St John Clinic Bulletin October 2019
Offers on
1 Obagi 360 – “no fuss”, 3 products only, medical grade skincare that is well tolerated
2 Obagi Luxe – rich moisturising night cream
3 Obagi Elastiderm – eye cream
4 Obagi – 20% vitamin c serum
5 Obagi Volite – moisturising hyaluronic acid fillers for the skin
6 Obagi Radiance – skin peels
Now that the summer’s over I’d like to concentrate on what can be done to make your skin look its absolute best.
Youthful skin has the following features:
Plump, glowing, no visible pores with an absence of lines, wrinkles and pigmented patches.
Botox reduces wrinkling by relaxing the pull of muscles on the skin. Fillers are a positive influence on skin texture as hyaluronic acid helps the skin to absorb and hold water. Both these treatments indirectly help the skin to look its best.
However, in order to have a direct impact on the structure of the skin, it’s important that we understand how the skin ages and how the process of healthy skin turnover breaks down so that we can choose products / procedures accordingly.
Youthful skin is abundant in collagen that is continually being replenished. Skin ages when collagen is broken down faster than it is being made.
The rate at which this happens depends on a variety of factors, including:
your age, skin colour, gender and, for women, where you are with regards to the menopause. Finally and importantly, lifestyle factors including sun exposure and smoking.
Collagen gives structural support and thickness to the skin. Healthy skin is continuously turning over but when this process is sluggish, a thick layer of dead skin cells builds up on the surface making the skin look dull. This is why exfoliation is important.
Finally, use of a quality vitamin C serum every day is important as an antioxidant and to repair skin damaged by sunlight.
Obagi 360 – exfoliating day wash 150ml, hydrating moisturiser with spf 30 75g, and retinol 0.05 night cream 28g for a total of £120 (25% off rrp of £160). Products are available individually.
Obagi Luxe – night cream 48g for intense moisturising £40 ( rrp £60)
Obagi Elastiderm – eye cream 15g- rich moisturiser for the delicate eye area £75 (rrp £100)
Obagi 20% – vitamin C serum 30ml £90 ( rrp £120)
Up to one of each of the above when you attend for your next Botox® / filler treatment. Offer ends 20.12.2019 (31.3.2020 for clients outside London).
Simple, quick (and low cost) is good for those of us who lead busy lifestyles.
Tretinoin has been well researched and proven to reverse the signs of ageing, namely fine wrinkles, pigmented patches and lack of plumpness and glow to the skin. Yet many simply cannot tolerate the initial side effects because it can make the skin red, dry, and flaky. The Obagi range has long been described as the “gold standard in skincare products”. I’ve used them personally for 20 years. They are excellent and because they are of medical grade, they can only be purchased through healthcare professionals.
The Obagi 360 retinol 0.05 contains the active ingredient at a lower dose and therefore is better tolerated by those who have sensitive skins. You can increase the potency to Obagi retinol 1.0 should you want to try a more potent retinoid night cream and then upgrade again to the tretinoin creams for even higher potency.
For those of you who like a really rich night cream then I would recommend “Obagi Luxe” which is the richest, most moisturising of products I offer. It is also well priced as little does go a long way. The same goes for Obagi’s elastiderm eye cream which is thick and creamy Their hydrating effects prepare the skin for make up to look its best.
Moisturising fillers for the skin
Volite £295 for 1ml Offer – two for the price of one.
Unlimited per person until 20.12.2019 (clinics outside London 31.3.2020)
If you wonder why some celebrities retain that plump glow to their skin it is possible that they are having hydrating filler treatments. I’ve always extolled the virtues of the visual effects of tretinoin cream on the skin ( stimulates collagen production, exfoliates dead skin cells from the surface) However, as many find high strength tretinoin hard to tolerate, an alternative ( or additional) treatment that you might like to try is hyaluronic acid directly into the skin.
One of the Juvederm hyaluronic acid range is a “runny” gel called “Volite” designed to hydrate and plump the skin. It can be used all over the skin of the face in which case you will need 4 to 6 ml (with a procedure time of about 30mins). This can be split into two or more sessions.
The good news is that one treatment lasts 6 months and once the initial treatment side effects settle down, the results are noticeable after a month and improve with time. I use my medical-strength anaesthetic cream (much stronger than Emla) for 15 mins at least beforehand and then introduce the filler via multiple tiny, shallow pinpricks.
Bruising can be a problem for those who tend to bruise easily. What you can do to reduce bruising is to discontinue fish oil and vitamin E supplements and aspirin for 2 weeks beforehand. I find that arnica 30cc tablets taken before and after the procedure also reduces bruising as does the application of ice packs. These measures should keep bruising to a minimum. Any minor bruising is usually far outweighed by the benefits of this treatment.
Obagi Radiance skin peels £100. Two peels for the price of one.
Unlimited per client. Offer ends 20.12.2019 (Clinics outside London 31.3.2020)
These are medical strength peels that can be used without the need for skin preparation. The Obagi Radiance peel is great for brightening the skin and for reducing mild pigmentation patches. It also prepares the skin to absorb the nutrients from your skincare regime by sloughing off the dead skin cells which accumulate on the surface.
I advise a course of 6 peels with a minimal interval of 2 weeks to make the skin look its absolute best. Results will be maintained by either the Obagi Nuderm or 360 skincare ranges.
London / Oxfordshire clinics
Monday Richmond / Belgravia
Tuesday Fulham / Belgravia
Wednesday Belgravia / Wimbledon Park
Thursday Belgravia
Friday Great Tew, Oxfordshire
Bath clinics
Every 3 weeks from Oct 31st
Scottish clinics
Oct 5th Glasgow / Edinburgh
Oct 12th Aberdeen
Nov 9th Edinburgh
Nov 30th Aberdeen
Dec 14th Glasgow / Edinburgh
Annual leave
Dec 21st to 28th
I look forward to seeing you at one of the St John Clinics again soon.
With all best wishes,
Lady St John of Bletso MBChB MRCOG
Dr Helen St John
dr@stjohnclinic.co.uk
020 8946 9694
www.stjohnclinic.co.uk