Sunday February 15, 2009
Sebagh’s skin therapy
By SANDRA LOW
A French cosmetic surgeon, known to be the man who keeps some of the world’s most famous faces looking good, shares his magic with his own skincare line.
HE is touted as the King of Botox and is a well-known cosmetic surgeon. In fact, Dr Jean-Louis Sebagh’s ability to make skin look younger and better has brought him much fame and fortune in Europe and the United States.
Brought up in Paris, Dr Sebagh earned his medical degree from the University of Paris in 1979 and went on to become a qualified cosmetic surgeon. Between 1985 and 1988, he perfected his skills with the best plastic surgeon in Los Angeles and then returned to Paris to work.
Dr Jean-Louis Sebagh is known as the Botox King. He then moved to Britain and began a practice in London in 1994, where high-society ladies flocked to for a dose of his magic.
He was crowned the King of Botox when he pioneered the use of the cosmetic procedure in Europe in the mid-1990s and in 2000, he led the way in volume restoration to the face by using hyaluronic gel.
In an email interview, Dr Sebagh – who now resides in Paris and divides his time between his London and Paris clinics – says, “I have been a cosmetic surgeon for more than 25 years and I tried to find a technique to avoid the knife. So, I carry out sculpture on the face to restore volume, firm the skin, fill fine lines and restore bone structure. There is no downtime and it produces very natural results.”
Dr Sebagh says the tightening and firming of the skin is achieved through the use of Fraxel (a non-invasive laser skin treatment that helps remove years from one’s appearance), and all these combined procedures performed with good timing should allow any woman to avoid surgery.
He explains that there are three non-invasive anti-ageing maintenance treatments that he uses at his clinic: This involves the simultaneous use of Botox, collagen and vitamin injections.
The Dr Sebagh range is an advanced antiageing skincare line. “Vitamin injections help to hydrate, protect and firm the skin in order to achieve a vibrant and healthy look, whereas Botox, which is injected into the muscle, is used to relax and depress the muscles on the face which create lines. It also relaxes the sagging muscles of the jaw line and the neck, thus preventing a sagging neck and décolleté.
“Finally, with my ‘Dream sculpture’, loss of volume in different parts of the face is restored,” he says.
According to Dr Sebagh, the most popular type of non-invasive cosmetic surgery treatments that women and men ask for is Botox. Dr Sebagh’s customers’ ages range from 25 to 70 plus, and he believes that a customer who is 20 is too young to be his patient.
He explains, “Your 30s is a better age to start enquiring about the ageing process and seek consultation with a good cosmetic doctor. Depending on the outcome of the assessment, some treatments may be started or postponed to the future.”
Dr Sebagh points out that facelifts, performed under very good conditions, can only tighten the muscle and reapply the skin, but it will not rejuvenate the skin and can even sometimes devitalise it.
The First Experience Kit costs RM785. “Basically, facelifts have never been an all-in-one procedure. It is just a tool, one of many other procedures, in helping someone look young,” he surmises.
His fans apparently include some of the biggest names in film, music and fashion. While he chooses to keep mum about who’s on his VIP list of regulars, last year, Dr Sebagh was quoted in the Daily Record, a Scottish tabloid, to have said, “One of my clients who is in her 40s has just signed a big contract with a very famous brand. I take care of their faces and they use my products, then make money from advertising other brands.”
In 2006, Britain’s The Independent newspaper reported that supermodel Naomi Campbell had planned to take a lawsuit against the French doctor after he claimed in an interview that she was his client.
However, American supermodel and celebrated beauty icon Cindy Crawford is happy to be known as his client. In fact, she was so impressed with his treatments that he inspired a beauty line she created in 1995 called Meaningful Beauty.
In September 2004, the doctor decided to come up with his own skincare line called Dr Sebagh.
“Because there was only so much I could do in surgery, I wanted a product for skin maintenance that could be used at home in between my patient’s visits,” he explains.
As a cosmetic surgeon, he doesn’t believe in miracle skincare creams, but he says good skincare can make a real difference to skin.
The Dr Sebagh range takes the most effective active ingredients and uses each of them in high concentration to give targeted results. The line is manufactured in his factory in France where he works with his own team of French chemists, and the products are now sold worldwide.
Being a doctor’s skincare line, the packaging is simple and clinical. Apart from purpose-designed products, the doctor also offers The First Experience Kit, which is a complete anti-ageing skincare starter kit. There is also the Break Out Kit for oily and acne prone skin, and products consist of spot reducing treatments.
He believes that beauty is not about looking perfect but about looking fresh, healthy and glowing at any age.
So what does he use on his own skin? (Dr Sebagh is in his mid-50s and his skin looks in fine shape). He says, “I always use our Serum Repair mixed with Vitamin C powder in the morning and evening, followed by the Cream High Maintenance (which is one of his best sellers).”
He believes a good skincare line should incorporate active ingredients which match a particular skin type. He also advocates the concept of “ageing maintenance’’ which involves changing one’s lifestyle as well as understanding and restoring loss of volume to the face and preventing sagging muscles.
So what happens to a woman who starts a skincare regimen only later in life?
Dr Sebagh says, “Skincare at any age always helps. Extrinsic damage such as sun exposure would definitely be a factor in ageing, as is pollution. It is vital that a woman considers both of these factors and how she treats her body.”
For a woman who has developed noticeable pigmentation patches on her skin due to such exposure, he says, “Vitamin C Powder Cream can help lighten and brighten the skin, and help prevent further pigmentation. However, it will not remove pigmentation that is already present and noticeable. The only treatment that can improve this is laser therapy or peeling.”
What product one should use would depend on the condition of the skin, but Dr Sebagh says that if he was to recommend one product from his line, it would be an exfoliator or all-in-one moisturiser like the Crème High Maintenance or Crème Extreme High Maintenance.
Well, Malaysians who want a bit of Dr Sebagh’s skin therapy will be happy to know that his skincare line is now available in Kuala Lumpur.
Dr Sebagh is available at Isetan Suria KLCC, Kuala Lumpur, and Kens Apothecary, 1-Utama Shopping Centre, Petaling Jaya. Prices range from RM225 to RM985.
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