Celebrity Life
Beauty Centre King Qualia Gives You a Helping Hand
When products alone are unable to fix our beauty concerns, non-invasive procedures, such as those offered by King Qualia, come into their own. We explore several popular treatments at the beauty centre.
There are times for real in-the-flesh therapists, such as when you need a lymphatic drainage massage to remove toxic build-up and improve circulation. And then there are the times when nothing but state-of-the-art beauty machines can do the trick. In search of an almost immediate transformation, we head to King Qualia in the heart of Central to discover what its treatments are all about.
“Everyone will notice but no one will know” is the motto of the beauty centre, which prides itself on its tailor-made treatments and specialised one-on-one services for an unparalleled skincare experience.
One of the centre’s beauty therapists is assigned to you on your first visit, who then looks after you on every subsequent appointment, no matter which treatment you’re looking for. Safety, comfort, privacy and reliability are key at King Qualia, with all machines and equipment used thoroughly researched, US FDA- approved and brought in by the owners themselves.
King Qualia offers a comprehensive range of treatments and non-invasive procedures that help decelerate the effects of ageing, and treat skin concerns the include wrinkles, hyperpigmentation and sagging jawlines. Treatments such as Picoway, Ultherapy, EMsculpt, Fotona 4D Pro, Thermage, Stellar M22, Exilis 360 help tighten and lift the skin, reduce lines and cellulite on the face and body, and increase collagen to retain a youthful look, and all are approved by the US FDA.
Fotona is a four-step procedure that’s great for mature skin, or for those looking for a quick “facelift” without the use of fillers. A synergistic, non-invasive laser treatment, Fotona 4D targets both the exterior facial and interior oral cavity, tightening the skin from inside out in just four steps.
The first step, SmoothLiftin begins inside the mouth, where laser energy is used to kick start the tightening process around the jawline and perioral region by reducing expression lines. The second step, FRAC3, targets deeper imperfections and pigments to restore a more uniform complexion. The third step, PIANO, is a brushing technique that applies heating rapidly to firm and tighten the skin. And the final step, SupErficial, is a light laser peel that addresses surface-level imperfections. The full session is quick, relatively painless and can be completed in around 60 minutes. The lifting effect is immediate, giving you an all-over glow the next day, with lasting effects that will continue to improve over a two to three-month period.
With the ability to reduce visible signs of ageing in a matter of minutes, Thermage FLX is another popular treatment at King Qualia that uses radio-frequency technology to deliver heat safely and uniformly into the skin layers and renew collagen. The heat separates water molecules from the collagen to result in an instant contracting and tightening effect on the skin and results in an immediately more well-defined contour on the face.
There are three major advances in using Thermage FLX. The heat is delivered into the collagen-rich layer of the skin to a depth of precisely 4.3mm, reducing treatment time by at least 25 percent compared to other therapies. The energy-pulse AccuREP technology can be adjusted and auto-tuned to deliver a customised pulse to the skin for a more personalised treatment. The machine also comes with multiple functions and can be used to target different areas of the face and body to increase comfort and effectiveness. Like most of the treatments available at King Qualia, Thermage claims to deliver lasting results with little to no downtime.
King Qualia is now offering Prestige readers a chance to experience their treatments. The first 10 readers to get in touch with them via the QR code below will get a free Fotona SmoothEye® treatment, while the next 10 readers will enjoy a trial offer for Fotona laser treatment (Steps 2 and 3) at HK$980. Learn more about King Qualia and to get in touch with their specialists to start your beauty journey below.
King Qualia, 22/F, International Medical Centre, One Chinachem Central, 22 Des Voeux Road, Central
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Gwyneth Paltrow: “The Power to Optimise Your Life is Within You”
Gwyneth Paltrow, the award-winning actress, author, and the founder of modern lifestyle and wellness brand goop, has partnered with Merz Aesthetics in the company's first global campaign for Xeomin. Merz Aesthetics is the world's largest medical aesthetics business, and the product Xeomin, is an FDA-approved anti-wrinkle injection targeting frown lines. Through her partnership with them, Paltrow hopes women and men can feel empowered to take control of their own minds and bodies and let their authentic selves shine despite ever-changing beauty standards.
There's often stigma linked to beauty procedures and invasive treatments, but Paltrow, who's no stranger to wellness and beauty procedures, has put her own weight behind this proven product, telling us that she's been a loyal user of Xeomin long before the company even approached her to become the global face for the brand. What's important and what matters the most is that products are proven safe and effective.
"It's really the cornerstone of my whole philosophy," she explains. "At goop, we also make products that we've tested rigorously and that don't have toxic ingredients in them. It's the same when you're sourcing food, anything you're going to put on or in your body, you want to know for sure that it is proven and it works, and also that it's as purified as possible."
One thing is for sure — body image and beauty standards affect each and everyone of us, and today especially, body dysmorphia is more rampant than ever in the age of social media. Celebrities feel this keenly too. Not too long ago, Khloe Kardashian posted a heartfelt plea on social media about her struggles with body image amidst constant judgment her entire life.
In her youth, Paltrow recalls when a producer came up to her, squeezed her waist and told her to stop snacking because she was gaining weight. Paltrow even jokes, "Robert Downey Jr. always tells me I'm too tall whenever he wants me to wear flat shoes. But you know, I think women actors, we get a lot of that. We have to be strong and just believe in ourselves."
"I think it took me into my 40s to feel like I really knew myself," the actress continues. "And really like myself and embrace myself in a different way. I hope women, young women my daughter's age, in their 20s, can start to cultivate this kind of self confidence at an earlier age and just know that they're beautiful, exactly as God made them."
In the latest campaign with Xeomin, Paltrow speaks about embracing your true authentic self — the key here is really not to change or hide the way you look, but to embrace yourself, find confidence in your own self by investing in the health and wellness of your body and mind.
This wasn't something Paltrow thought about until her mid-20s when her father fell ill. "It was catalysed by my father getting sick with cancer and that's when I really dove into researching about the body, its capacity to heal environmental toxins and the ways that eating can affect our health. I've been interested in wellness since," she says.
Paltrow started goop well before wellness was seen as essential rather than a privilege. "It was always a real passion of mine to provide information and tools for people so that they could really make the most out of their lives and understand that the power to optimise your life is within you. All you need is to give yourself the permission to do it," she says. "That can be just like a great recommendation, or it can be you know, a full wellness regime."
Paltrow compares getting beauty treatments a bit to self-indulgence — it's all about balance. "If you're sleeping well, eating well, and you're exercising, even meditating that's helpful," she says. "But at the same time, we want products that are really efficacious, and with Merz I found a product that I really loved. I'm always about balance. I'm a person who tends to be on the healthier living side, but then I love a good martini and French fries, you know?"
Paltrow adds: "Everybody has the right to do what's right for them and feels great for them. I don't think there should be judgment about it. If you're in your 20s and you feel like something bothers you and you talk to your doctor who recommends something, you know, I think you should feel empowered to do it. I didn't do anything until I started to really see the signs of ageing, but if your doctor says it's ok, then why not?"
At the end of the day, it's about discovering yourself and allowing yourself to live a better version of yourself, flaws and all. "It's about being the best that you can be," says Paltrow. "Sometimes I think our flaws are what makes us interesting and unique. I think the more self-acceptance you can have, the better."
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How Celebrity Dermatologist Dr. Vicki Belo Built Her Beauty Empire
"Belo means beautiful in Portuguese, it’s bella in Italian. I’m so convinced that I was born to be a doctor of beauty because my name is so perfect for it.” Celebrity cosmetic dermatologist and surgeon Dr. Vicki Belo is so renowned in the Philippines that she’s a household name. Her award-winning Belo Medical Group is the most respected in the country, but she commands a faithful following that spans Asia, the Middle East and beyond, and includes in its ranks such Hong Kong KOLs as Bryanboy and Tina Leung. The city’s wealthy socialites are said to flock to her in droves, though names are kept strictly under wraps.
“People say that I’m a branding expert because of Belo,” laughs the remarkably youthful-looking 63-year-old when we meet in her Makati clinic. “In the Philippines, Belo is already a verb -- people joke that if you have something wrong with you, you should ‘magpa Belo ka’, which means you should go to do a Belo.”
Today’s technological advancements have ushered in a new era of beauty treatments and cosmetic surgery. The popularity of anti-ageing skin treatments like Thermage and the Enerjet Kinetic Facelift offer a more natural youthful look with minimal invasiveness.
“People are liking really natural beauty,” says the doctor, and in terms of shifting trends and ideals, women are more into “a smaller face or a baby-face look."
“What’s come in big is definitely the Korean style of beauty. And more people are accepting their skin colour, not wanting to be so white any more but wanting skin just to be even.”
Her clients in the past few years have been getting younger, “I think because of digital media, which makes people more conscious of how they look.” And though beauty trends tend to unify more across cultures in the digital age, Belo tells us that despite the rising popularity of curves, most of her Hong Kong clients still worship a stick-thin ideal.
Not everyone will be receptive to the idea of cosmetic treatments and procedures. But if anyone is a bold advertisement for her company, it’s Belo herself. Dressed in a designer jacket and white cigarette pants, coiffed hair and heels, at first she seems more 40-year-old glam socialite than a skin doctor in her sixties with almost three decades of practice -- that is, until you get her talking about lasers, lipo and medical tech.
Despite now being a regular on TV and in Philippines society and gossip columns, Belo says that hers was definitely not always a life of glitz, glamour and galas.
“How did I get into this profession? My story began whenI was five years old,” she reveals. “I was adopted and here in the Philippines they kind of put this down, they would say, ‘You’re not a real child, you were adopted.’ I would hear that all the time being said behind my back.”
She would spend afternoons in tears because of bullying from classmates who said that she was given away “because she’s so fat ... because she’s so ugly”.
But part of her psychological make-up has always been seeing problems and trying to solve them. “In a way I’m grateful that I had so many problems because I’ve been able to solve so many. So my five-year-old mind thought, this is what happens when you’re fat and ugly -- people don’t love you and give you away. I figured that I’ll make everybody beautiful so that no one is given away,” Belo adds.
Weekly visits to the dermatologist started at 11 years old when she was ridden with acne: “Though I’d lost weight, I then had this super-bad skin and was so embarrassed going to parties.” A decision was made to become a dermatologist during those painful hours waiting in clinics as a pre-teen.
She studied medicine and dermatology at Thailand’s Institute of Dermatology in Bangkok, and then at Harvard under the tutorage of Dr. Jeffrey Klein, inventor of the tumescent liposuction method, a radical departure from traditional lipo.
When she started her practice in beauty-pageant-obsessed Philippines in 1990, she was an instant hit. Today, with 28 years of practice, she has outwitted local competition with her pioneering approach to medical beauty, expertise and national exclusives on new tech entering the market.
Of course, there’s also powerful branding and celebrity cachet. It would be remiss to not mention her 1.8 million Instagram followers (@victoria_belo). To put things into perspective, the world’s “most famous aesthetic doctor is probably the one who does the Kardashians -- he has over 2 million followers. That would be a dream for me,” she quips.
The Belo brand is so successful partly because it’s become about more than just cosmetic surgeries, botox, liposuction or the latest in anti-ageing tech -- it’s become a whole lifestyle in the Philippines. There are the celebrity endorsements, high-society friends, media appearances and even legendary themed parties for her staff; the day I leave Manila, she and her handsome 38-year-old husband Dr. Hayden Kho hired a helicopter to host a glamorous aviation-themed do, dressed in full regalia.
Then there’s also a new addition to the family -- three-year old daughter Scarlet, conceived via surrogate with Kho. Scarlet is arguably one of the most famous children in Asia, already a cover girl for local magazines, starring in TV campaigns and with 2.9 million followers on Instagram (@scarlettsnowbelo); she just launched her own prayer book for children. I find out that evening at the Belo household that Scarlet can already belt out more songs than most adults. As her parents and their friends dote on her, it seems that life is currently quite beautiful in the Belo household. But the doctor’s ambitions go far beyond her family, friends and beauty empire. She has grand ambitions of making her native Philippines a top destination for medical tourism.
“Thailand became the hub for this in Asia, but my dream is for the Philippines to take over.”
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