RELIFE, A Revolutionary Approach To Medical Aesthetics



Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What looks good for you might not be anyone cup of tea and vice versa. Everyone perceives beauty differently, and that is why there are many solutions to specific beauty concerns. I'm in my 30s and to be honest with you, I am concern about the signs of ageing. But I am happy with my current skin and I do wish that I would age gracefully. Besides having the perfect skincare routine and good eating habits, the most popular approach to enhance appearance is through medical aesthetics. 

What is medical aesthetics? Medical aesthetics is the process of improving cosmetic appearance (reduce wrinkles, improve skin elasticity, remove excess fats, etc) through surgical or non-surgical procedures. Surgical procedures include breast implants; liposuction and facelifts while non-sugical procedures include dermal fillers injections, botox and chemical peel. 

Recently, I attended the launch of RELIFE, a revolutionary approach to medical aesthetics, which is brought into Malaysia by Menarini Group. RELIFE provides Healthcare Practitioners (HCPs) with knowldege, training and products through a standardised educational platform ICME (Innovation and Consciousness in Medical Education). RELIFE offers a holistic approach to aesthetic medicine to give their consumer natural-looking, youthful appearance.

RELIFE promises for consumers:
1. Provide patient-centred care with a science-based approach
2. Develop and manufacture safe and effective products
3. Work with HCPs to bring conscious innovation and solutions to meet patients’ needs
4. Partner with scientific and medical communities to develop and deliver continuous medical education


RELIFE aesthetic consists of two core products:

1. Happy Lift
"Happy Lift suspension threads Happy Lift is designed to lift and hold soft and/or sagging facial tissues for a refreshed look and more defined facial contours. It is a patented line of absorbable, monofilament, suspension barbed threads made of unique materials comprising poly-L-lactic acid and caprolactone. Unlike some conventional sutures, which are smooth, Happy Lift threads have tiny barbs. Once inserted into the skin, these tiny barbs stimulate the fibroblasts to synthesize the extracellular matrix and collagen in the skin that act as scaffolding to lift and hold soft facial tissues in place, giving longer-lasting results than most other kinds of sutures." 

2. Skinfill
"SKINFILL hyaluronic acid fillers SKINFILL is used to reduce the appearance of wrinkles restore lost volume and reshape facial features. It is developed based on the patented COESIX® Plus technology, an effective cross-linking technology that allows the filler to be optimally balanced between duration and moldability. SKINFILL is made of hyaluronic acid, which is naturally occurring in the human body and cross-linked with butanediol diglycidyl ether (BDDE) for increased stability. Together with collagen and elastin, hyaluronic acid is responsible for the skin’s youthful appearance."

This beauty sharing session by Menarini Group were join by international aesthetics medicine doctors from Philippines and Italy; Dr Ma Purita Paz Lao (Dr Peachy) and Dr Jaime Arzadon (Dr Bong) from the Philippines, and Professor Salvatore Piera Fundaro and Dr Giovanni Salti from Italy.  All of them have close to 100 years of collective experience in various fields of aesthetic medicine such as intradermal fillers, botulinum toxin, cosmetic surgery, lasers and lights and also thread lifting. Dr Steven Kusmanto, Associate Director of Marketing of Menarini Asia Pacific, joined them.




Here are some of the highlights during the Q&A session : 

Q: Throughout your years of experience in aesthetic medicine, what are the major changes that are happening in the industry now? What are you seeing? 
Dr Peachy: Over the past few years, I’ve seen that patients used to belong to the adult group but now, a lot of patients are coming from the younger age group, as the millennials have more earning power. Since they are working now, they are very aggressive and they have to look good. Younger people are no longer ashamed to go to the dermatologists and cosmetic surgeons to enhance their beauty. There’s also not only one aesthetic procedure, as there have been a lot of developments and maturity in terms of the procedures available in the market – a combination of treatments. One can have more than one treatment in one session and will be very happy about it.

Dr Ma Purita Paz Lao (Dr Peachy)

Q: Is that why Menarini has decided to start RELIFE in Asia? What are the key treatments  that will be in demand in this region?
Dr Steven: Around 2 years ago, Menarini started RELIFE that focuses on dermatology and aesthetics. We first introduced new modalities that can be used by aesthetic practitioners in years to come; we believe in the concept of integrative approach. As Dr Peachy mentioned, now most of the patients are treated with more than one single modality. We have to combine different modalities. Among the first modality we introduced to the market were the dermal fillers. People in Asia prefer nose and chin reshaping. They prefer a 3D looking appearance, this is when fillers can be used. It is one of the strongest growing markets with a growth of 8-12% yearly. Another new trend is thread lifting. People are getting older and losing skin elasticity, therefore they will opt for the thread lifting to resolve this issue. RELIFE’s threads is called HappyLift.

Dr Steven Kusmanto


Q:
 It looks like dermal fillers is one of the fastest growing treatments in Asia, in terms of popularity. What sort of condition or facial shape or particular feature can benefit from dermal fillers?
Dr Bong: There are a lot of benefits of dermal fillers. The most common fillers in the market right now is hyaluronic acid. Menarini is launching this under SKINFILL. Fats can actually also be  dermal fillers; your own fats. The main purpose of having dermal fillers is to understand the concept by going back to the root of the problem; what happens when you are aging? To make our face look rejuvenated, we fill them up. With the use of dermal fillers, it is some sort of an alternative to the fats that we will be injecting. It is readily available, it is an office lunch procedure, with minimal or no downtime – that’s the advantage of the hyaluronic acid. Another advantage is that it is reversible, if the patient is unhappy with the procedure, there’s an antidote which is called as hyalurodinase. Third advantage of hyaluronic acid is that it’s hydrophilic – meaning water absorbing. Basically, fillers are to enhance, augmentate and to rejuvenate. There are different brands of fillers in the market, however the generic substance in all the fillers is hyaluronic acid.


Dr Jaime Arzadon (Dr Bong) 

Q: How different is thread lifting from dermal fillers?

Prof Fundaro: Some Asian faces have too much volume, that's when thread lifting can help in repositioning the facial features. The same goes to hyperthropic issues, thread lifting can reposition the sub tissues to create original or anatomical facial appearance to have a more natural look. 


Q: What are the key differences between the Asian and European face that drives the different kind of demand? Do they have the same kind of demand and request?
Prof Fundaro: It's the distribution of fat and different skin type; Asians have a wider and shorter face as well as thicker skin. Also, all have different skulls. The main request from Asia is to reshape the nose and chin. For Europeans, they tend to want to redo their cheekbones; fillers are used to remodel the face. 


Professor Salvatore Piera Fundaro

Q: How long do dermal fillers last?
Dr Bong: Dermal fillers typically last about a year and sometimes more than a year. Thread-lifting can last more than a year. Botox will last about half a year. For Asians, the treatment will last longer due to the skin thickness. 


Q: We are living in a very socially connected world, where we share a lot of images on social media. With social media being so powerful these days and the young ones getting increasingly conscious with their looks, do you think the situation is healthy?
Dr Peachy: In South Korea, people as young as 14-16 years old will request for facial enhancement. Whether the trend is acceptable or not, it will have to depend on the respective country and cultural norms. In some reports or surveys, it was said that everybody in the ages between 19 and 65 are considered millennials; we (the panelists) are not middle age! In fact, all of us here can be considered as millennials.


Q: Dr Salti, you have had experience in the Middle East. Did you notice this similar trend over there?

Dr Salti: There is same rate of growth in the Gulf countries and in the Southeast Asian countries. Culturally, Southeast Asia is more open than in the Middle East. Aesthetic treatment is not a compulsory treatment; it is a choice to look better, rejuvenated. People are free to decide what they want to do with themselves, their looks. We should respect all kinds of medical attention. 


Dr Giovanni Salti 
Q: What should we know before going for a treatment?

Dr Peachy: First of all, it has to be a certified doctor. We must know the material that is used in the treatment. It is also important to be honest with your doctor. My advice is, it is better to seek treatment from a doctor who says, ‘No, you will have to wait for a few years before undergoing this treatment’ than a doctor that says yes to everything.


Q: With so many aesthetic clinics mushrooming nowadays, how do we know that the products they use are safe? Are there any international standards or certification that we can look for?
Dr Steven: For medical devices, it will have to be certified by the FDA or the CE Mark for the European market. For drugs, they will have to be certified by the local authority. The certified doctors must also provide information to the patient prior to using and after using a medical device or product. For Menarini, all our products are registered with the Ministry of Health – the devices will have to be authorized before they are revealed to the public. We will only sell the products to doctors who have the Letter of Credentialing and Privileging (LCP). And before we sell our products to the aesthetic doctors, we will also ensure that they undergo our training course to ensure they are well informed on the products and applications.


Q: Does this kind of treatment require continuous maintenance as it has been shown that women who have undergone aesthetic treatment tend to have their faces ‘returned’ to their original form once they stop their treatment?
Dr Salti: Aesthetic treatment requires upkeep. It is like going for gym workout; aesthetic treatment is something that you need to continuously maintain. It is about loving yourself. The rule of thumb is, the older you get, the lesser you do to your face. There is a role for everyone at different stage of life.





It is an interesting topic to talk about medical aesthetics because personally I know very little about this industry. Medical aesthetics is optional, but it is known to improve well-being and quality of life. There is boundaries regarding this topic, for Muslims, therefore I suggest my Muslim readers to find out more and do research on it for better understanding.  I am just sharing the information on this matter as being a beauty blogger, I need to know and I want to know about medical aesthetics, as it is beneficial to anyone who is interested. 


*MENARINI GROUP has more than 130 years of experience in pharmaceutical industry and is the leading Italian pharmaceutical company in the world. Menarini has presence in important therapeutic areas such as cardiology, gastroenterology, pneumology, infectious diseases, diabetology, inflammation, analgesia and now in dermatology and medical aesthetics with the new RELIFE range of products. For more information on Menarini Group, please visit : www.menariniapac.com




 Thanks for reading!



CONVERSATION

1 comments:

  1. jalan2 sini sambil follow blog yg cute ni hehehe

    https://messarah.blogspot.com/2018/08/movie-review-game-night-uninvited-crush.html

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