February is the month to get some work done. With the New Year and too many broken resolutions already behind me, I was looking for next-level progress and the timing was perfect for re-visiting some personal goals. Despite my workaholic tendencies, this has nothing to do with my career, and everything to do with a cosmetic job, thanks to Dr Joshua.
If you’d told my younger self that my face would end up looking this tired, I’d have put more effort into my beauty routine. Or maybe at least tried to keep any kind of daily routine going once I became a parent. So, the ‘work’ in question here involves me needing my youthful looks back, and this time, I had experience to fall back on.
Rewind 18 months and I had landed in the clinic of the youngest aesthetics expert to own his own practice in ‘Medical London’s’ Harley Street. Dr Joshua Van der Aa is the face of this clinic since it opened in 2020, and his patients regard him as a ‘magician.’ Yes, I am one of those patients.
“Since I last saw you my mum very suddenly passed away,” my words sobbed from my fingertips onto the keys as I typed out an overdue email to Dr Joshua. “So, I haven’t had anything done since I saw you.”
The doctor on the other hand – this magic man who had done away with my wrinkles and saved me from sagging away – had been picking up awards left, right and centre. Dr Joshua had even been awarded for marketing his hub as a hot, along with his work in reversing the ageing process. He won the Aesthetic Medicine Award 2022 for ‘Best Social Media by a Clinic or Practitioner’ and has been shortlisted three times in recent years in the Aesthetics Awards. Last year, Dr Joshua won ‘Most Rejuvenating Aesthetics Treatment Clinic – West London’ in the Global Excellence Awards.
Of course, sweet Sharon who takes care of Patient Liaison confirmed that Dr. Joshua would be pleased to treat me again. I felt assured that despite the utterly obscene reflection in my mirror, this outspoken campaigner for natural-looking results already had a couple of treatments in mind that would fare my face well. I was sold. While we all know the look of those too-young women who float down any given high street with trout pouts and cemented foreheads, I had every faith that this genius would once more dedicate his time to filling my face with enhancements so delicate that no-one would know that I, too, had cheated my way back in time.
After one child and years of sleepless nights, I’d consider myself fairly dab-handed with an iPhone and a selfie stick to capture my best side in the softest light. But a medical artist of this calibre needs to see his blank canvas before he can begin restoring anything like balance. So begrudgingly, I snapped and sent photos of my full face and not looking exactly at my best. Or even close. The doctor needed to see what new challenge was heading his way.
On a midweek afternoon, skipping off to the London W1 postcode, I went, feeling like I wouldn’t miss this for the world. Luckily, not too much of a trek for excited little me, to see my superstar doc. Oh, did I forget that bit? Not only has Dr Joshua been scooping awards, he has also starred in Season 6 of The Sky Is The Limit. Haven’t seen it? This is only Belgium’s most-watched TV docu-series. The cameras follow the cream of the country’s entrepreneurs at work and play. This means more days in Antwerp now that Dr Joshua has opened a second Belgian clinic – in Genk. I’d like to think that he’s found special time in his diary to transport me back to my youth. But he’s more likely in London because Harley Street remains his flagship.
And so, the time is upon us. Me with my jowls and Dr. Joshua with his injection-focused facial aesthetics. I let him delve into his passion and I lay back, relaxed. Today I am his project – again. You know when you’re in a safe pair of hands, and I felt ready to be tweaked and rejuvenated.
There were areas under my lip, he explained, that were damaged with age and stress. It turns out that I’ve become thin around my chatterbox mouth. Dr. Joshua began administering the non-surgical cosmetic work that I had been yearning for. He continued my artful repair with filler into my cheeks, which was probably the most impactful treatment because this helps the area underneath my eyes, too. Gone are the horrific lines that slid sorrowfully down my cheeks when I smiled. And yet the almost instant results are at the same time, almost imperceptible.
I felt a little like I’ve been on holiday – without going anywhere. And I looked (and still do) a hell of a lot better.
It’s no surprise that Dr. Joshua’s growing list sees patients fly in regularly from as far as New York and Qatar. I can see why people get hooked by the plumping and the filling. I. Love. It.
When else does work leave me feeling this energised? Okay, it’s not me doing the work. But from here on out, I’m facing 2024 with more confidence. My tired eyes which had made me look and feel older, are brighter. I look – and most importantly, feel – more awake.
And I’m ready to work with whatever life throws at me next.
Filler treatments with Dr Joshua cost £415 for 1ml, and £375 for consecutive mls administered on the same day. Results last approximately 12 months.
To find out more visit: drjoshua.co.uk
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All imagery courtesy of drjoshua.co.uk