Celebrity Life

Given the passage of time and the effects of gravity, sun exposure and lifestyle, even the most beautiful pair of eyes aren’t immune to signs of ageing. Dr Lisa Chan describes how to take care of and protect these wonderful assets.

Often described as the windows To the soul, the eyes are an integral part of how we communicate and are perceived by others. A glance can convey a multitude of meaning and emotions, and looking deeply into another’s eyes can build trust and affection.

It comes as no surprise, then, that seeking to enhance the beauty of our eyes has a lengthy history. From Cleopatra’s famous kohl rims to modern eyeliners, concealers and mascaras, the desire for magnetic and alluring eyes is a time-honoured tradition.

Regrettably, with the passage of time and the effects of gravity, sun exposure and lifestyle, even the most beautiful pair of eyes aren’t immune to signs of ageing. The average pair of human eyes blinks 24,000 to 28,000 times a day, and at only 0.33 to 0.36mm, eyelid and periorbital skin is only a fifth as thick as that covering the rest of the face. The combination of these factors, as well as certain genetic expressions and facial structures, results in the skin around our eyes being susceptible to dehydration, wrinkling, sagging, discoloration and puffiness.

So how can we combat these dreaded signs of ageing? Moisturising the delicate periorbital skin, especially during drier winter months, is key. Other minimally invasive options for those looking to turn back the hands of time include botulinum toxin injections or volumisation with hyaluronic acids and biostimulant filters. Rejuvenation and tightening is also possible with the insertion of polydioxanone threads, or the use of high-intensity ultrasound and radiofrequency energy-based machines.

Aside from getting in our prerequisite hours of beauty sleep, diet and exercise play important roles in maintaining youthful-looking eyes and clarity of sight. We can incorporate foods rich in antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins C and E, zinc and lutein, and stay at a healthy weight to prevent age-related ocular diseases such as macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and cataracts.

When stationed outdoors for prolonged periods, we should also take care to use a good pair of sunglasses that can block 99-100 percent of UVA and UVB rays. Squinting will hasten the onset of wrinkles, and excessive ultraviolet-light exposure is related to macular degeneration and cataract formation. With society’s increasing reliance on technology, it’s also a good idea to take a break from screens every 15 minutes or so – your eyes will thank you, as will your neck and shoulders.

The eyes are our first point of contact with the outside world, so it’s imperative that we take good care of them – after all, we only get one pair for life. Not everyone can be born with long-lashed doe eyes, but clear vision and a healthy lifestyle will always reflect that youthful joie de vivre within.

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

The post Dr Lisa Chan on How to Combat the Signs of Ageing of Eyes appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

At $3,800 Weekly, Guests Can Have a Heavenly, Health-Inspired Remote Work Experience. During these extraordinary times, as the consummate C-suite professional, executive, or business owner, you still strive to be on top of your career game while working from home or briefly darting into the office on your designated day. This has worked over the […]

The post The Award-Winning Hilton Head Health Luxury Resort Unveils WorkWell appeared first on Upscale Living Magazine.

At $3,800 Weekly, Guests Can Have a Heavenly, Health-Inspired Remote Work Experience. During these extraordinary times, as the consummate C-suite professional, executive, or business owner, you still strive to be on top of your career game while working from home or briefly darting into the office on your designated day. This has worked over the […]

The post The Award-Winning Hilton Head Health Luxury Resort Unveils WorkWell appeared first on Upscale Living Magazine.

Former lawyer, model, spinning and boxing instructor and now mother to a wonderful one-year-old baby boy, Angie Ng opens up about the challenges of raising a child in a pandemic, how she copes with stress and her hopes for the New Year.

How was 2020 for you personally?

It was a difficult time for the whole world. But for me, it was really a time to spend with my family and just recoup. We wanted to be closer to nature, so we moved out to Stanley, which is really nice. It just feels very different from my life pre-pregnancy, if that makes sense. There are nice beaches, we’re away from everybody, and I can spend time with my son and watch him grow and change.

Moving to Stanley had been on the agenda for a long time — we wanted to be somewhere with more space and that was slightly closer to nature. We looked at different locations until we found somewhere we loved. With the virus, too, it was good to move away from things a little. We’re right by the sea, there are trees and plants, and the air is fresher. You just don’t feel as if you’re in Hong Kong.

You’ve worn many hats — lawyer, model and fitness instructor. Was this always the sort of life you imagined for yourself?

I never thought that a lot of the ventures I’m lucky to have been involved in could have happened. Law was a conscious decision. And, you know, modelling just somehow came along, and the more you do it, the more you’re exposed to different things and opportunities. It really is about making the decision to do something new and challenge yourself. I was lucky to be given these new opportunities. I was scared in a lot of situations, obviously doing anything new is often scary. But it’s all been very rewarding to learn different things, to be exposed to new skills and just continue to grow.

Was fitness always important to you?

Always. It goes hand in hand with what I do as a model. I’ve always loved going to the gym and exercising, and when given the opportunity to learn to be an instructor at XYZ, I just said to myself, “Why not? What harm could there be?” It gives you a different angle when communicating with people. You know, when you’re an instructor you’re also a performer, but at the same time, you’re also very close to the clients and in sync with them, as opposed to being a model where you are just performing.

That feeling of community in the fitness world is the reason why people enjoy going to group classes, right? That community will always feel like my community, even if I’m not there all the time. Even the cleaners would ask me about my child. And it’s such a nice feeling to have. I think the fitness community does breed this more than the fashion community.

What else do you do aside from boxing and spinning?

I also like lifting weights — I think lifting weights and toning up are so important. That and doing some form of easy yoga are my go-tos at this moment.

How do you find balance in life? What do you do when stress gets to you?

There are always a million thoughts going through my head, things to do with work, with my baby. What I like to do is to sit on my balcony and focus on my breathwork. I let these thoughts come to me and I catch them, I acknowledge them and then I let them go. I’m looking at a tree, I think it, catch it, I let it go. I have this call with Prestige, with you. I think about it, I let it go, and I'll keep doing this until there’s nothing to think about any longer. I’ve thought about everything I’ve had to think about. Then I’m just left with me and myself. Does that make sense? It’s helped me slow down and appreciate 2020 when things have been stressful and uncertain.

Can you share a little of your own pregnancy and childbirth experiences with us?

I wanted a natural childbirth for my son, so in the very beginning I didn’t want to take an epidural. But the thing is, my son was quite large and he had a very big head. It's often said that people with a fitness background have an easier time with childbirth. I can tell you that’s not true at all! After two hours of constant pushing you become really tired. I was pushing my hardest and looking at the doctor, asking if it made any difference and she would say yes, but my husband was shaking his head. In the end I had to take an epidural.

Were there any challenges you faced raising a child during a pandemic and how did you overcome them?

It's inevitably been a challenging time for all of us. As a mother, I've felt increasingly worried and am constantly trying to find the right balance between having my son at home and safe but still letting him go out and play with other children, to experience nature and attend classes. Then there’s the challenge of getting the baby/toddler to wear a mask or protective hat, which has become the norm nowadays.

What are your hopes for 2021?

2021 for me is the year to explore and learn more, as well as to focus on self-awareness and development.

The post Angie Ng: Fitness, Babies, and Hopes for the New Year appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

I’ve always been intrigued by Nordic spa and wellness traditions. Just as much as Goop loves a new eye cream, I love a new wellness…

The post How to visit the Floating Sauna in Derby, Tasmania appeared first on World of Wanderlust.

There's nothing quite like the experience of booking yourself in for a spa treatment. For two to three hours, you can shut away your phone and escape from the frenetic buzz of the city, while masseuses and facialists work their magic and help cleanse your body and soul in some of the best spas in Hong Kong.

Booking yourself in at a hotel or destination spa is an even bigger treat. In state-of-the-art facilities such as saunas, steam rooms, whirlpools, waterbed lounges and reading rooms, you can easily while away your time in these quiet havens, and emerge whenever you’re ready: refreshed, reenergised, and rejuvenated.

We have rounded up some of our top picks to try this year.

The Upper House

Calmness emanates right from the doorstep of The Upper House and as you ascend the escalators towards the hotel’s lift lobby, you already get a sense you’re being transported somewhere else. The Upper House doesn’t have a dedicated space for spas – instead, it provides in-room treatments, which is perhaps a blessing in disguise when spas have been forced to close during the pandemic. The rooms at The Upper House are already spa-like: spacious, with walk-in rain showers and free-standing bathtubs with breathtaking panoramic harbour or island views.

The Upper House, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty; +852 2918 1838

Fivelements Habitat

This is the only spa in this list that’s not in a hotel – you can think of it more as a city sanctuary and destination for yoga, mindfulness and plant-based cuisine. Its Wellness Day experiences offer guests the healing wonders of traditional remedies and relaxing Balinese massages, or to participate in the sacred arts of yoga, movement or core work. The Awakening Inner Power package comes with a private hour-long sacred-arts session, followed by the 90-minute Heaven Scent Aroma Massage. To finish, end with a nourishing, three-course plant-based lunch or dinner at Sakti Elixir.

Fivelements Habitat, Level 13A, Tower One, Times Square, 1 Matheson St, Causeway Bay; +852 6803 5081

The Athletics Club & Spa, The St Regis Hong Kong

The St Regis Hong Kong exudes the sort of intimacy and familiarity you don’t often find in luxury hotels. Its team of butlers is ever present but never overbearing, and over at the Athletic Club & Spa, its staff of highly trained therapists is on hand to deliver uniquely personalised experiences to all guests. If you’re looking for rejuvenation, try the signature spa treatments by 001 Skincare London, a luxury British natural skincare brand created by celebrity facialist and beauty expert Ada Ooi. Combining Western technology with Eastern principles and a dose of London luxury, 001 is designed to return the skin to a natural state of equilibrium.

The St Regis Hong Kong, 1 Harbour Dr, Wan Chai; +852 2138 6888

The Oriental Spa, Landmark Mandarin Oriental

Tucked away on the fifth floor of the Landmark Mandarin Oriental is a world of calm and serenity and of the best spas in Hong Kong. The Oriental Spa is an expansive oasis (you almost don’t realise how big it is until you’re there) with an authentic hammam, Moroccan Rasul and a Roman Laconium for traditional treatments, as well as a holistic spa area that includes experience showers, vitality pools, ice fountains, amethyst-crystal steam rooms, saunas and Zen relaxation rooms. Guests are invited to arrive 60 minutes before their appointments to take full advantage of the spa facilities and prepare for their upcoming therapeutic treatments. The Rejuvenation facial is one of the Oriental Spa’s hero treatments using Aromatherapy Associates’ anti- ageing product series. You’ll leave the Oriental Spa with a refreshed mind and younger-looking complexion. Now who wouldn’t want to start 2021 like that?

Landmark Mandarin Oriental, 15 Queen's Road Central, Central; +852 2132 0188

Asaya, Rosewood Hong Kong

Launching at the Rosewood Hong Kong this January is the Journey to Resilience, a two-night, three-day or three-night, four-day holistic programme that invites guests to let go of past lifestyle habits and thoughts that no longer serve them, and reset body, mind and spirit. Upon arrival at Asaya, Rosewood Hong Kong’s wellness destination, guests are given a body composition test and a wellness lifestyle assessment to determine their current health status and identify their wellness goals. Throughout their stay, guests will nurture their physical, emotional and spiritual awareness through restorative muscle therapy, sleep and stress-management therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy. Each night, to reset mind and body, guests experience a different spa treatment, from the signature Aroma Atelier massage to singing bowl therapy. By the end of your stay, you’ll find the strength and confidence to take on whatever 2021 throws at you.

Asaya, Rosewood Hong Kong, Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui; +852 3891 8732

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Naturopathy is enjoying a resurgence of popularity in the wellness sphere, touted as a holistic approach to healing the mind and body with natural remedies. Saimaa Miller, resident naturopath at Rosewood Hong Kong’s Asaya tells us more.

The first time I met Saimaa Miller was the morning after I’d just pulled off the biggest party of my life – my wedding – at the beginning of the fourth wave of Covid-19. It had been a panicked whirlwind week of confirming and reconfirming various bookings, adapting our schedules to comply with government restrictions, reassuring our guests, and trying our best to keep ourselves together.

Luckily, the evening went by superbly and the morning after, we checked into the Rosewood Hong Kong as a consolation to ourselves for being unable to go on honeymoon. I hadn’t even checked out our rooms before I made a beeline to Asaya. I wasn’t so much stressed as relieved, but I was tired to the bone – all I was looking for was a deep and relaxing massage to loosen up the knots that had built up around my shoulders, but the kind people at Asaya lulled me into trying naturopathy first. It was something that I’d never considered – I thought I was healthy enough, I worked out regularly and had no injuries. But Saimaa Miller, Asaya’s in-house naturopath, isn’t just there to heal existing injuries – she can also help you understand yourself inside and out, and help you navigate the path of living your best possible self. Starting anew? I was intrigued. My blend of apricot, ginger and frankincense essential oils, custom blended at the Oil Atelier just moments before for my Aroma Atelier massage, can wait. 

Naturopathy 101

Miller is extremely lovely and welcoming, and doesn’t mind my sceptical questions about what naturopathy is all about. It’s not a new fad, but something that has existed for millennia – you can trace it back to Hippocrates (460-375BCE), the father of both traditional and allopathic medicine who uttered the famous words, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”

Prescription medication and pharmaceutical drugs made their way into our lives in the 20th century and naturopathy waned, though what many of us still practise is subconsciously under a different heading: home remedies and old wives’ tales. But the truth is, many of these remedies work. Chicken soup still performs wonders when you’re down with the flu. Peppermint tea still helps calm a queasy stomach. Ginger helps alleviate nausea and migraines. They’re not replacements for modern medicine, but can help with the healing process in ways modern medicine cannot. 

“Doctors just don’t have the time to sit with patients to carefully evaluate and address not only their physical symptoms but also their nutritional status, genetics, family history, lifestyle, feelings, environmental stresses, spiritual outlook and other factors,” says Miller. 

On the other hand, naturopathy is a holistic look at the entire person. “Disease affects the entire body and not just a specific organ or system –as every person is unique, therefore people require individualised care,” says Miller.

Born and Bred Hong Kong

Miller was born and raised in Hong Kong, and natural remedies were part of her childhood. “My mother was a huge believer in natural medicine. We had garlic oil for earaches, fennel seeds to settle our tummies, and chicken broth for colds,” she says. “It was my mother who taught me about natural medicine, and I believe it was her mother who taught her the empirical knowledge of natural medicine.”

When Miller was 22, consultations with the highly regarded naturopath Graeme Bradshaw to deal with depression and the skin condition known as psoriasis quickly turned into an apprenticeship. After completing her naturopathic qualifications in Australia, Miller founded The Last Resort in 2005, an organic health spa in Australia that became the go-to destination for celebrities and athletes to reset their lifestyle. In 2013, she wrote the book Aussie Body Diet, dedicated to natural medicine philosophy, mapping out her nutritional philosophy and lifestyle approach. Now, she’s back in her hometown as the resident naturopath with Asaya Hong Kong, revolutionising and broadening the concept of wellness for the Rosewood Hotel Group.

“Hong Kong is a vibrant city where people are used to working hard and playing hard. It also has a strong culture of eating out, late nights and lifestyle factors associated with increased pollution – both of the environment and the body – that can leave Hong Kongers a little deficient,” says Miller.

The most common issues that affect people are poor-quality diets and low immunity, both of which are brought on by anxiety and stress, but can easily be fixed by good-quality rest and sufficient circulation. This rings true for me and I look at Miller a little guiltily. Fixated on doing, rather than resting; working out rather than stretching; generally not really taking care of what we put in our bodies until we're sick and in need of medication.

My Diagnosis

After an hour-long consultation, Miller hands me her verdict.

I am, as I thought, generally healthy but prone to aches and pains brought about by inflammation in the body. Miller’s recommendations are just a few lifestyle changes that I can incorporate to lessen these symptoms. Some are easy, such as drinking a mixture of apple-cider vinegar, lemon and water in the morning, and making myself a delicious anti-inflammatory smoothie for breakfast. Some are incredibly difficult – going to sleep at 10pm and cutting out coffee. Miller’s treatment also involves a flexible meal guide that incorporates more vegetables, fruit and protein into the diet. I’m still taking baby steps at the time of writing, but accountability is also part of the programme.

Following a consultation, Miller sends you a summary and checks in with you from time to time, ensuring that you stay accountable to yourself. 

I’d entered Asaya thinking that a massage would do the trick and melt away my fatigue and stress. It did – beautifully but temporarily. What I left with after the naturopathic consultation with Miller was something that’s much longer-lasting. I’m still a work in progress, but at least I know I’ve taken the first step to mending my wellbeing for the long term.

The post Naturopathy with Saimaa Miller appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

When asked to trial the ProLon 5-Day Fasting Mimicking Diet, I was sceptical. As a health and nutrition coach, my advice is based on promoting long-term lifestyle changes — no gimmicks, and forget about juice cleanses or diets that cut out whole food groups — and instead focusing on making simple, sustainable, and well-balanced food choices for that individual. So I was pleasantly surprised.

What is ProLon?

ProLon is a patented five-day, plant-based meal plan that provides you with a daily meal kit containing all you’ll eat for each day. It contains some macro- and micronutrients that are scientifically selected for inclusion, but the low-calorie content and specific nutrient breakdown are designed to mimic fasting, and so provide some of the benefits you can get from fasting.

According to ProLon, it’s a “programme of scientifically designed meals that give you the nourishment you need without activating your body’s food sensing system. Your body ‘thinks’ that it’s on a prolonged fast, allowing for fasting gains, but without all the hunger pains.”

Each small box, helpfully labelled Day 1 through to Day 5, contains a nut-based energy bar, two soups, a variety of snacks (including kale chips, olives and even the occasional Choco-crisp bar), energy drinks and supplements. You can eat the contents in any order and at any time of the day, but you must stick to the food for that day. Day 1 was slightly higher in calories with approximately 1,200, while Days 2 to 5 were approximately 800 calories. Wearing my nutritionist hat, I quickly realised that the taller you are and the more active you are, the harder this fast would be. For the first time ever, I was grateful for my five-foot frame.

Why do it?

ProLon is a scientific eating plan that directly lowers circulating insulin and as such is an excellent way to lose the most toxic and voluminous fat on the body

Lauren Bramley

ProLon claims its diet can help rejuvenate your body while getting it to eat real food, helps your body reset and rejuvenate, and supports your body’s natural processes of intracellular clean-up and cell renewal. It also helps maintain lean body mass while lowering body fat.

ProLon came on to the market after 20 years and US$36 million in research and development. Initial clinical studies seem promising. Over a three-month period, ProLon was shown over three cycles to help individuals lose an average of 2.6 kg and 4 cm off their waist circumference. In another study on fast-mimicking diets, published in the magazine Science Translational Medicine in 2017, it aided in maintaining healthy systolic blood pressure and helped the body to rejuvenate.

What intrigued me most is that the brain behind the ProLon fast is Dr Valter Longo, director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California, a man well known for research into longevity.

Here in Hong Kong, ProLon is also recommended by Dr Lauren Bramley, MD, LMCHK, MSc Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at her medical and anti-ageing clinic. Based on her medical expertise, “ProLon is a scientific eating plan that directly lowers circulating insulin and as such is an excellent way to lose the most toxic and voluminous fat on the body, which centres around the abdomen, buttocks, chest, and back. As insulin is a hormone that can negatively impact many other hormones, including thyroid, reducing it improves other hormone levels and ratios to be truly anti-ageing. People look and feel much better with lower insulin levels. The sweetener used in ProLon is inulin, a natural substance that actually preserves muscle, burns fat, and improves insulin resistance — this cannot be said for any other sweeteners found in weight loss products.”

This — in addition to the growing body of research showing that fasting can promote cellular regeneration — encouraged me to take the first step. And so with an open mind and prompted by the promises of longevity and anti-ageing, I opened my first box.

What to Expect?

By Day 4, I felt like I could go on forever; by the start of Day 5, though, I was glad I wasn't

Beth Wright

After the elation of committing to a “new plan” has passed, you’ll likely feel hungry and (if anything like me) at a bit of a loss with all the extra time on your hands — time you’d usually spend chatting over a long meal, a glass of wine, grocery shopping or simply making dinner. This hit me around Day 2.

At the halfway point of the plan, I was feeling great. By Day 3, I was clear-headed and more energised, sleeping better and noticing that some of my inflammation and bloating had gone. I was waking up without an alarm and with a spring in my step, feeling that now is a good time to read up on all the benefits of fasting to keep me going! By Day 4, I felt like I could go on forever; by the start of Day 5, though, I was glad I wasn’t. This was the hardest day for me, but by the end of the day I felt a real sense of accomplishment, not to mention that I looked and felt great in the days following!

Tips to Survive

I won’t lie, not eating real meals and going low-calorie isn’t for the faint-hearted. That said, after the first two days you’re on a roll — and with the right strategies you can absolutely survive five days and reap all the benefits that come with it.

My top tips include:

Choose a week when you’re mentally in a good space to undertake the fast — no big social events centred around food and wine, and the ability to keep your schedule as flexible as you can.

Start each day with positive affirmations and remind yourself why you chose to do this. Remember that this is entirely your choice, so enjoy the process rather than focus on what you can’t have. It will all still be there in five days!

Depending on how you feel, consider delaying your first meal. You don’t want to end up at 5pm with no food to look forward to and a long night ahead.

You’re allowed one coffee a day — I had more (decaffeinated) and I don’t think it was a disadvantage. I also drank tons of herbal teas — hot and cold — as well as the glycerine drink provided in the meal kit. It’s hard to feel hungry when constantly sipping on a flavoured drink.

I also added herbs and salt to spice up the flavour of the soup. Trust me, it really helped with some of the green-vegetable-based soups!

Go easy on exercise and do lots of activities that help switch on your para-sympathetic nervous system, such as yoga, pilates, stretching and gentle walks, as well as anything that helps detoxification, such as hot yin yoga, infra-red saunas and contrast showers.

Use this “newly found” time to do low-key activities with friends or anything that distracts you from thinking about food! I Marie Kondo’d my apartment and even managed to sort out my wardrobe, possibly inspired by the knowledge that, post-fast, I might even fit into those jeans I’d kept since 2015.

Use the quiet time to catch up on books you’ve been meaning to read but never got round to.

Go to bed early and focus on a good night’s sleep, knowing that sleep is one of the best things you can do to improve health (and is also scientifically proven to aid fat loss).

I also consciously didn’t look at any food-related social-media pages or TV programmes — why torment yourself unnecessarily?

Transition out of the fast sensibly. On Day 6, light foods, soups and cooked foods are ideal. I tend to be an all-or-nothing person, so the temptation to go out for a slap-up meal and glass of wine was huge. I resisted and was really glad I did!

Who's ProLon made for?

If you’re looking for a quick reboot, a way to recharge yourself or simply to kickstart a new health regime in the New Year, this could be a great option. It’s also a good way to shift a few kilograms and mentally get into a good place to start a healthier way of living. If fat loss is a goal, then clinical trials have shown that the three-month protocol can produce some great results. However, it’s not a long-term solution and I’d highly recommend ensuring you have a proper nutrition plan in place for after you finish the fast.

Also, it’s not for everyone and especially not suitable for those who are pregnant, breast feeding or underweight, or have pre-existing food disorders or any serious medical condition. It’s also not a replacement for a proper nutrition plan and should always be done in conjunction with a health-care practitioner.

My Verdict

When I first embarked on the fast, my goal was to see if it lived up to its multiple claims and genuinely to understand how someone would feel during each stage of the five days. I was surprised by how good I felt by the end and can honestly say that I felt rejuvenated and would probably even do it again.

It’s simple and effective enough to do whenever you need a “reboot”, and to create the momentum to springboard yourself into a healthier, happier you. You’ll also notice that the results should continue after the fast is completed. With newly sensitised tastebuds, a body that’s become used to consuming less food, fewer food cravings and a new appreciation for real food, this usually means that you continue to reap the benefits long after. If anything, I’d say the reset benefits far outweigh the five-day fast itself.

Where to Get ProLon

Dr Lauren Bramley’s clinic is offering a great deal, in which you can book a consultation with a health and nutrition coach, plus either one Prolon Fast or a package of three Prolon Fasts spread over three months. By quoting Prestige, you receive a 15 percent discount off the total package cost.

Beth Wright is a qualified health and nutrition coach focused on creating truly personalised nutrition and lifestyle programmes for her clients. She takes a holistic approach, looking at nutrition, fitness, hormones, supplementation, sleep and stress to help take people’s health, well-being and performance to a new level. Find out more about her programmes at bfit-thewrightway.com.

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Dr Lisa Chan begins her series of monthly columns by concentrating on that most expressive and sensual element of the face: the lips. "Beauty is power; a smile is its sword,” said John Ray, a 17th-century English naturalist and philosopher. As fashionable as a moody, pouting model on Instagram may be, it’s still the curve of a lip and a sensual smile that attracts the eye. I’ve had patients who worry that they come across as aloof and unwelcoming, due to naturally thin lips or droopy mouth corners.

Sometimes this is also caused by ageing – with a loss of subcutaneous fat and collagen, a thinning of the lips and sagging around the mouth area can occur. This can often be corrected with the Smile Lipt (lip-plus-lift) technique, which is a minimally invasive procedure that combines the use of botulinum toxin and hyaluronic acid fillers.

Botulinum toxin reduces the contraction of muscles, such as the depressor anguli oris, which is a muscle that pulls the lip corners downwards. When this muscle is weakened, the lip corners will naturally curve upwards. The effects of botulinum toxin will take a few days to be seen, and can last anywhere from three to six months.

Hyaluronic acid fillers can re-volumise areas and strengthen lip definitions for an aesthetically pleasing result. The effects of fillers are seen instantly and can last approximately a year from injection, depending on viscosity and cross-linkage.

Popular lip shapes include:

• The Cupid's Bow: a classic lip shape with a well-defined vermilion border and the upper lip volume at 70 percent to the lower lip. This lip shape is set off beautifully with red-hued lipstick.
• Heart Shaped: a fuller-bodied lip shape with a gentle curve to the upper lip and a smooth contour to the lower lip. This lip shape is well suited to pink- and peach-toned lipsticks.
• Petal Shaped: an Asian favourite, with its delicate pout effect and lifting of the lip corners. The contours of this lip shape can be highlighted with two-toned lipsticks (darker in the lip centre, then fading out at the lip borders).

To avoid the dreaded trout pout caused by overfilling, an experienced injector will take care to inject in a ratio best suited to individual facial proportions. To minimise bruising, I typically ask my patients to refrain from aspirin, multivitamins and fish oil a week before injections. Other minimally invasive options for an irresistible smile include lower face lifting with the insertion of polydioxane threads, or the use of machines delivering high-intensity focused ultrasound or radio frequency energy. A range of treatments is available, which can be tailored to your needs.

All these options should be discussed with your physician, together with your medical history and aesthetic goals, in order to formulate the most appropriate treatment plan.

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

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