Todays men & women want to look as good as they feel

St John Clinic Newsletter June, July, August 2016

 

Lady St John of Bletso MBChB MRCOG

Dr Helen St John MBChB MRCOG

The ageing process of the face is a complex chain of events between bone, muscle, fat and skin. How our skin looks is very much related to what is going on on the inside.

We cannot change our chronological age. Our biological age, however is governed by genetics, lifestyle, stress, disease and diet. All these factors affect how our skin looks and much of this is under our own influence according to the lifestyle choices we make. In this newsletter I’m going to highlight what I feel is important and what we can do to keep our skin as youthful as possible.

My offer of two syringes of any of the Juvederm filler range for £700 will continue. This represents good value in particular for those of you needing a little help in the under eye area (tear trough – 1 syringe £500) and the outer cheek lift (juvederm voluma – £395 per syringe).

Finally, I’m altering the London clinic timetable and adding more Saturday appointments at three London locations. This is so I can accommodate more clients, in particular those who prefer appointments outside usual office hours.

 

Vitamin supplements, hormones, diet, antioxidants and your skin

I read an excellent article recently written by Dr Sister, a colleague in the aesthetic medical industry. His views are similar to my own and I’d like to share some of the key points with you.

 

Vitamin drips

There has been much talk recently about the benefits of vitamins delivered directly to the bloodstream. This relatively new treatment has appealed to individuals (with money to burn) who feel dehydrated, stressed or depressed as a “pick me up”. Much like a blood transfusion, clients are delivered a vitamin cocktail via a cannula inserted into a large vein.

My feeling is that without personalised assessment via blood testing it is not possible to be sure what vitamins or minerals, if any, are deficient. Moreover, we do know that excess of certain vitamins can be harmful. I think time and money would be better spent concentrating on eating healthily and if required taking advice from a nutritionist.

 

Oral supplements

Brands differ in their efficacy. Despite the “100% of daily requirement” quoted on the product other factors such as bioavailability are important meaning that the supplement may not be fully absorbed in order to exert its effects There are some properly researched supplements available which do make a difference on the skin, hair etc. However, in general terms, rather than taking a guess and relying on tablet taking, making positive changes to our diet and as above seeking professional help might be a better option.

 

Antioxidants

At least 10,000 new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed every year in the UK. While we are all aware of the importance of effective sunscreen, research has shown that we are using too little product and not reapplying it often enough throughout the time of exposure to sunlight.

A recent paper in the British Journal of Dermatologists highlighted the fact that the quantity of sunscreen we are using is too little and we are reapplying it too infrequently to adequately protect ourselves. Please click on the following link to read what I feel is an excellent document, www.bad.org.uk/for-the-public/skin-cancer/sunscreen-fact-sheet .

Research indicates that taking 1g vitamin C and 500IU vitamin E for more than three months can lead to a reduction of the effects of UVB damage. I would also recommend the skinceuticals vitamin C serums (CE Ferulic and Phloretin CF) for their effect directly on the skin.

 

Hormones

I’ve written about the effect of declining oestrogen levels on the skin in a previous issue (all issues can be read on my website www.stjohnclinic.co.uk). In summary, when oestrogen levels start declining from around the age of 40, the effects on our skin include wrinkles, dryness and loss of elasticity. If you add to this the psychological impact of declining oestrogen-mood swings, loss of concentration, depression it is easy to see why those of us able to have HRT should certainly consider doing so.

 

Dermal filler offer-two 1 ml syringes of any Juvederm product required for £700 – offer ends 31.8.16

Areas of the face which are suitable for correction using this gold standard hyaluronic acid based filler are as follows:

  • Tear trough to reduce under eye shadows/ hollows
  • Upper, outer cheek area to recreate a youthful contour to the cheeks and to give lift at the jawline
  • Nose to mouth lines – particularly for those whose folds persist even when cheek volume is corrected
  • Lips – to improve definition of the borders and to reduce” lipstick bleeding”
  • Mouth corners – to improve laxity and shadowing adjacent to the chin (the pre jowl sulcus area)

Taking photographs at the consultation is a very helpful way of demonstrating what can be done using fillers to correct deficient areas. As always, my aim is to make you look like a fresher version of yourself rather than changing the way you look altogether. Not everyone is suitable for lip enhancement and I would only suggest this treatment to define the lips when I feel that it would be beneficial to the proportions of the face as a whole.

A final word – all fillers I offer are temporary and can be dissolved if requested.

 

New clinic times and Saturday clinics

As most of my clients work and often request appointments outside usual office hours I’ve decided to alter my clinic timetable and to offer more Saturday appointments at several of my London locations.

Here is our proposed timetable which will be operational from the week commencing May 30th:

Wimbledon
Monday 12 to 3pm, Wednesday 3 to 6pm, Friday 9.30 to 11.30am
Fulham
Monday 4 to 6pm, Friday 12.30 to 3pm
Richmond
Tuesday 4 to 6pm, Wednesday 12 to 2pm, Thursday 12 to 3pm
Kingston
Tuesday 12 to 3pm, Thursday 4 to 6pm
Harley St
Friday 4.30 to 5.45pm

Saturday:
June 4th, Fulham 12 to 3pm
June 18th, Kingston 12 to 3pm
July 2nd, Wimbledon 12 to 3pm
July 9th, Fulham 12 to 3pm
July 30th, Kingston 12 to 3pm

 

Forthcoming clinics

Bath
June 25th/26th July 23rd/24th, Aug no clinics, Sept 3rd/4th

Scotland:
Glasgow/ Edinburgh EH5
June 11th, July 16th, Aug 20th, Sept no clinics, Oct 1st, Nov 12th, Dec 3rd, Jan 21st 2017
Edinburgh EH13/ Aberdeen
June 12th, July 17th, Aug 21st, Sept no clinics, Oct 2nd, Nov 13th, Dec 4th, Jan 22nd 2017

 

I look forward to seeing you at one of the St John Clinics 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

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