September 25th, 2009 by Dr Sam Dunn
I thought it was about time to address some of the common concerns my clients have when considering Botox.
1/ ‘it’s a poison Doc’-
Botox gets it’s name from Botulinum Toxin. It’s true that when taken orally (from poorly canned foods) this can give you a nasty case of food poisoning. It’s not true that when injecting the purified form that is BOTOX into selected muscles of the face that there is any evidence of poisoning. Nor is there any ill effect been found when injecting much larger doses to children with Cerebral Palsy.
2/ ‘it’s all well and good having Botox now, but when I stop I’ll look worse than if I hadn’t had it.’
Untrue. We know from studies comparing identical twins, one who’s had treatment for years and one who hasn’t, that over the period of time you have Botox it prevents wrinkles from forming. This mean when you stop having treatments, your skin will be better off than had you had no Botox at all! Also, there is no truth in the rumour that you will get addicted to Botox. You may like the effect and want further treatments because of that, but you will not become physically addicted to Botox.
3/’ Botox gives you a frozen face’-
This is both true and false. It’s true that when given in too high doses, or not thoughtfully placed that Botox can give you a frozen looking face, particularly a smooth plastic forehead or ’startled’ eyebrows or a cold, unmoving area around the eyes when you smile. However, if your doctor has a good aesthetic eye, Botox can be very flattering, reducing lines, elevating eyebrows, improving contours WITHOUT giving you a frozen or startled look.
So there you have it, Botox really is as good as people say it is!
Tags: Botox
Posted in Appearance Treatments, Botox, Uncategorized | No Comments »
September 14th, 2009 by Dr Sam Dunn
I am often amazed at the marketing power out there that drives women (and men) to spend an absolute fortune on skin care. A friend of mine recently asked me what’s good to use on your face, and she told me her mother had a $1500 tub of face cream! I just about fell off my chair. I don’t doubt that that product is good, but in my mind there is no need to spend anywhere near this much on good, proven skin care. There is a mentality out there that the more you pay the better a product is, and this is not always the case.
When it comes to Medicine, we’re all about the studies. We like to know that something does what it says it does before we will use it, whether that be an asthma inhaler, a heart medication or a skin care product. I’ve summarised below what I think is important when it comes to lathering up your face, chest and neck.
1/ Sunscreen-
if you were only able to use one thing on your face, I would recommend sunscreen every time. You only need to compare a middle-aged person from the U.K. to the same aged person from Australasia to see that sun exposure ravages our skin. Not only does it worsen skin condition, wrinkles, pigmentation and broken vessels, but it also causes skin cancers. Australasia has the highest rates of skin cancer in the world.
The best protection from the sun is provided by a sunscreen containing Zinc or Titanium Dioxide which provide a physical barrier to UV rays. Ultraceuticals does an excellent Zinc sunscreen, which we stock at Palm Clinic.
2/ Vitamin A-
studies show that Vitamin A mops up damage to DNA in our skin cells caused by UV rays, pollutants, oxidants and stress. It helps prevent and reverse ageing caused by the sun, improves hydration and improves texture. Environ provides a great range that progressively exposes you to higher and higher concentrations of Vitamin A as you complete each tube. This is necessary so that your skin becomes accustomed to Vitamin A.
3/ Vitamin C-
this is a highly potent anti-oxidant which runs around and clears up damage done to skin cells. Think of Vitamin C as a ‘pac-man’ which runs around and gobbles up the nasties. It also helps promote collagen formation leading to a smoother, more even skin tone. Environ and Ultraceuticals both do a good stabilised Vitamin C.
So there it is in a nutshell, skin care made easy.
1/ sunscreen
2/ Vitamin A
3/ Vitamin C
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September 4th, 2009 by Dr Sam Dunn
As Appearance Medicine is becoming more popular and widespread, I have many friends ask me ‘ is Appearance Medicine right for me?’
While this is an individual choice and everybody is different, my answer is usually a resounding YES! From my younger clients where the focus is more on enhancing current features (eyes, lips, cheeks) to the older clients where the focus is more on restoring features that may have diminished somewhat, there is something for everyone.
Essentially it’s something new that we can offer to make you feel better, look more attractive and feel energised.More importantly we can do this in a safe, subtle and significant way.
So when asked by my friends ‘why appearance medicine?’, my answer is ‘why wouldn’t you?’
Posted in Appearance Treatments, Botox, IPL, Laser Treatments, Liposuction | No Comments »
August 27th, 2009 by Dr Sam Dunn
Quite often my patients remark that they are impressed by the results of Fraxel but concerned about the pain factor. At Palm Clinic we do our utmost to make your experience welcoming and painless.
In order to be effective Fraxel must cause some controlled damage to the skin, so without pain relief, it can be painful. With a topical anaesthetic cream applied 1 hour prior to treatment, most people find this treatment somewhat uncomfortable. With the addition of a cooling device called the Zimmer cooler the discomfort is lessened further. We use the topical anaesthetic and Zimmer cooler for all our patients.
For those who would prefer the experience to be altogether painless, we use Penthrox, an inhaled pain-relief which makes you feel like you’ve had a few glasses of wine and is also a mild amnesic (you can’t fully remember the procedure). Throughout the entire procedure you remain awake and able to follow commands and chat, but afterwards there is only a dim or no memory of the event. The only drawback of Penthrox is that you can’t drive your car or operate heavy machinery for 24 hours after using it. This means you will need to bring a friend in or catch a taxi home, which most find is a small price to pay for a painless procedure.
Tags: discomfort, fraxel, pain
Posted in Appearance Treatments, Laser Treatments | No Comments »
August 20th, 2009 by Dr John Barrett
Palm Clinic will be the first clinic in New Zealand to offer a new prescription medicine that is capable of growing your eyelashes longer, thicker and darker. Better than mascara or eyelash tattooing as these are your own lashes.
Tags: eyelashes
Posted in Appearance Treatments | No Comments »
August 11th, 2009 by Dr John Barrett
This is the most common question I get asked by clients considering liposuction. The answer is “in an ideal world it would be great if your were ideal body weight, toned and just had tiny areas of fat spoiling the image”. In the real world most people are struggling with their weight, and liposuction of stubborn areas of fat can give you a real boost in self esteem and confidence to get back to the gym and sort out your nutrition. So you can get to your ideal body weight first or use liposuction as a stimulant to achieve what can be a very difficult goal for most people. Your choice! You will get good results either way.
Tags: ideal body weight, liposculpture, Liposuction
Posted in Liposuction | No Comments »
August 7th, 2009 by Dr John Barrett
Restless legs can be really distressing. They usually happen in the evening and can make sleeping really difficult. It feels like you don’t know where to put the legs and they can be associated with a twitchy feeling so that the legs need to be moved frequently. The cause is not known and is probably multi factorial. Magnesium deficiency can be relevant for some people.
Of interest to Palm Clinic we have noted that many of our varicose veins patients also have restless legs and following treatment of the varicose veins with endovenous laser ablation (EVLA) or ultrasound guided sclerotherapy (UGS), the restless legs syndrome has improved with treatment of the varicose veins.
Tags: endovenous laser ablation, ultrasound guided sclerotherapy, Varicose Veins
Posted in Varicose Veins | No Comments »
July 23rd, 2009 by Dr Sam Dunn
Been looking for an effective treatment for stretch marks? Look no further…
Fraxel laser works by causing ‘controlled damage’ to the outer layers of the skin. This stimulates a healing process, the end product being collagen and elastin.
Collagen and elastin help the skin look soft and smooth again. Fraxel laser is used to improve texture and tightness of skin on the face, neck, decolletage and hands, to reduce acne scarring and also for stretch marks.
Tags: fraxel laser, Laser Treatments, stretch marks
Posted in Laser Treatments | No Comments »
July 20th, 2009 by Dr Sam Dunn
Excessive sweating is a common problem that you no longer have to put up with.
I had BOTOX treatment to my palms to treat hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating). I had suffered with this for years, especially over the summer months. I’m delighted with the results… and noticed recently that I can now leave my hands on the black reception desk at Palm Clinic and not leave wet marks behind- the bench test!
BOTOX works by blocking the message from the nerve to the sweat gland, thereby inhibiting sweating. The results for excess sweating can last up to one year. Another popular area for treatment is the armpits.
Tags: Botox, excessive sweating, hyperhidrosis, sweat glands
Posted in Appearance Treatments | No Comments »
July 16th, 2009 by Dr John Barrett
International Vein Meeting in Monaco
Dr John Barrett from Palm Clinic has been invited to give a presentation at the UIP (Union Internationale Phlebologie) meeting in Monaco at the end of August. He will also act as moderator for two of the UIP sessions. Dr Barrett is a recognised leader in the non surgical management of varicose veins and has published papers in Dermatologic Surgery Journal and a chapter in a benchmark textbook on Foam Ultrasound Guided Sclerotherapy edited by Dr John Bergan, President of the American College of Phlebology.
Tags: Dr. John Barrett, foam sclerotherapy, international vein meeting, UIP Monaco, Varicose Veins
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