Need A Reset?
Updated: Sep 17
Why Modern Facial Aesthetics Is About Looking Well, Not Looking Different.
Do you ever look in the mirror and feel that you look more tired than you actually are?
Perhaps your skin feels a little dull, the area around your eyes is starting to show late nights you haven’t actually had, or you simply feel that your face isn’t quite reflecting how well you feel on the inside.
For many people, this is where modern facial aesthetics can help.
And its not all about “Botox”.
Today, an experienced medical aesthetics practitioner can combine subtle treatments such as neuromodulators, skin boosters and biostimulators to create an individual treatment plan designed to refresh the face, improve skin quality and support healthier skin as we age.
“Good skin looks good on everyone”
This was one of the messages that came up when I recently chatted with Molly Aldridge, Founder and CEO of The JJ Club about facial aesthetics, skin health and the way our attitude towards aesthetic treatments is changing.
Because ultimately, good skin looks good on everyone.
Most of the people I see in clinic don’t want to look younger at any cost — and they certainly don’t want to look like somebody else.
They want to look healthy, rested and like themselves on a good day.
My background in dentistry and almost two decades working in facial aesthetics has very much shaped that approach. Understanding the anatomy of the face and how different areas interact means that treatment should never simply be about treating an isolated line or wrinkle.
As I explained to Molly:
“I’m much more interested in safe, subtle, natural-looking results that last. For me, it’s about healthy skin, facial balance, and helping people look refreshed while still looking completely like themselves.”
The modern approach: combining treatments
One of the biggest changes in facial aesthetics has been the move away from relying on one treatment to do everything.
Neuromodulators (i.e "Botox") can be wonderful for relaxing particular muscles and softening expression lines, but they don’t improve every aspect of ageing skin.
That is where treatments such as skin boosters, polynucleotides and biostimulators can complement them.
Rather than simply treating wrinkles, we can look at the face as a whole and ask:
Is the skin hydrated and healthy?
Has there been a loss of collagen and elasticity?
Is the eye area beginning to look tired?
Are particular muscles creating lines or pulling the face in a way that makes someone look more tired or tense?
Would improving skin quality make a bigger difference than adding volume?
The aim isn’t to do more treatment. It is to choose the right combination of treatments for that individual face.
Molly’s bespoke treatment plan
When Molly visited me, we created a deliberately subtle treatment plan.
She had a superficial chemical peel, a small amount of neuromodulator, combined with an under-eye treatment blending polynucleotides with NCTF skin primer. Here is Molly post procedure after having a ten minute cooling hyaluronic mask on. Voila!
The aim was not to change Molly’s gorgeous face. It was simply to soften some of the signs of tiredness and improve the quality of the delicate skin around the eyes.
Molly found the treatment comfortable, the downtime easy to manage and was very pleased with her results.
Even better were the reactions from other people.
Rather than anyone asking, “What have you had done?”, the kind of comments were much more along the lines of:
“You look well.” or “What are you doing that I’m not doing?”
That, for me, is the sweet spot of facial aesthetics.
As we discussed in the interview, one of the biggest misconceptions about aesthetic medicine is that treatment will make you look “done” or unlike yourself. When treatment is performed well, it really shouldn’t. Check out Molly's before and afters here. The afters is 2 weeks post treatment.
There is also a much greater emphasis now on skin longevity.
We cannot stop skin ageing — nor should we want to — but we can support our skin as it changes.
Treatments that encourage hydration, collagen production and better skin quality can be incorporated into a longer-term plan rather than waiting until there is something we feel we need to “fix”.
Sometimes the best place to begin is simply improving skin health. During the JJ Club interview I described a chemical peel, for example, as a great “skin reset” — helping with dullness, uneven texture, congestion and overall skin clarity.
The same philosophy runs through my wider approach to treatment: small, considered changes over time rather than chasing trends or quick fixes.
Feeling like yourself again
There are times in life when we all feel we need a little reset.
Perhaps work has been hectic, you’ve been looking after everyone except yourself, your sleep hasn’t been ideal, or you have simply started noticing changes in your skin and face that bother you.
A consultation doesn’t mean committing to treatment.
In fact, my advice to anyone considering facial aesthetics for the first time is always to start with a consultation, not a treatment. You don’t need to arrive knowing what you want. A good practitioner should listen to what is bothering you, explain what might help and, just as importantly, tell you when something isn’t necessary.
Sometimes the answer may be a small amount of neuromodulator. Sometimes it may be a skin booster, polynucleotide treatment, biostimulator or peel.
And sometimes the best advice is to do very little at all.
Because good facial aesthetics isn’t about making somebody look different.
It is about helping you look healthy, refreshed and comfortable in your own skin.
Dr Sarah Hughes × The JJ Club
I’m delighted to be a partner of The JJ Club, supporting its members with medically led, natural facial aesthetics and skin treatments.
JJ Club members receive a complimentary facial aesthetic consultation and superficial chemical peel with a further 10% off full-price treatments with Dr Sarah Hughes.
If you are feeling in need of a reset — or simply want to understand what treatments might suit your skin and your goals — come in for a consultation.
We can make a plan that is entirely yours.
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