Dr Yusra, internationally reknowned aesthetic doctor, answers all your questions!
Grazia: Please tell us a little about yourself.
Dr Yusra: I run two well established clinics, one in the heart of London on Harley street, the other by the beachside in Blundellsands in Liverpool. I have been practicing since 2010 and have a strong passion for aesthetics and wellbeing, my ethos being natural looking enhancements to support wellness on the inside, and radiance on the outside. I provide a range of dental and facial aesthetic procedures and have recently expanded the team and portfolio of treatments and we now offer weight loss clinics, permanent non surgical fat reduction, skin tightening, acne scar treatments and body contouring. The most popular body sculpting treatment we have in clinic is Coolsculpting which is the only FDA approved non surgical permanent fat freezing treatment in the world, clinically proven to permanently destroy almost 30% of fat in one session, without any needles, and any downtime, and quite frankly one of the most life changing treatments I have seen.
My patients travel far and wide and come for full face rejuvenation, acne scarring treatment and non surgical rhinoplasty – all of which can be life changing for many. During my consultations I assess the patients full face, lifestyle, nutrition, skincare and formulate a bespoke treatment plan to suit patient requirements. I believe aesthetic treatments should be subtle, enhancing what you have and restoring youth, health and vitality to your face. Long gone are the days of duck looking lips, one of my ultimate pet hates, and hamster cheeks. I’ve yet to meet a man that likes that and I’m yet to see the beauty in obvious overdone work. If anything I believe it distorts and ruins the face. In my clinic we aim for elegance and we want our patients looking and feeling good, but not looking ‘done’. The idea is ‘fresh, not fake’ and thats really what the clinic is known for. Patients travel from abroad for a day for treatment and come in discreetly for treatment, and fly back the next day, feeling lifted and youthful and beautiful, but done very discreetly so they just look like they have had a stunning facial without anyone being able to pinpoint whats been done. It really is something special.
Grazia: What areas do people want fixed with dermal fillers?
Dr Yusra: Most patients come in concerned about a particular feature, be it dark under eye circles, a hook on their nose, acne or acne scarring. These are the top three concerns I see in my clinic. I believe education is key. Educating and empowering my patients with the information to make the right long term decisions is part of our consultation process. The magic in delivering stunning aesthetic treatments is getting the proportions just right. Accuracy in injection position and depth is vital, detail is paramount and careful adminstraiton in a staged approach is often best to to create well integrated, natural looking stunning results.
Grazia: Do fillers take years off your face?
Dr Yusra: Fillers can absolutely take years off your face. The ageing process is interesting and multi layered. We make collagen up to about the age of 25. Thereafter we lose collagen at a rate of 1.5% yearly, and as the elasticity in our skin diminishes, so does the plumpness and radiance. Our deep fat compartments that support our skin starts to break down, or bone starts to shrink back, our skin cycle slows down and our face essentially loses the support it once had, resulting losing volume and structure, flattening of the cheeks, with deeper under eye circles developing, nose to mouth lines and heavy jowls with loss of definition to the face. Dermal fillers can restore that lost volume, plumping up the fat pads and recreating bony support.
Hyaluronic acid dermal fillers can come in different thicknesses and textures and can be injected in all the different layers of the face, down to the bone to create structure in the nose, cheeks and chin, up to the skin to create glow, radiance and hydration in the form of ‘skinboosters’. Every molecule of hyaluronic acid holds 1000 x its weight in water, so its great for rehydration of the skin. Fillers will last between 6 months up to 24 months, depending on which product is used.
Grazia: Is it true the sooner you start the better?
Dr Yusra: No, not necessarily. I believe aesthetic medicine is an art form but also branch of medicine, and every procedure has its own risks and the patient should be at an age where they have capacity to consent but more so, where they would benefit from treatment. I worry about the youth and those influenced to have plumping procedures that are a fad and absolutely not necessary, nor aesthetically pleasing. If you start when you don’t need it, you run the risk of over filling and appearing distorted. Find an ethical clinician who is not afraid to turn you away if treatment will not be of benefit to you. Having said that, it is true that the sooner you start good skin care the better, as prevention is better than cure. Using products that stimulate cell renewal and repair, and sun protection every single day to prevent premature ageing is absolutely essential. Another treatment that is best used as a preventative treatment is Botox – this is injected to reduce over activity and wrinkling of the skin, and is best started as soon as early lines appear in movement, to stop them embedding into the skin and becoming deeply engrained lines. The most common age group that comes for dermal fillers are 30-50 age group.
Grazia: Is it obvious to spot who has gotten fillers?
Dr Yusra: Perhaps to a trained aesthetic doctor, yes, but otherwise this should not be the case. Filler is designed to restore lost volume and enhance subtly, very much keeping you looking like you, just a better more youthful and radiant version. It is not about making you look like someone else, and its then really that it becomes obvious. Techniques and products we use these days ensure patients walk out looking radiant, fresh, beautiful, but keep people guessing. And thats just how it should be. No one has to know!
