Celebrity Life

Unless we’re especially fortunate, most of us carry physical scars somewhere on the body. In the event these are particularly troubling, Dr Lisa Chan explains how they can be minimised.

Life is a series of unpredictable and feels different from the surrounding skin. can help, but for older stretch marks a
Scars take more than six months to settle into their final appearance, usually becoming flatter and paler with time. In cases where there’s an excessive tissue response, the scar can become raised (hypertrophic) and even extend beyond its original borders (keloid). This is more common in younger and darker-skinned patients. In other cases where there’s been rapid stretching of the skin — during puberty or pregnancy, for example — or increased tension, such as over the joints, rupturing of the collagen and elastin fibres can result in stretch-mark scars. After surgery or instances of deep-seated inflammation, such as acne, the loss of supporting structures, fat and muscle can also cause scars with a sunken or pitted appearance.

Treatment will vary depending on the type of scar. For keloid and hypertrophic scars, steroid injections and vascular lasers can help to flatten the scar and reduce redness. As for stretch marks, these are notoriously difficult to treat. Early on, hyaluronic acid and tretinoin creams occurrences. Whether by accident, disease or surgery, most of us carry scars as reminders of the experiences we’ve been through. If the experience has been particularly upsetting, the scar and its appearance can be something my patients wish to minimise.

Scars are formed when there’s been a break in the skin to the dermis or below. As the second layer of the skin, the dermis contains elastic and fibrous tissue that contributes to the skin’s strength and elasticity. The body initiates its natural wound-healing process by depositing new collagen fibres, resulting in a scar that looks combination of chemical peels, microdermabrasion, radiofrequency, ultrasound and laser treatments may be needed. For sunken scars, dermabrasion and filler injections can help lift up the scar and make it less noticeable. In certain cases, scar revision surgery may be considered.

To prevent the formation of an unsightly scar, proper wound care is important. Keeping the area clean reduces the chances of infection and inflammation. Instead of letting the wound form a scab, applying an ointment such as Vaseline and covering the wound with a hydrogel or silicone dressing allows it to heal faster. After the wound has healed, good sun protection with a broad-spectrum sunscreen of at least SPF30 can help to reduce the chances of the scar becoming more red, brown or discoloured.

We’ve all had experiences we’d rather forget, but they’re nonetheless a part of life. If your scar bothers you, know that treatments are available and like all things in life, they will fade with time.

The post Dr Lisa Chan on How to Minimise Troubling Scars appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

If you have an urge to radiate the effortless good looks of a K-pop star, Dr Lisa Chan explains how it’s done.

With the explosion in popularity of global K-pop superstars, such as Blackpink and BTS, many of my clients have come to me with requests for the kind of skin and contour enhancements that make such artists look impeccable without make-up. Some recent favourites include:

Glass Skin: Poreless, luminous skin that glows from within. As any good make-up artist will emphasise, foundations and concealers can only do so much to cover blemishes and pockmarks. Dewy, hydrated and radiant-looking skin is the basis for flawless make-up and, depending on the initial condition of the skin, this can be achieved via deep dermal hydrating injections and sessions of intense pulsed light.

Eyelid Contouring: Prominent creases that widen and increase the charisma of the eyes. Over time, sagging of the upper eyelid skin and loss of volume under the brow area can result in a tired, defeated appearance. Biostimulant and hyaluronic acid filler injections can fill in creases and make up for fat loss and bony resorption, while devices utilising high-intensity focused ultrasound and radiofrequency energy can help tighten and lift sagging skin. Opaque lenses will need to be worn to protect the eyeballs during treatment.

Aegyo Sal: The creation of “charming fat” under the eyes radiates youth and good cheer. If you’ve ever wondered why so many Korean celebrities always look as if they’re smiling, this is one of their best-kept secrets. Tiny cannulas are used to deposit minuscule amounts of hyaluronic acid fillers under the bottom lash line to mimic the muscular action of “smiling eyes” and create a highlighted, cheerful effect.

Smile Lipt: A lip reshaping and “smile” formation technique. To add to the impression of effortless serenity, gone are the days of puffy overblown lips, in favour of delicate petal-shaped borders with upturned corners. Carefully placed botulinum toxin injections and low-viscosity hyaluronic acid fillers can smooth out wrinkles and gently lift lip corners, while intense pulsed light can reduce unwanted pigmentation.

Jaw Contouring: A sculpted, defined appearance to the jawline. Double chins and loose skin can make it difficult to be camera-ready at all angles, but there are multiple ways to combat these issues. Deoxycholic acid, a fat emulsifier naturally found in the body, can be injected to reduce stubborn fat under the chin area, while a combination of hyaluronic acid fillers, polydioxanone threads, high-intensity focused ultrasound and radiofrequency treatments can be used to tighten, lift and improve the definition of the chin and jaw.

K-pop artists are known for their meticulous attention to detail and high beauty standards that make it seemingly impossible for unflattering photos to surface. Beauty filters and Photoshop aside, there’s nothing quite like the glow of confidence that comes from looking and feeling your best.

Follow Dr Chan on Instagram for more beauty tips and musings.

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Having a child is a life-changing moment, dictating the start of a whole new chapter in life where your priorities get reshuffled and suddenly nothing matters apart from the sleeping (or crying) baby in your arms. This was the predicament Joyce Lau found herself in, who changed the entire course of her career in 2018 to start a new company, NakedLab, to bring quality bedding for her then two-month-old daughter, who was battling serious eczema.

A former architect and now a full-time mother and entrepreneur, Lau tells us about her frustrations with the bedding industry, her belief in the health benefits of bamboo textiles, and how she hopes NakedLab can ultimately bring a family better sleep, health, and mindset overall.

Name: Joyce Lau
Profession: Entrepreneur
Industry: Textiles and bedding
Company size: 8
Startup since: 2018

When did you launch your company and why?

NakedLab™️ was founded in 2018 when I became a mother. When Pia was 2 months old, she was battling a serious eczema situation. With this sudden urgent need to focus more on skin health and sleep health, I struggled as a new mother shopping for quality bedding that didn't break the bank. So many options were overwhelming and unreliable in terms of quality. That sparked my curiosity to find out that the bedding industry was very ambiguous and antiquated. This frustration initiated the beginning of my journey and the birth of NakedLab™️.

Retailers were selling high-end bedding at up to ten times markup, inflating thread counts, and operating on bloated supply chains that added to cost but not quality. I had no background in textiles or manufacturing, but I soon realised just how savvy one can become after spending one year educating myself on the industry, visiting factories, and sampling fabrics.

I discovered bamboo sheets, which have a lot of health benefits. It's not only scientifically backed to make you sleep better because of its thermoregulating properties, but it is also naturally anti-dust mite, anti-bacterial and hypoallergenic. It also feels so silky soft and feels extremely luxurious.

We focus on Oeko-Tex certified BambooSilk fabric, which is free from harmful chemicals although because I insist on the Oeko-Tex certification, it means that the bedding is more easily creased than cotton (which is dipped in chemicals) and has to be carefully handled (cold or low-temperature wash, and no bleach and tumble dry). We started out with one product, which is a pink baby cot sheet for Pia, but have since added kids' bedding, adult bedding, and duvets, which are coming soon.

To me, NakedLab is more than just a shop that sells bedding. Bedding is such an overlooked item at home – it's a household item where we spend most of our hours (the average person spends almost 230,000 hours of their life in bed, that's approximately 26 years!) and it is also the one item our skin has the closest contact with. I believe a good set of bedding gives you not just good sleep, but also the foundation to good health and most importantly for me, a good mindset. And that is the key to a happy home and a happy life. This is what kept me going, it just makes me so happy knowing that I can help make a little difference to somebody’s sleep and happiness because they had a good rest.

Was sustainability a factor for you when you created your line?

I think sustainability is an essential factor in any business nowadays, that’s fundamental. I’m not even going to dive into the manufacturing process, for one simple fact is that bamboo is one of the fastest-growing plants in the world, with some species growing up to three feet a day. It doesn’t require the use of pesticides, or any other agrochemicals, nor fertilizer or irrigation, both of which are common in cotton farming - cotton sheets are still the traditional choice of bedding while so many of us still know anything about bamboo bedding.

Did you always want to be an entrepreneur?

Not in a million years! I wanted to be an architect since I was very young, and I have not strayed from that path until now. I was trained in the UK and came back to Hong Kong for a China development project eight years ago.

Your husband is also an entrepreneur. Has he helped you in any way along your own start-up journey?

He is my mentor when it comes to business. He has so much more experience in terms of this entrepreneur journey. I have seen all the downs and I see how he overcomes them and becomes better and better every day. I always say I understand what he is going through, but honestly, I only truly understand now when I became an entrepreneur myself. Your business is like your own baby, it’s so close to heart. Because you build it yourself, sweat and tears. He always says “running a business is all about self-improvement and self-challenge every day”, there’s many more other good quotes from him because he reads so much, he’s the most disciplined person I have ever met. I always go to him when I need advice.

What are some do's and don'ts of starting your own company?

If I can give one piece of advice to the aspiring business owner, I will say: don't try to do everything at once. When you have an idea, you often get overly excited and try to get everything done at once. I think the key is to really do it step-by-step and to try to balance the inside and outside of the business. Prioritizing is super important; try to focus and tackle one hurdle at a time.

You started your business at a time when you still had a full-time job and caring for a newborn. Thinking back now, would you have done it any other way?

I think that was the perfect timing. When I started, it was really just a passion project, I didn't think it would go far. I had a full-time job and a daughter, and a side business was taking a lot of time, especially at the early stages. But I have learned how to hyper-focus, delegate and prioritize. That was something I was pushed to learn when I had so many hats on, and now I think these are the keys to success!

Has the pandemic impacted your business in any way – good or bad?

In a good way for sure. People are now very curious and focus on wellbeing and self-love. People are also staying at home more often, they are more aware of and yearn for good quality products so business is taking off.

What's in the works currently?

Loads of exciting things. In October, we're finally launching our very own 100 percent bamboo duvet – say bye to allergies! In December, we're launching a donation/ repurpose programme with Hong Kong Dog Rescue where we'll be setting up recycling stations at major offices and donating old bedsheets to rescued dogs at their shelter for the winter season.

We're also planning for more colours, mattresses … and in February we're launching an exciting new product that we'll have more information for later. But very exciting things are coming up.

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While we all look forward to the summer, one unpleasant consequence of warmer weather can be the appearance of warts on the skin. Dr Lisa Chan advises how to deal with them and, better still, avoid them completely.

As the days get hotter and we tend to wear less clothing, more patients are coming to me with complaints about discovering various lumps and bumps over their skin. One of the most common ailments we see at the clinic are warts, which are small growths that appear as the result of an infection by human papillomavirus (aka HPV).

HPV spreads via skin contact and from one part of the body to another, especially if the skin is damaged or the immune system is weak. It’s more common in children, whose immune systems aren’t as well-developed as adults', while mothers with warts can occasionally spread them to babies through the delivery process or breastfeeding.

Two to six months after infection, warts can appear as brown, pink, grey or flesh-coloured growths. There may also be a pattern of tiny black dots, due to clotted blood vessels. Depending on where the virus takes hold, different types of warts can occur over the face (filiform, flat), hands (common), feet (plantar) or genital areas. When there are several warts in close proximity, the lesions can even appear cauliflower-shaped.

Although warts are benign, they may feel unpleasant to the touch, due to their roughness, and may also be painful because of their protruding nature. Some of my patients are embarrassed when they occur over prominent areas, such as the face and hands, which can interfere with social activities and impact their quality of life. If you do get warts, what treatments are available? You could wait and see if your body gets rid of the warts on its own, which might take several years, and new warts could grow in the meantime. There are also over-the-counter and prescription peels, which can gradually remove the wart after several months.

However, home remedies can cause blistering and scarring. If you have diabetes or other chronic illnesses, it might be best to get warts treated by a doctor if they bother you. Options include carbon dioxide laser, electrosurgery, cryosurgery, curettage or immunotherapy. As there are no treatments for the virus itself, warts may still reoccur after removal.

To lower the chances of getting warts, there are several things that can be done:

• Get vaccinated against HPV;
• Wash hands after touching items used by others;
• Don’t share towels;
• Keep skin dry and clean;
• Don’t bite fingernails;
• Don’t pick at warts – this can spread them to other parts of the body
• Bandage and cover affected areas;
• Don’t go barefoot around public pools, locker rooms or showers;
• Pay attention to good diet and exercise – a stronger immune system will help fi ght off a host of illnesses!

Follow Dr Chan on Instagram for more beauty tips and musings.

The post Dr Lisa Chan on How to Deal With Warts and Avoid Them Completely appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

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