When patients sit in my chair for the first time, there is often a palpable sense of hesitation. They tell me, “Dr Noreen, I want to look better, but I’m terrified of looking ‘done’.” This is a conversation I have daily, and it is perhaps the most important one we can have. In the world of aesthetics, there is a pervasive myth that to achieve significant rejuvenation, you need to use a significant amount of product. As both a GP and an aesthetic doctor, my philosophy is the exact opposite. I believe in the power of the “Liquid Facelift”—a bespoke, doctor-led approach that focuses on restoration rather than inflation.
The “Liquid Facelift” is not a single treatment but a strategic combination of dermal fillers and anti-wrinkle injections. The goal is to address the three pillars of facial ageing: loss of volume, the effects of gravity, and dynamic lines. As we age, we lose the deep fat pads that support our skin, much like a tent losing its poles. Simply filling a wrinkle at the surface is like trying to smooth the canvas of that tent without fixing the poles first; it doesn’t work, and it often looks unnatural.
By using my 25 years of medical experience, I approach the face as a three-dimensional structure. I look at how the bone has resorbed and where the ligaments have loosened. By placing small, precise amounts of high-quality dermal fillers, such as JUVÉDERM®, into these structural points—the temples, the cheeks, or the jawline—we can “lift” the lower face without ever going near a scalpel. It is about restoring the architecture of the face.
The benefit of having this done by a medical professional cannot be overstated. A doctor understands the “danger zones” of the face—the areas where major blood vessels reside. We use a clinical eye to ensure symmetry and, crucially, we know when to say “no.” True aesthetic medicine is about knowing when a patient has reached their optimum result and ensuring they never cross the line into looking artificial. My signature is the “rested” look—where friends ask if you’ve been on holiday, not which clinic you’ve been to.
