Harmony Medical by Dr Ayah

I’m a normal person too! 😂

I scroll TikTok, see skincare trends and think… *hmm, maybe I should try that!* 👀

And that’s exactly how I started using St Ives scrub on my face. 🤦🏽‍♀️

I thought if I exfoliated my skin and got rid of all the dead skin, it would make my skin brighter…

Did it? Nope. 😂

Instead, my skin became irritated and started struggling to hold onto hydration.

No matter how much moisturiser I put on, my skin still felt dull, dry and tired.

I started noticing patches of darkness, especially around the lower half of my face. My under-eyes looked darker and I had loads more texture.

I just thought… *why does my skin look so tired?!* 😩

It wasn’t until I went to Harmony Medical and had my skin assessed with the skin scanner by Dr Ayah that I finally understood what my skin actually needed.

I was given a personalised skincare routine based on MY skin.

Not just something I picked up because it was on the shelf…

And definitely not because it was trending on TikTok. 😂

And do you know what was one of the biggest things missing from my routine?

HYDRATION. 💦

Yep. You heard me.

I started using products that focused on hydrating my skin — and that made such a difference.

And the best part?

3 years later, I’m still using the same routine!

So if you want to know exactly what I used…

Comment below and I’ll share my routine with you. 👇🏽

Xoxo,Jigna 🤍

We all see warnings about using lasers on skin of colour.

But do we actually know why? 👀

Let’s take laser hair removal 👇🏽

The laser targets melanin (pigment) in the hair to heat and damage the follicle.

But your skin contains melanin too!

So the laser can be absorbed by BOTH the hair and the skin.

With skin of colour, there’s more melanin in the skin, so more energy can be absorbed.

This is why cooling during treatment is so important. ❄️

Cooling helps bring the skin temperature back down, reducing excessive heat and the risk of a burn.

Think of it like touching something hot and putting your hand under cool water — you’re taking the heat back down.

Because a burn causes inflammation, it can sometimes leave behind long-lasting pigmentation (PIH).

So what if pigmentation does occur?

This is where Pico laser can be useful.

Pico uses ultra-short pulses of light to create a photoacoustic effect — tiny pressure waves that help break the pigment into smaller particles, while minimising unnecessary heat.

This can make it a useful option for treating pigmentation in skin of colour.

The right wavelength, settings, cooling and technique all matter.

And THAT is why assessment comes first. 👏🏽

Can you actually shrink your pores? 👀

Not exactly.

Pore size is influenced by things like genetics, oil production, sun exposure and skin elasticity.

You can’t permanently “open” or “close” your pores — but you can make them look less noticeable.

So why can pores suddenly look bigger?

When skin gets irritated, it can become swollen.

That swelling can stretch the surrounding skin, making your existing pores look larger and texture more noticeable.

And then there’s toner…

We’ve been told for years that toner “shrinks” pores.

The idea is that removing excess oil can make pores look smaller temporarily.

But if your toner is too harsh or you’re using it too often, it can dry and irritate your skin.

And here’s the irony 👀

You could be irritating your skin to make your pores look smaller… only to make them look more noticeable.

The goal isn’t pore perfection.

It’s calm, healthy-looking skin where your pores are simply less noticeable. ✨

I wish we could do magic too! 😂

But sometimes quick fixes aren’t the answer, especially when your skin is already sore!

Take acne scarring.

Those acne-scar craters took their own sweet time getting deeper… so you need to give your treatments time too!

With RF microneedling, tiny needles and radiofrequency energy create controlled injury to stimulate your fibroblasts to BUILD COLLAGEN.

Basically telling your skin:

“Hey! We need some new collagen over here!” 😂

But here’s the thing…

TIME + COMBINING TREATMENTS. ⏰

Notice how her scars were also red?

If the skin is already inflamed, the healing process can be slower.

So we don’t just want to keep treating it harder.

We also want to calm the skin and support its recovery.

That’s where we may combine treatments with our little Red Bull… exosomes! 😂

Think of it like building a house.

If there’s a flood on the building site, the builders can’t work as quickly! 😂

So we want to calm the “flood” BEFORE and DURING the collagen-building process.

And collagen?

This is NOT an Amazon Prime delivery guys! 😂

It can take 3–6 months to develop — and sometimes longer.

Results take time. Your skin isn’t Amazon Prime. 😂⏰

A chemical peel may seem like a simple treatment.

You apply the peel… and you’re done, right?

Not quite.

With chemical peels, what happens before, during AND after the treatment matters.

There are a few things we need to consider:

1️⃣SKIN HEALTH

If the skin is already compromised, it may take longer to heal, increasing the risk of complications such as hyperpigmentation.

2️⃣SKIN PREP

Sun exposure, trauma or other treatments can make the skin more vulnerable before the peel even starts.

3️⃣DURING TREATMENT

We need to watch how the skin is responding.

If the patient is experiencing 10/10 burning, or there is significant frosting or redness, the peel may be too much for the skin.

4️⃣AFTERCARE

Sun exposure, trauma or using active ingredients too soon can add more stress to skin that is already trying to heal.

And this is where things can go wrong…

A chemical burn can happen. 🔥

Once the skin is injured, the priority is supporting healing and preventing further inflammation.

Because if healing is prolonged, the skin can be more likely to develop dark marks — post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH).

This is why pre-care is just as important as aftercare.

ACNE

Who hasn’t dealt with spots?!

But for some people, acne can be severe and long-lasting, and this can leave permanent dents in the skin.

In this case, the acne had left dips and dents in the cheeks.

So what causes the dents?

Acne damages the skin → collagen is lost → a dent is left behind.

These scars can be treated, but improving them takes time.

So what can we do?

1️⃣ Stimulate new collagen

Think TCA, RF microneedling or CO₂ laser.

These treatments can improve the scars, but they usually need multiple sessions and results take time.

And with skin of colour, we also have to be careful about how aggressively we treat because of the risk of pigmentation.

And this is where we can get impatient…

2️⃣ Filler

Filler can give you a quicker result by lifting the dent.

And at first — yay! 🎉

The dip is lifted.

But here'’ where things can sometimes get tricky…

HA filler attracts water.

So over time, the area can become fuller and puffier.

And that extra fullness can make the surrounding folds look more obvious.

So the quick fix can sometimes create a new problem.

The lesson?

It’s not just about fixing the dent.

We also need to think about what happens to the skin around it.

Did you wake up one morning and lose the function of one side of your face?

That’s exactly what happened to this beautiful client of ours — and we’ve had a few other clients experience something similar after certain life events.

The way we look is a huge part of our lives. Our face is often the first thing people see and associate with us, and our appearance can affect social interactions, relationships and even how we feel about ourselves.

So what do you do?

Unfortunately, there isn’t always a treatment that can completely reverse what has happened. But what we *can* do is work with the muscles and try to rebalance how they are functioning.

With Bell’s palsy, one side may be working differently to the other. So how do we encourage the weaker side to work harder?

Think of it like a manager going on holiday. Suddenly, the rest of the team has to pick up the slack and keep everything running smoothly. But there’s always going to be a period where things don’t quite go according to plan.

Some muscles may start working again. Some may not. Others may become overactive.

You just don’t know exactly how things will settle until you reassess.

And that’s why reviews are so important.

We can’t perfect asymmetry in one treatment — or even necessarily in 2 or 3.

Sometimes it takes time to get as close to balance as possible. And as your body changes, your muscles change too, which means the treatment approach may need to change with it.

So if someone had one treatment and you needed four, that doesn’t mean something has gone wrong. Everyone’s starting point, muscle function and recovery are different.

And that’s a whole other story… 👀

The main thing I want you to take away is:

One treatment doesn’t define your final result. These things take time.

If you’re struggling with facial asymmetry, come and see us for a thorough facial clinical assessment so we can look at what’s actually happening and work out how we can help.

Love,Harmony Medical xx

Does filler grow? 👀

People get chin filler to help define their face, make it look longer and create a more sleek profile.

But then, a few years down the line, they notice their chin looks bigger.

No extra filler was added.

They haven’t done anything differently.

And filler doesn’t just randomly grow… right?

So what’s going on?

Well, filler is made from hyaluronic acid.

And hyaluronic acid attracts and holds water.

Filler + water = more volume.

Over time, that extra volume can make the chin look fuller and bulkier, rather than the sleek, defined result they originally wanted.

So what can you do?

You can try to dissolve the filler.

But chin filler is designed to provide support and structure, so it tends to be a more cohesive, highly cross-linked gel.

And when you’ve got a lot of filler sitting there…

Well, now you can see where I’m going with this. 👀

Getting rid of every bit of filler can be difficult.

But you don’t necessarily need to remove every last bit.

You can reduce the bulk.

Are collagen supplements worth the hype? 👀

Everyone’s promoting them.

Just the other day, I was even sent a free sample to try for a month.

You can take collagen as gummies, capsules, powders or throw it into your drink.

But do they actually work?

Your body makes different types of collagen for different tissues. Skin, cartilage and other tissues don’t all use the same type.

So what happens when you take a collagen supplement?

Your digestive system breaks it down into smaller peptides and amino acids.

These are absorbed and used around the body.

Think of it like giving your body a box of building blocks. 🧱

Your body uses those building blocks where they’re needed for normal protein production, maintenance and repair.

But here’s the thing…

We don’t know exactly how much ends up being used to make collagen in your skin.

And even if some is used there, will it actually give you the firmer, thicker skin you’re looking for?

That’s where I start to question the hype.

There is research showing collagen supplements may improve things like skin hydration and elasticity — but the evidence isn’t as clear-cut as the marketing can make it sound.

So wouldn’t it make more sense to target the skin more directly?

Treatments like microneedling and radiofrequency work within the skin to stimulate collagen production and remodelling.

I’m not saying collagen supplements don’t have a place.

I’m just asking…

Are collagen supplements really worth the hype? 👀

Do you take them? I’d love to hear what you think.