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HIGH-TECH TREATMENTS
281
January14
Scarlet Woman
How does ScarLet work?
By delivering fractional bi-polar RF
directly into the dermis through
micro-needle electrodes, it stimulates
collagen formation in order to improve
the look not only of saggy skin, but
also of wrinkles, acne scars and large
pores.
Each pulse introduces a matrix of
extremely fine needles into your skin
to deliver RF energy; so fine are the
needles that they don’t leave visible
marks and the tiny wounds heal very
quickly indeed. The purpose of the
needles is to enable deeper delivery
of the RF into the skin. Both the speed
and the depth of penetration can be
adjusted according to the patient’s
needs and levels of tolerance.
Scarlet vs Thermage
They’re both based on RF energy, but one session of
ScarLet costs $900, about a sixth of what you might
pay for a session of Thermage. The two technologies
are not directly comparable, though. You’d only need
one Thermage session – perhaps repeated after a
couple of years, while three or four sessions of ScarLet
are usually recommended.
I seem to have fallen into the pleasant habit of visiting Dr
Valentin Low in December each year, just before festivities
commence. His cherubic charm tends to uplift my spirit,
while his arsenal of high-tech machinery is guaranteed to
uplift brows, cheeks and jowls – and his sharp needles to
smooth away the lines of stress deepened by the prospect
of Christmas family gatherings.
Dr Low’s own smooth brow wrinkles almost imperceptibly as
he critically surveys the ravages wrought by the past 12months.
As I’d hoped, he prescribes some minimally invasive lifting.
“We have a variety of different options for tightening the skin,”
he reminds me. There’s Ulthera, based on ultrasound; there’s
the highly effective Thermage, based on radiofrequency (RF);
and now there’s RF-based ScarLet volumetric tightening.”
“I’ve been doing ScarLet for around a year, with great
success,” he tells me. “But it’s very painful, so we’ll need to
numb the skin a bit.”
What? This is an unprecedented warning from a man who
usually acts as if topical anaesthetics are only for wusses. In
my experience, he simply swoops in and gets the job done
before I’ve even had time to say ouch.
While the anaesthetic is taking effect, I ask his assistant
Yean – woman to woman – to be more specific about the pain.
(There’s still time for me to flee, after all, and my mind wanders
to that party dress in the window at Topshop.)
“Does it hurt more than Ulthera?”
Yean looks thoughtful. “The pain is different – it delivers
a superficial sting a bit on the surface, but the discomfort
doesn’t go as deep as it does with Ulthera.”
To my vast relief, however, I don’t find the ScarLet treatment
at all unpleasant. Valentin applies the prickly head about 50
times to each side of my face, from the upper cheeks down
to the jawline, and it takes no more five minutes. Skin texture
should improve after several days, he says while the overall
tightening effect continues for up to six months.
With cheeks only faintly pink and a soothing balm in my
handbag to apply at bedtime, Topshop here I come.
Dr Valentin Low Aesthetic & Laser Clinic
290 Orchard Road
#08-03 Paragon Medical Suites
6720 3323
| iplskinclub.com