This week BD is thrilled to welcome the prestigious Clinic 42 to the fold. We caught up with Dr Joanna Romanowska, founder of the boutique clinic and a trailblazer in the ever-evolving field of cosmetic medicine to chat about what sets Clinic 42 apart, her take on the industry and predictions for the future.
What is Clinic 42’s point of difference?
The significant point of difference is the outstanding expertise and experience of the five doctors and who are supported by an excellent team of nurses and skin therapists. The team of doctors are recognized in their field and by the media as experts and contribute to ongoing improvements in knowledge and skills of their peers by training at national and international levels. The clinic is NZSCM accredited (NZSCM is the only recognized governing body for cosmetic medicine in NZ) and two of our doctors are on the Executive Board of NZSCM. We also only select products that are made in reputable countries.
For those new to the world of injectables – how do the different types/brands differ?
There is a huge number of fillers (including permanent fillers which we consider unsafe) on the world market and an ever increasing number of brands of botulinum toxins as well as various ways to process platelet rich plasma. There are variable differences between them and at Clinic42 we have a wide selection to choose from for an optimal result for each individual patient. The treatments are tailored individually and each patient benefits from the expert advice and experience in the team. We choose only the proven, safe, reliable and long-lasting products and devices from the very wide selection available world-wide.
Where does New Zealand sit in terms of trends in cosmetic medicine?
Being a small country and community has significant advantages in innovation. Information regarding new products, procedures or techniques spreads quickly through our cosmetic doctor community and is more easily adopted and available to their patients, so we find that we are often at the cutting edge of this rapidly evolving field in NZ.
Do you think New Zealand women are different to other markets when it comes to these types of treatments? (i.e. less receptive, uptake increasing, still quite a taboo topic etc.)
NZ women definitely prefer a more natural approach and look than their counterparts in California or the Gold Coast, this fits very nicely with our ethos at Clinic42.
There is significant variability between the various age-groups. Younger patients are very open and interested in their appearance and are experimenting with fashion, hairstyles, make-up and also exploring new treatments. Clients over 40 tend to be more conservative in their approach, but increasingly open to these treatments. There continues to be disapproval in some social circles around these treatments, feeding the taboo attitude. Some husbands tend to be particularly concerned about their loved ones ending up looking weird. Of course, it is the over-done treatments that attract attention, an attractive result should go unnoticed by friends and family.
You also offer non-invasive skin therapy treatments – what is your hero treatment?
The treatments we offer all work together synergistically to rejuvenate tired skin and features and everyone is tailored to a specific individual’s needs, so it is hard to pick out one above the others. TriDerma in one procedure that is showing rather amazing results, a treatment that combines skin tightening, IPL for rejuvenation and nano-fractional resurfacing.
For those looking to repair post-summer skin damage, where do you recommend they start?
Of course, prevention is much better than cure, so sunscreen, hats, protective clothing all summer is the most important factor! Daily, ongoing use of good quality topical skin-care (containing high concentrations of vitamins B3 , C and retinols) is definitely the foundation on which we build to repair sun damage.
Once these are established, winter is an excellent time for IPL to the sun-spots, nano-frac for texture improvement and platelet rich plasma (“vampire treatments”) to stimulate skin repair.
Do you have any predictions for what’s to come in the ever-evolving space of cosmetic medicine?
The long-awaited, latest addition to our treatment options is the Belkyra fat-burning injection. Belkyra works to eliminate the double-chin and re-define the jaw-line, delivering excellent contour changes.
There is finally increasing interest in platelet rich plasma as a repair and rejuvenation procedure which has been available in NZ for over a decade in both orthopaedic (ligament, tendon, muscle repair), surgical (heart surgery and enhancement of skin grafting) and of course cosmetic indications (“Vampire facial” or “Vampire Lift”) . Clinic42 was one of the first in NZ to adopt this technology which is incredibly safe, utilizing the patient’s own blood-plasma to effect the repair and rejuvenation.
There is increasing interest in natural results and natural treatments, taking advantage of the body’s inherent healing abilities with modalities such as dermal needling, blood-plasma and the patient’s own stem cells to repair damage.
Lastly, what is stem cell therapy?
The technology has finally arrived to allow for safe harvesting and processing of the patient’s own fat stores to release the patient’s own stem cells for a variety of medical indications. The procedure is mainly used for injecting joints for arthritis, but can also be used for various degenerative and some auto-immune conditions as well as cosmetic treatments.
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