If you try it, use this and nothing else for a month or six weeks, and then judge the results on that.

Hi, if you go onto the Concerns menu here on the website, there’s a whole section on nose-to-mouth lines, link here.

Hi, as far as I know, Lanluma is designed for use on the body so I’m really surprised to hear that. I wouldn’t be keen to use a body-product in my face…

Hi, yes Emface works on the muscles in the cheeks and forehead to strengthen and tone them and adds a dose of radiofrequency energy to improve skin strength and quality. I’ve tried it, it’s great, though it takes time for the results to develop and I suspect I may need further treatment (expensive).

You don’t need to stop doing wrinkle-relaxing toxin but I would advise doing it after a course of Emface rather than before, as strengthening your forehead muscles will re-invigorate them. Also, as you say, you may find you don’t need it so much.

CACI is a great treatment, a full course could give similar results though I don’t think this builds muscle tone and strength as directly as EMface – and you will need to keep up the treatments regularly to maintain results.

Hi, I think it is rarely ‘too late’ to try any of these tweakments – what you need to keep in mind is that the older we get, the less response there is in our skin and muscles to the treatments that are designed to stimulate them. So what you need to ask your practitioner before you start, is whether they think, after assessing your face, that the treatment will make a difference.

Often, we need more treatment in order to show a result as we get older (I need three rounds of Profhilo in my neck, for example, before I can really see the results, whereas someone 20 years younger should get a decent result from two treatments).

I have seen a nice toning and softening in my face after four sessions of EMface – how long this will last I don’t know. In an ideal world, I’d go on having one of these treatments every month – but at current prices that would be an expensive habit to develop.

Hi, I’d find the most experienced dermatologist or other cosmetic physician on the island and ask for their advice – and also plan carefully how, if you go ahead with treatment, you are going to protect your treated skin from the sun. In the UK, it’s best to do these things in the winter; you will have to commit to buckets of SPF 50 and a hat afterwards to minimise further pigmentation developing.

Hi, that’s completely understandable to be anxious ahead of trying any tweakment. Have you discussed these particular concerns with your practitioner? If you have, I hope they would have reassured you that they have enough skill and experience to place the toxin in just the right places so that it will soften your wrinkles without wiping them out, and without making your brows drop. Also, first time, it’s good idea to ask for a really light dose, just enough to give you an idea of what the treatment can do. It won’t last as long as a regular dose, but if for any reason you don’t like the results, then you aren’t stuck with it for so long. See if the information on this section about wrinkle-relaxing toxins helps.

Hi, Skin Laundry offers some great treatments, though I haven’t tried any of them for a while. I can’t comment on its membership offers or the Ultra Duo – but I know the company uses top-quality devices and their therapists are well-trained.

Hi, it looks like a new kind of mesotherapy product ie an injectable for improving the condition of the skin, which is different to injectable moisturiser treatments. I haven’t seen any data about how well it works and how effective it is.