The festive season is once again upon us, and we all desire to look ravishing and to put our best face forward I order to attend social gatherings and celebrations. With the slew of diverse skincare products and treatments out there, we can oftentimes feel bogged down by all the available options. There is no doubt a distinct prevalence of hyaluronic acid being used as a skincare ingredient, but what exactly is it?

Simplistically speaking, hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring group of sugar molecules that binds water and keeps skin looking plump and moist. It increases skin hydration and gives you a healthy dewy glow, thus leaving you looking fresher, younger, and fuller. As a humectant agent that resides within our bodies, hyaluronic acid holds a thousand times its weight in water in order to retain suppleness and lubrication inside our joints and skin. You can think of hyaluronic acid as a long-wearing hydrator as opposed to a filler material that merely only temporarily volumises the sunken areas.

Just like collagen and elastin, the amount of naturally occurring hyaluronic acid in our bodies also decreases as we age and grow older. As a result, the skin becomes more and more dehydrated and wrinkly looking. Topically applied and orally ingested hyaluronic acid and collagen skincare items would clearly not ever be as effective as injectable hyaluronic acid. This is due to the fact that the molecules of both collagen and hyaluronic acid are far too large to penetrate beyond the top superficial layers of the skin. At best, these cosmetic skincare products can only act as a surface skin moisturiser.

Contrary to pseudo science and half-truths, our intestinal tracts are also not able to completely absorb the digested collagen and hyaluronic acid, nor can the body direct it for the use of the skin. If your end goal is to improve and address skin tone and laxity, as well as the ever-decreasing moisture levels and volume degradation due to the process of aging, then directly injecting hyaluronic acid under the skin would be the only real available and feasible option.

Clinically tested for safety and biocompatibility, Profhilo is the latest revolutionary bio-remodelling skin treatment solution that triggers the gradual release of hyaluronic acid, and provides sustainable firming, tightening and lifting of the skin with minimum downtime. Essentially, Profhilo is a first of its kind injectable anti-aging skin moisturiser from Italy that administers 100% pure hyaluronic acid subcutaneously into the skin. Profhilo boasts one of the highest levels of hyaluronic acid in the market and contains two types of hyaluronic acid namely; L-HA and H-HA. The highly concentrated and stabilized hybrid of these two types of hyaluronic acids are slowly released and evenly distributed underneath the skin, thereby fuelling the bio-stimulation of collagen and elastin production which are all responsible for skin laxity, structure, elasticity, and hydration. The result of this combination is the reversing of the aging process on the parts of the body where Profhilo can be injected, such as the face, neck, hands, arms, and décolletage. Profhilo can also help to repair acne scar tissues gradually over time. I just had to personally put it all to the test and try it out for myself.

Two Profhilo treatments sessions are required, both one month apart of each other and with a maintenance booster once every six months to upkeep the results. For those with severe skin laxity, a third treatment session a month after the second might be warranted. After cleaning and preparing your skin, you will receive a total of 10 subcutaneous injections (5 on each side of the face or neck) of Profhilo using their signature “Bio Aesthetic Points” (BAP) injection technique. The five key points on each side of the face includes the area right before the ears, around the nasolabial folds, above the chin, under the eyes and at top of the cheeks. After the 10-point injections, the Profhilo instantly starts to disperse beneath the skin’s surface to improve the skin’s texture and hydration levels.

Dr Rohan Mendis of Mendis Aesthetics says, “Profhilo is one of the most effective forms of injectable anti-aging skincare available right now in the market. It can be used alone by itself, or alongside other complimentary skin treatments for maximum results especially since Profhilo is not applicable on areas such as the forehead and nose. Injecting Profhilo results in an increase of 20x more hydration, as well as an increase of 12 times more collagen and elastin as compared to other types of dermal fillers. It is safe, effective, quick, virtually painless and with hardly any downtime. My clients absolutely love the procedure because their skin looks dewy, moist and even velvety after.”

For both my Profhilo treatment sessions, I was discreetly in and out of the cozy and private Mendis Aesthetics clinic in just under 30 minutes tops. Topical numbing cream was first being applied onto my skin prior to each treatment. The ten jabs were rapid, but because I am particularly sensitive to touch and have a low threshold for pain, I did find the shots to be quite stinging. However, the overall experience was still generally bearable since the procedure was all over and done with quickly. Additionally, frozen ice packs were also placed onto the injected areas in order to address and alleviate the pain and redness. Gentle and experienced Dr Rohan Mendis and his empathetic nurse also did their utmost to make the entire session as comfortable and non-invasive as possible.

There is always a potential risk of mild side effects such as slight bruising, mild redness and/or temporal swelling at the injection sites for all types of non-surgical aesthetic procedures. Fortunately, most of these rectify themselves within a few days or less, if they do appear. Immediately right after each session of Profhilo, I encountered small bumps and lumps where the injections were administered that sort of reminded me of tinier versions of those cool protruding facial prosthetics used by Lady Gaga in her “Born this Way” video. Thankfully these small little post treatment skin bumps went away on their own within a few hours and in any case, I could easily hide all of them under my facemask, and no one even got a chance to see them.

Unlike dermal fillers that give you instantaneously tangible results, Profhilo requires some patience because it works gradually and slowly while it builds upon itself to give you a refreshed facial appearance in an organic and natural looking manner. A week after my first Profhilo treatment, I started to see some subtle results, but they were admittingly not substantial enough for my liking.

The best results and effects were mostly visibly noticeable four weeks after my second treatment. My skin looked supple, moist, youthful, and I was radiantly glowing from the inside out. I chuckled to myself as I pouted and pursed my lips in front of the mirror while recalling the famously hilariously famous quote of Derek Zoolander, “Moisture is the essence of wetness, and wetness is the essence of beauty.”

Mendis Aesthetics
333A Orchard Road
Mandarin Gallery, #04-17
Singapore 238897
Tel: +65 6235 1728
www.drmendis.com

Images: Mendis Aesthetics