By Dr. TRACY MOUNTFORD, MBBS MBCAM
Francesca White, Tatler’s Beauty-Editor-At-Large, interviews Dr Joanna Christou of The Cosmetic Skin Clinic to discuss post lockdown injectable treatments for our return, that give immediate benefit with maximum impact and what the ‘new normal’ in aesthetic clinics now looks like.
Firstly, Francesca remarks on Joanna’s glowing skin and asks if this is due to good lighting or something else. Dr Joanna Christou explains how lockdown has given her the opportunity to ramp up her skincare regime to create healthier, more glowing robust skin, by undertaking the retinol challenge. This was achieved using topical prescriptive products that create a natural peeling and irritation for the short term, but in a matter of days, results in glowing skin that can then be maintained with smaller doses of retinol.
Another question on everyones lips Francesca wanted to know was what will be the first post lockdown injectable treatments that give maximum and immediate benefits? Joanna replies, “Muscle relaxants and fillers of course, to quickly restore vibrancy to the face and address skin quality, with a return to a patients long term treatment plans for skin tightening and skin quality treatments a bit further down the line. The entire CSC team is pulling together and adding in extra clinics so we can accommodate as many patients as quickly and as safely as possible.”
They also discussed what the ‘new normal’ will look like and what measures The Cosmetic Skin Clinic has put in place. Joanna adds, “Because we are a medical clinic and CQC registered, our standard is already very high for infection control and so the changes that patients will see will be more around the logistics in the clinic such as not being able to offer beverages or refreshments. We will also be preserving social distancing guidelines plus wearing full PPE attire, carrying out robust hygiene measures, temperature checking and providing face masks for patients.
Before her Instagram live Joanna reported that a lot of her Instagram followers wanted to know what they could do as patients to make it easier for when they visit us. Joanna replies by saying, “Everything we are doing is for everyone’s safety and we are encouraging our patients to arrive on time for their appointments and ideally to remove any makeup before arriving. This will reduce the amount of contact time in the clinic. The more we can reduce that close direct face-to-face contact, the safer the environment for our patients”.
Joanna and Francesca went onto discuss many other subjects such as getting in shape for ‘summer bodies’ as we emerge from being in lockdown since mid-March. All the cozying up with glasses of wine and warming carbs consumed over this time and not being able to maintain regular exercise for a while, has had an impact on a lot of people, herself included. This means that body contouring treatments such as CoolSculpting and EMSculpt are top of most of our patients lists. Joanna goes onto say, “These treatments have also been carefully thought through with safety as paramount. Magda and Ria are raring to go and have worked out a plan to minimise contact within the clinic by patients being directed straight into consulting rooms as soon as they arrive.”
Francesca also asked Joanna for her top tips for dry hands due to all the extra hand washing that people are now doing. Joanna recommends Profhilo as it is deeply nourishing and hydrating.
Francesca finished on asking, “Will the world of virtual consults continue?” Joanna responds that for her personally, she won’t be adopting this strategy, as her consultations hugely rely on assessing a patients face in-depth. She explains that a virtual consultation doesn’t have the ability to see and feel the quality and texture of someone’s skin or the bone structure, which are all things Joanna looks at when assessing you.
Joanna finishes by saying that she can’t wait to get back to see all her patients and says that the entire CSC team are really looking forward to welcoming everyone back soon.
