Dr. Catherine Stone of The Face Place is undeniably one of the best in the biz so naturally we're thrilled to announce that she's joining Beauty Directory as our non-surgical cosmedicine industry expert!
BD's Skye Ross sat down with Dr. Cat to learn more about the woman behind The Face Place; her approach to education, secrets to great skin and why she loves trialing the cosmetic treatments she so artistically performs.
For those who don’t know, what happens at The Face Place?
At The Face Place we provide safe, simple and effective non-surgical procedures which are naturally based and medically proven to help people look and feel good. We're really into high reward, low risk procedures that give consistent results, and so once a treatment or product fulfils our criteria, we trial it ourselves - first to ensure that it does what it says it's going to do (there are lots of things in our industry that don't!), and second, because we like to have the best of everything!
We are renowned for being the best in NZ for beautiful, natural-looking results and are NZ's centre of excellence and innovation in non-surgical cosmedicine. Last year we won the inaugural My Face My Body Award for 'Best Aesthetic Clinic - NZ', and Dr Cat was thrilled and honoured to receive an award this year for 'Outstanding Contribution to the Beauty Industry' at the NZ Beauty Awards.
Please spill… What is the secret to good skin?
The secret to good skin is to eat well, stay hydrated, gets lots of sleep, stay out of the sun, and choose your parents well!
If you haven't been all that good at these (which is hard in today's modern world), then you can get some help and guidance on what might be right for you, as everyone's concerns are different. Some people struggle with acne or pigmentation; while others have dry, sensitive, irritated skin; your concern could be oily skin and large pores. Also, the causes can be different - you might have redness from rosacea, or it could be from broken blood vessels; your pigmentation might be from sun-damage, or it could be from hormonal stimulation from the oral contraceptive.
The key message is that there is no 'one size fits all'. We recognise this and provide a comprehensive 1 hour initial consultation for each of the 3 sections in the clinic - which allows us to educate you on your range of options, and tailor your treatments to you.
Saying that, once your skin is healthy and in good condition with our skin team, my favourite treatment for amazing skin is combining a course of Vampire Facial Plus treatments with a couple of IPL skin rejuvenation treatments - your skin is transformed into a glowing, dewy, clear complexion that is hard to beat!
That sounds like dream skin! But not all treatments end up so pretty, right? Tell me, what is the mistake people often make with medical spa treatments?
Some beauty clinics and medical spas do not provide appropriate education and consultation on what will be the best treatments to address your concerns, and will just do exactly what the client asks for - which might not be right for them. This is when you end up with over-treatment which can result in unnatural looking faces and 'duck lips'!
We believe in working alongside our clients and educating them on their options so they can make an informed decision on their treatment options, with our guidance. While we are the experts in these treatments, you are an expert on your own face! Saying that, we believe it is the clinicians' responsibility to say 'no' to treatments that might make you look weird or unnatural... And it's sometimes easy for people to lose perspective and want more treatment when it's not required!
Also, people sometimes forget that you get your best results if you see skin or beauty improvement as a journey.... While one treatment can provide a nice result, it has been shown that repeated treatments - whether it is with Botox, peels, fillers, needling, PRP or Omnilux - result in better results, which often last longer if you use them regularly. It takes a lifetime to get the skin you're in, and it will take commitment, time and patience to truly improve the skin in a sustainable way.
We are quite different to a lot of clinics in that we will not provide more aggressive skin treatments such as dermal needling or IPL unless your skin is in good condition. If you think about when you are stressed, and someone gives you a big job to do - you won't do that big job, or your normal job, well. Your skin is the same, so ensuring that it is in optimum health means you are more likely to get good results and less likely to get side effects. If your skin is not yet in good condition, our skin team will work with you to get your skin healthy before your treatments start.
Which treatments do you have on yourself and why do you like to have those?
I have everything!!! I like to trial everything that we use at the clinic, if it's appropriate for me - for example, I can't trial the Priapus Shot, as it's a treatment designed to help men achieve better erections, and I'm not a man!.
I use every cosmetic indication of Botox (frown, forehead, brow lift, bunny lines, gummy smile, lip lines, sad mouth, dimply chin, turkey neck bands, necklace lines, and jaw slimming) as well as Botox for my migraine headaches and teeth clenching/grinding.
I've had fillers almost everywhere as well (lips, cheeks, nose, brow, temples, forehead, smile lines, chin, jawline, hands), and I love platelet-rich plasma (PRP)!
PRP uses the healing parts of your own blood, in a very simple procedure where we take a small sample of blood, spin it in a special tube in a centrifuge for 10 minutes, and then inject your own platelets and plasma into whatever tissues to want to repair, restore or regenerate. I've had it all through my face, neck and hands for skin renewal - it improves the skin's texture, thickness and luminosity, and is great for the fine crepey skin around the eyes - and also to reduce hair loss; to enhance my cleavage with the Vampire BreastLift; and to improve orgasm with the O-Shot (it also helps a leaky bladder, but fortunately I never had a problem with that!)
What are your favourite treatments to have?
My favourite skin treatments are microdermaplaning - which removes the fine downy peach fuzz hairs off your face while giving you the most amazing glow - and the relaxing Omnilux LED light treatments. Omnilux LED light provides energy for your skin cells, like the glow you get on a sunny day, but without exposure to the damaging UV Ray's of the sun. In addition to getting your skin glowing, it's also a fantastic mood booster, and has been proven to be effective in treatment Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) or the 'winter blues'.
I've just tried my first treatment with ThermiSmooth around my eyes, as my lids are getting baggy, so I've got 2 more treatments to go over the next couple of months. Next on my list is our new ThermiVa treatment - I can report the results of that one soon!
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
It's so wonderful seeing people blossom in their confidence and beauty... And I believe they are interconnected. When you are more confident, you become more beautiful; and when you become more beautiful, you feel more confident.
I've often described my job like seeing one friend after another all day long, we just happen to be doing something that helps them feel good about themselves! We develop long lasting, trusted relationships, and I look forward to seeing our regular clients for a chat and a catch up! We have a fabulous friendly team, and there is always laughter coming out of a room somewhere!
There is also beautiful artistry in what we do - it takes a few millimetres to take someone from attractive to beautiful, and only a few more before their face is ruined... And they look like a caricature, which we want to avoid. Every face is different, so every day we are working with balance and harmony at the interface of art and science. It's challenging, rewarding, and fun!!
What do you think is the biggest misconception about appearance medicine? And how are you trying to change that?
There are still a lot of myths associated with Cosmetic Medicine - and some pretty scary faces when people have been over-treated!! We spend a lot of time educating our clients, and the media, about the different choices that are available, how they work, and what they are used for, and that usually, less is more!
It was great being highly involved in the TV program 'Ten Years Younger', as it gave us the chance to show that Cosmetic Medicine is available to everyone, not just movie stars; and to show how quick, easy and effective treatments can be, with beautiful natural-looking results.
We have always championed a natural aesthetic, and have a philosophy of lower doses more frequently, as we still like you to look like you... Just the best possible version of you. It's nice to take things slowly, so that people just think you look great, rather than 'OMG, did you see her lips!'
It's great to see that the industry has moved more to this aesthetic over the years, and the NZ industry is generally pretty good compared with some places like America, Russia and the Gold Coast or Western Australia!
What sets the Face Place apart from other medical spas?
It's easy to say innovation, natural-looking results, and wonderful service, but I think the big thing that makes us stand out is that we care. We care about you and what you look like. We care about providing the best possible treatments, and so select our treatment offering very carefully. We care about educating you on your options, and providing the best possible advice, and a comprehensive treatment plan. If something doesn't go quite to plan, we care about helping you through to the best possible resolution. We treat you as we would like to be treated in the same situation, and many of our clients become wonderful friends. I'm very proud of our team, and believe we have an exceptional group of humans who are all passionate about what we do - because it really does transform people's lives.
I also travel regularly to conferences in Europe and the US, as I do a clinic at Phi Clinic, one of the top aesthetic clinics in London's Harley St, every few months. I have the privilege of training with, and working alongside, some of the top cosmetic injectors in the world, so am constantly exposed to the latest innovations and techniques available globally, from which I carefully select those which will be most appropriate for our NZ client base.
Going forward we're going to be posting regularly about Dr Cat's travels to conferences around the globe, international industry news and trends, and new treatments she's trialing and launching at The Face Place. Stay tuned...