A Healing Practice
Over the last 25 years, Advanced Aesthetics by Dr. Javellana has been redefining skincare and beauty for generations of patients
Patients sit comfortably on the leather couch tucked within Advanced Aesthetics’ Bonfiacio Technology Center branch. But, the wait is short as nurses escort each one into a brightly tinted r oom—the doctor is in.
This is Dr Venia Javellana’s second home. Despite what seems to be a penchant for plants and classic interiors, this cosy aesthetic dermatology clinic houses some of the most advanced machines in the country; owing this r egard for progress to its very name.
Apart from laser technology, hair removal, and botox, patients come to her to undergo state-of-the-art r ejuvenation treatments. “Ultherapy and Oxylight are two of the most popular [of ferings] because of their efficacy levels,” says Javellana, a member of the American Academy of Aesthetic Dermatology. This completes Advanced Aesthetics’ line-up of non-invasive tr eatments.
In today’s fast-paced world, “people want devices that ar e effective wherein you see results right away,” adds Javellana, who wants her patients to get value for their money . “There’s a solid science behind them,” she says as both Ultherapy and Oxylight systems have been US FDA-appr oved.
Founded on science
Dubbed as the Madonna Facial because of how Hollywood popularised the tr eatment among celebrities, Oxylight combines oxygen and light- emitting diodes ( LED) to r efine skin. The procedure has six steps, starting with a deep exfoliation using a diamond- tipped wand to sweep away dead skin on the surface. The second step is a negative pr essure therapy, which stimulates lymph flow and pr omotes blood circulation.
A 95 per cent moisture-rich oxygen spray is used for hydration. Biosonix ultrasound waves then work with spectrum LED light to penetrate the skin and deliver vitamins and minerals. A myolight tones and contours as a five-minute facial lift. Lastly, a full spectrum of LED lights with pure oxygen targets bacteria and reduces inflammation.
The Madonna Oxylight Facial can treat acne, rosacea, hyper pigmentation, age spotting, uneven skin tone, and wrinkles. “You may also get it done before a special event because there’s no downtime,” she adds as Oxylight is a 60-minute procedure many of her patients undergo as frequently as two to four weeks.
Ultherapy, on the other hand, is a non-surgical lifting procedure that tightens the skin ideally on the brow, chin, neck, and delicate décolletage. Developed by global leading aesthetics and neurotoxins company, Merz Pharmaceutical, it harnesses the science of micro-focused ultrasound energy.
The treatment stimulates the body’s natural collagen production, which promotes tissue elasticity found in younger skin. This helps to combat sagging and to sculpt that much-coveted jaw line. With natural-looking effects that become
increasingly visible as months go by, results can last from six months to a year.
With no downtime, patients can slip away for an Ultherapy treatment in just 45-minutes, which is why so many refer to it as a lunchtime procedure and are keen to go through it under her care. For many years, Advanced Aesthetics has been a carrier of state-of-the-art technology. So during this year’s Golden Record Awards held in Bangkok, Javellana became the first recipient of the Merz’s Portfolio Award in the entire Asia Pacific region.
A turn of events
“So far, this is one of the best times in aesthetic dermatology because today we are able to perform non-invasive facelifts. Today, it’s safer and the results improve over time,” explains Javellana, who began her practice 25 years ago. However, she admits her involvement in the sphere of aesthetics was unintentional, at first obliging to help a family friend who was a dermatologist. “I started working parttime in a clinic in St. Luke’s,” she says.
“At that time, my love was for pediatrics,” Javellana admits. While she credits her father for her artistic side, as seen in paintings of flowers hung around the clinic, her generosity comes from her mother. She shares, “As a doctor I would’ve wanted to be heroic. I wanted to look at the more problematic side of health, like cardiology.”
It wasn’t long until she was recommended to pursue training abroad for aesthetics. “I learned to love the specialty,” she said after training under some of the world’s best specialists in medical aesthetics. “I then realised that this was an untapped field and there were a lot of people seeking ways to improve their physical appearance and uplitft their sense of well being.”
What started as a focus on the basics of skin health and performing scar revisions led to the application of Botulinum toxin during its rise in 1995.
“I found out that people keep coming back, not just for the efficacy of our services, but because it feels like home.”
Javellana’s clientele ranged from elderly widows to teenagers on the cusp of puberty. “There were so many students whose grades were affected and they couldn’t even verbalise what they needed,” she said of her younger patients who battled acne.
Similarly after applying botox and doing aesthetic treatments for housewives and women who wanted to look and feel good, she noticed, “they’re happier and I was able to help them heal even from the inside.” She has since fallen in love with the field and hopes to continue to make good changes within it.
Beholding Beauty
“Ageing is a fact of life, but looking your age is not,” Javellana says, citing the latest developments in dermatology which are meant to help people look and feel gr eat regardless their age. When asked about her clinic’s philosophy, she says, “to always innovate to give the best and most advanced treatments.”
Javellana has maintained a small and intimate practice over the last 25 years because she wanted to be able to assur e quality time and again. She envisioned the space to feel inviting like her own living r oom. “I found out that people keep coming back, not just for the efficacy of our services, but because it feels like home. The people who come here are like my family and they’re the friends of my staff.”
“We’re just looking at the tip of the iceberg,” she says about the rapidly growing field, with the belief that it has the capacity to significantly improve quality of life for patients both old and young. As recent wellness trends especially among the youth have proven that importance of self- car e, Javellana is in awe of the changing standards of beauty. “It’s not about looking up to somebody else. Today, beauty is about impr oving oneself,” she says on the importance of tr eating oneself as an investment.
Javellana’s own experiences drove her to improve, not just physically, but to study hard to achieve her goals. Now, she recognises that “being a doctor allows me to be compassionate because I can see others’ needs. I see that if I tr eat her or if I improve this or that within a few weeks, she’ll be happier,” Javellana says with a smile. “That’s what I see.” For more information, visit www.advancedaesthetics.ph and follow them on Facebook at Advanced Aesthetics by Dr. Javellana.