Korean beauty treatments are a booming market, globally. But not all of us are able to travel to Seoul, the epicentre of it all, on a regular basis. In Hong Kong, Seoul Aesthetic provides powerful skincare treatments with advanced technology, drawing from the guiding principles of K-beauty. Whether you’re a complete novice, done it once, or considering giving it a try, Seoul Aesthetic gives us the tell-all on what you need to know about Korean beauty treatments, from thread lifting to Ultherapy.
What are the three best Korean beauty treatments?
- Thread lifting
The technique of thread lifting uses absorbable medical-grade threads to lift the facial soft tissue. It is a very safe treatment. Doctors consider it even safer than botox (Botulinum toxin) or filler injections. It is a very simple and common non-invasive procedure. With only a few threads and less than an hour’s treatment, thread lifting can effectively rejuvenate the patient’s facial contour with minimal side effects.
- Skin boosters
Skin boosters are injections made to the facial tissue in order to moisturise and directly supply nutrients to the skin. This results in repairing damaged cells and restoring glow to the skin. Skin booster treatments are extremely popular in Korea and are a routine treatment for Koreans.
Keeping the dermal layer healthy with skin boosters can solve many problems related to pore, tone, sensitivity, flushing and fine wrinkles. It restores tired skin from the inside and improves skin by inducing cell regeneration. About four weeks after the injection, the dermal tissue becomes dense and thick inside the skin. Externally, it has effects such as reduction of acne and pores, improving wrinkles, elasticity and even scars.
- Lip filler
Korean-style lip filler injection is not focused on simply making the lips larger. But also on enhancing the curves of the lips. Again using multiple products depending on the patient lip’s anatomical construction, we use different techniques on each section of the lips. Considering both the front and side image, we complete the lip filler by focusing on raising the ends of the lips and making sure the lips look glowing and vivid.
What is a Korean thread lift?
The Korean method of thread lifting is quite different in terms of diverse products and techniques. So, every year, patients from all over the world come to Seoul to experience Korean beauty. Through the vast amount of accumulated knowledge from treating different nationalities, facial bone structures, and soft tissue compositions, we have developed unique tailored designs and techniques. It’s different in that, even for a single patient, the Korean method uses many different types of products and different thicknesses of threads to tailor to the patient’s facial bone structure, soft tissue composition, and most importantly the patient’s needs.
What are the benefits of Ultherapy?
Ultherapy is the only FDA-approved, non-invasive procedure that lifts the neck, chin and brow, and improves lines and wrinkles on the upper chest. Ultherapy uses high-intensity focused ultrasounds (HIFU) to engage the deep tissue called the SMAS, which is a part of the tissue that is critical to lifting the skin. Compared to other HIFU devices, Ultherapy is the most precise and more importantly stable device that can target the SMAS for natural-looking results without surgery or downtime.
How long do toxin injections like botox, xemon and juvederm last, and do they hurt?
Botox injections block chemical signals from nerves that cause muscles to contract. It is a procedure that temporarily relaxes facial wrinkles or reduces the size of the muscles.
For wrinkles like frown lines, forehead lines, and crow’s feet lines, the effects of Botox can last about four months. For reduction of muscle mass like the jaw, calf, and shoulder muscles, it lasts about 6-8 months. It is a procedure done with needle injection, but as it takes less than one minute. I think it is tolerable compared to the effect you can enjoy for the next few months.
Why is botox so popular?
Botox is a popular treatment as it can help reduce obvious lines and wrinkles. In addition to botox, we can consider treatments such as Thermage and skin boosters to enhance the collagen quality of the skin to treat fine wrinkles.
Can you explain the benefits of different LASERS?
There is a huge spectrum of energy-based machines, using different mechanisms such as radiofrequency, ultrasound and light.
Thermage FLX uses radiofrequency technology to heat the deep, collagen-rich layers of the skin, while the tip cools the surface to help aid patient comfort. Collagen is a protein that is critical to skin elasticity. Thermage FLX is designed to increase the quality and quantity of Collagen, resulting in an immediate contraction, which leads to skin tightening.
Ultherapy uses Ultrasound energy on the other hand. It lifts up the soft tissue by transferring energy to the deeper layer (SMAS) near the muscle to achieve a promising lifting effect.
There are many machines using light as an energy source to treat the skin.
In the case of a Pico laser, it treats pigments by the intense output of powerful energy in a short time of a Pico unit (one trillionth of a second). With the principle of breaking only a specific pigment, it can minimise skin irritation and shorten the number of procedures, thereby reducing damage to surrounding tissues and pain to the patient.
Other LASER machines, such as Clarity use long pulse waves rather than picosecond waves to treat light to deep pigments and even pores. This can also help to remove hair without discomfort.
V beam lasers use a 595nm energy source to treat blood vessels and redness very effectively. Thus, it is an excellent choice for facial flushing or a Rosacea patient.
The effect can be maximised with a mix and match of the different LASERS to achieve the ultimate outcome by experienced doctors.
Can you tell us about the result-driven facials on offer?
Professional peeling is a very important component of facial treatments. Exfoliation through peeling is the beginning of any skincare regime. But a lot of the time, if done wrong, it can cause sensitivity and dry skin. Peeling is a procedure that cleans the skin and restores the skin’s regeneration cycle by removing the dead skin cells of the epidermis that remain without natural exfoliation. Since everyone’s skin is not the same, peeling must also be carried out according to the individual’s skin condition and concerns. Professional peeling with 3rd and 4th generation products like PHA and LHA can effectively smoothen the skin with moisturising.
LDM skincare is a moisture lifting that uses high-density ultrasonic energy to increase the moisture in the skin and the regeneration ability of the skin barrier. Although the treatment time is short, you can feel the moisture and elasticity immediately after the treatment. So it can be great if you want your skin to look younger.
Not only does it provide moisture and elasticity, but it can also even out uneven skin tones and textures for healthy-looking skin.
It is a hypoallergenic skincare that is gentle enough for daily use on sensitive skin. It can help treat skin diseases like dermatitis and pressure sores effectively with the least side effects.
For at-home advice, I think the basics of skincare are moisturising and sunblock. These are the bread and butter of skincare. You can never have too much of these two items. On the other hand, some items require extra care like scrubbing and peeling. If you have trouble with your skin, seek medical advice rather than testing out treatments on your own.
What is your morning and evening beauty routine?
In the morning, I first clean my skin with a gentle cleanser. Then I moisturise with toner, add serum with antioxidants, and use cream for a light texture on sensitive skin.
At night, first I remove makeup. Then, I clean my skin with a gentle cleanser and moisturise with toner. I use a sheet mask (do not use when skin is sensitive because even a mask can irritate your skin). Finally I add soothing serum with a thicker texture cream for extra hydration.
Wilson House, UG/F, 19-27 Wyndham Street, Central, +852 9696 8585, seoulclinic.com.hk, @seoulaesthetic_hk
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