Ageing is unavoidable but how we age is something we have a certain amount of control over.
Jimmy Buffet said, “Wrinkles will only go where the smiles have been”.
So unless you’ve gone through your entire life not experiencing any joy, wrinkles are inevitable. A natural part of ageing.
However, thanks to the advances made in aesthetic beauty treatments, those smile – and frown – lines can be erased, without erasing the memories of all those life experiences that created them.
The fact that all these treatments are now more readily available and far more accessible than 10 years ago is great but that makes it so much easier for people to abuse the treatments in the hope of turning back the age clock and achieving the much desired wrinkle-free youthful glow. They instead end up looking unnatural and in some instances unrecognisable.
While your sagging skin might be taut, and what once was drooping now lifted, the fact that Botox, threads or all kinds of injectables were involved will be written all over your face.
Unfortunately many, ill-advised, people will want to copy what celebrities are doing to their faces, which might not work for them or that will date over time, as often it’s more of a “trending” treatment than an anti-ageing enhancement.
Trying to completely erase the signs of ageing might not be entirely possible without looking “worked on” but one can certainly age far more gracefully.
Dr Reza Mia, known for his role in the advancement of aesthetic medicine locally and internationally, has redefined “ageing gracefully” and instead refers to it as “Timeless Elegence™”.
“Timeless Elegance™ is our trademarked philosophy where we work to make people look like the best version of themselves, where they look youthful, beautiful and healthy without looking like they have had obvious work done,” says the doctor, who also worked in the department of plastic surgery as a medical officer.
“I have spent years honing my skills and abilities; after all, your face becomes my canvas and I will do my best to put right what makes you feel insecure.”
We asked the doctor – who played the pivotal role in forming a business relationship with American plastic surgeon Dr Robert Rey, also known as Dr 90210, from E!’s hit show – about how we can achieve more natural-looking results and age more gracefully with the help of the treatments available.
What advice do you have for women to help them age well naturally?
Consistency is key, keeping up with treatments and injectables will provide the most natural ageing result and will allow the patient to age gracefully.
Botulinum toxin injections are used to soften muscle movements and are a non-invasive way of lifting the face, although this doesn't have an immediate effect.
Based on age, lifting can take between two weeks and 18 months for the full effect to take shape. Using dermal fillers in small amounts can integrate into the tissue to produce a natural result. It’s important to remember that stimulating collagen and elastin in the skin and doing skin treatments also contribute to youthful and healthy-looking skin. The combinations of treatments are key to achieving a holistic effect.
Many women want to start anti-ageing treatment when it’s almost too late. What would you consider to be too late? And is there such a thing?
It’s never too late. The age of the patient determines the treatment plan that we make, we always try to achieve maximum results regardless of the patient’s age. Obviously, prevention is better than cure, so the earlier the better, and the easier it is to achieve the desired result. You would need to be dead for the treatments to have no effect.
Would you treat a client adamant about getting a treatment that you feel firmly against?
No. I will always give alternative treatment recommendations and try to get our patients to understand the reasons behind my suggestions and refusals, which include our experience with working with faces and creating artistic end results.
Which treatments are a definite no-go for you?
I do not do procedures that put the patient’s well-being at risk. For example, I would not use threads to lift eyebrows and noses, or when a patient is too young for procedures that they are requesting. Especially when there are safer, more reliable methods available to achieve the desired effect.
What aesthetic beauty “trends” have become dated?
The over-inflated look has now become dated. Overfilled and over-inflated lips and cheeks had unfortunately become fashionable at some point, thankfully this is now passing. The unfortunate thing about this bad aesthetic result is that it’s highly visible (whereas well-done aesthetics looks natural and good-looking). This misinforms one’s perception of aesthetic medicine where people start to believe that aesthetic medicine will necessarily result in an un-natural result. Of course, this is not the case. I believe that the trend is now towards achieving a more natural look, with Timeless Elegance™.
The Johannesburg-based aesthetics doctor is set to launch his first practice in Cape Town this Heritage Month.
“I’m excited to open doors in Camps Bay in Cape Town. We have many patients who live in The Mother City and instead of them travelling all the time we decided that it might be a good idea to travel there to see them, and we are open to new patients as well. It will be just in time for everyone to get summer-ready and feel confident about their appearance.”