Plain-English definitions of the words used across this clinic, from injectable products and skin science to the regulators that oversee them, so you know exactly what each term means before your consultation.
Also known as: Wrinkle-relaxing injections, Muscle-relaxing injections, Botulinum toxin type A.
A prescription-only purified protein that temporarily blocks the nerve signal to a specific muscle, softening the lines that muscle creates. Dr Harriet assesses and prescribes it herself at consultation. Used aesthetically for expression lines and medically for jaw clenching, excessive sweating and chronic migraine.
Source: www.nhs.uk
Also known as: HA.
A sugar molecule your skin already makes to hold water. Dermal fillers are a cross-linked gel version of the same molecule, which is why they can be dissolved again if a result is not right. Skin loses hyaluronic acid steadily with age, which is what makes skin look flatter and drier.
An injectable hyaluronic acid gel used to replace lost volume, refine a contour or balance a profile. Dr Harriet uses Teoxane fillers, chosen because the gel adapts to natural facial movement. Fillers are reversible, which is the safety property that makes hyaluronic acid the only filler type used in reputable UK practice.
Source: www.nhs.uk
Also known as: RHA, Resilient Hyaluronic Acid.
The Swiss dermal filler range Dr Harriet has selected for her patients. Its Resilient Hyaluronic Acid technology is designed to mimic the behaviour of the skin's own hyaluronic acid, so the gel moves with the face rather than sitting rigidly. In practice that means longer-lasting results with less swelling.
Also known as: Bioremodeller, Injectable skin booster.
An injectable bioremodeller rather than a filler. It carries one of the highest concentrations of hyaluronic acid available and spreads laterally through the skin from a small number of set injection points, stimulating your own collagen and elastin. It improves skin quality without changing face shape.
Also known as: Bio Aesthetic Points.
Bio Aesthetic Points: the five defined injection sites per side of the face used to deliver Profhilo. The points are mapped to spread product widely while avoiding major vessels and nerves, which is why the whole face can be treated with ten injections rather than dozens.
Also known as: PN, Salmon DNA injectables.
A regenerative injectable derived from purified salmon DNA fragments, with a long safety record. It works at cellular level to improve skin texture, calm redness and reduce pigmentation rather than adding volume. Dr Harriet uses it most often in the under-eye area, where it softens fine lines and dullness.
Also known as: Amino acid injectable.
An injectable combining hyaluronic acid with a patented blend of six amino acids, the building blocks your skin uses to make collagen and elastin. It is used mainly around the eyes, where the skin is too thin and delicate for conventional filler, to improve texture and reduce crepiness.
Also known as: Nasojugal groove.
The groove that runs from the inner corner of the eye down across the top of the cheek. When the fat pad above it descends and the bone behind it resorbs, the groove deepens and casts a shadow. That shadow is what most patients describe as a dark circle.
Source: dermnetnz.org
Also known as: Filler reversal, Filler dissolving.
A prescription-only enzyme that breaks down hyaluronic acid dermal filler. It is used to correct overfilling, migration, lumps and asymmetry, and it is the emergency treatment for a vascular occlusion. A patch test is required beforehand because allergic reactions, though rare, are possible.
Source: www.nhs.uk
The most serious complication of dermal filler, where product blocks or compresses a blood vessel and cuts off blood supply to the skin. It is rare, and it is why injectors carry dissolving enzyme on site and train in complication management. Recognised and treated quickly, it usually resolves without lasting damage.
Source: www.nhs.uk
The main jaw-closing muscle, running from the cheekbone to the angle of the jaw. Habitual clenching and grinding overdevelop it, which both squares the lower face and causes jaw pain and tension headaches. Relaxing it treats the symptom and slims the jawline at the same time.
Source: www.nhs.uk
Also known as: Teeth grinding, Jaw clenching.
The medical term for grinding or clenching the teeth, often during sleep and often without the person realising. It wears down tooth enamel, cracks restorations, and produces jaw pain and morning headaches. Stress is the most common trigger.
Source: www.nhs.uk
Also known as: Excessive sweating, Axillary hyperhidrosis.
Excessive sweating that goes beyond what the body needs for cooling and is often unrelated to heat, exercise or stress. Axillary hyperhidrosis affects the underarms and is the most commonly treated form, though the scalp, face and hands can be affected too.
Source: www.nhs.uk
Headache on fifteen or more days a month, of which at least eight have migraine features, for longer than three months. NICE recommends botulinum toxin type A as a preventive option for adults with chronic migraine who have not responded to at least three preventive drug treatments.
Source: www.nice.org.uk
Also known as: Expression lines.
A dynamic line appears only when you move the muscle, such as a frown line while frowning. A static line is visible at rest because the skin has creased permanently. Dynamic lines respond well to anti-wrinkle injections alone; static lines usually need skin treatments as well.
Source: dermnetnz.org
A six-point classification of how skin responds to ultraviolet light, from type I which always burns to type VI which never does. It matters in aesthetic practice because darker phototypes carry a higher risk of post-inflammatory pigmentation after any treatment that injures the skin.
Source: dermnetnz.org
Also known as: General Medical Council.
The General Medical Council, the statutory regulator for doctors practising in the UK. It maintains the public register, sets the Good Medical Practice standards every doctor works to, and can restrict or remove a licence. Dr Harriet practises under GMC regulation.
Source: www.gmc-uk.org
Also known as: British College of Aesthetic Medicine.
The British College of Aesthetic Medicine, a membership body open only to doctors and dentists on a statutory register who practise aesthetic medicine. It sets standards for training, safe practice and ethical advertising. Dr Harriet is a member.
Source: bcam.ac.uk
Also known as: Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, which licenses medicines and regulates medical devices in the UK. It is the reason wrinkle-relaxing injections are prescription-only and can be advertised to the public only in limited, non-promotional terms.
Source: www.gov.uk