WORDS EMILIE LOUIZIDES
With four locations all in the heart of London, Pulse Light Clinic is the one stop shop for medical-led, non-surgical and surgical treatments and procedures. The clinic takes a multi-faceted approach to treating skin conditions including hormonal acne and rosacea, removing tattoos, and sculpting the body. Pulse Light Clinic believes in beginning with the individual client and their needs rather than taking the same, cookie cutter approach with each person that comes through the clinics' doors. Complete with a dedicated doctor, nutritional therapist, several practitioners, and a trainer consistently instilling new methods, Pulse Light Clinic is a trustworthy destination, whether you're making a big or small change to your face or body.
In an ongoing effort to achieve beautiful, glowing skin, I recently visited the Tottenham Court Road Clinic for a thoroughly cleansing HydraFacial with their senior practitioner, Chrystella 'Stella' Kanaris-Brady. I’ve had HydraFacials before but this one was different. Stella talked me through each step as she worked, so I really understood what was happening to my skin during the entire process, from the initial cleanse to the exfoliation, extraction, hydration, and protection. The cherry on top of the treatment was when Stella led me to another room and set me up under the Dermalux LED light, a treatment that speeds up the healing of the skin, leaving it looking and feeling instantly rejuvenated. The warmth from the light, on the gloomy day I received the treatment, also put me in a deeply meditative state which made the clinical nature of the HydraFacial feel more spa-like.
I left with a clearer, plump, and glowing complexion, blown away by Stella’s expertise, and impressed by the extensive range of options PLC has to offer. Needing to know more, I caught up with the clinic for an extended chat.
Emilie Louizides: How did Pulse Light Clinic get started?
Pulse Light Clinic: Pulse Light Clinic began over two decades ago with a small clinic in the City of London, providing rosacea treatments with IPL [intense pulsed light]. The clinic's founder noted the difference this treatment had on our client's skin, reducing redness caused by rosacea. During this time, they also noted that conditions like rosacea had a dual cause. With the success of IPL, the clinic began to expand, investing in the most innovative technology on the market and taking an inclusive approach to treatments. Over time we perfected the bespoke treatment model where a client could be offered a package of combination treatments to tackle hormonal changes or to achieve the best possible aesthetic results.
EL: What does Pulse Light Clinic Offer?
PLC: Pulse Light Clinic offers bespoke combination treatments to help our clients achieve outstanding results. Our approach is holistic, focusing on the condition and the causes.
Pulse light clinic offers a plethora of treatments, from anti-ageing to body sculpting and contouring. In addition to this, we offer laser hair removal and laser tattoo removal for all skin types. In order to counterbalance hormonal conditions like cystic acne and polycystic ovarian syndrome, we have invested in the best possible laser technology, including the PicoSure and PicoWay lasers. Our medical lead, Dr. Matin Ahmadi is an awarded industry leader in the field of aesthetics, specialising in injectables and laser procedures, such as Endolift which uses microfibres to penetrate below the skin's dermis, melt fat beneath the jowl and lower chin while stimulating the body's natural production of collagen and elastin.
EL: Please tell me a bit about the full-circle approach PLC takes when considering both internal and external factors ahead of treatments.
PLC: At Pulse Light Clinic, we understand that while some conditions are externally visible, they begin primarily from the gut. Gut health is critical to maintaining physical and emotional balance, and we suggest our clients try a food intolerance test to target the aspects of their daily diet which may be causing inflammation.
EL: After my HydraFacial, Stella put me under the Dermalux LED Light, an incredible experience and add-on that I had never received before. How does PLC go the extra mile with other treatments?
PLC: LED light assists in producing Vitamin D, promotes well-being and makes our skin glow! According to our expert practitioner, Chrystella Kanaris-Brady, the machine supports a variety of ampules to target specific skin needs. We focus on combination treatments for clients when it comes to dealing with issues like acne and rosacea, as the treatments needed are often multifaceted, and it takes a stable combination and balance of diet and gut health to provide holistic solutions for clients.
EL: What course, or courses of treatments, would a practitioner recommend to a client with active, hormonal acne?
PLC: One of our clients, Leah, is our case study for cystic acne. Providing customised treatment plans is our speciality, as our doctor and expert practitioners will often recommend a combination of treatments to produce the best results for our client's needs. We treated her acne with three different machines. It started with LaseMD, creating micro-channels on the skin and tiny reservoirs under the skin's surface to drain the cysts. In the meantime, the skin developed a post-inflammatory-pigment and was treated with the Picosure laser. When these treatments finished, we noticed some redness from the acne and used our IPL machine to remove it and meet our client's expectations.
For acne, we always recommend a food intolerance test, so our clients are aware of any intolerance that could cause a breakout in the future.
EL: What would PLC's nutritionist recommend to clients who are aiming to maintain their external results internally?
PLC: Our Nutritional Therapist, Lisa Borg, recommends food intolerance testing as a first step. Lisa has developed a unique way to address the results, and she explains how to take control of your health. Lisa highly recommends consuming a clean, balanced diet with plenty of fresh organic salads, vegetables, and quality proteins. She also suggests following an anti-inflammatory diet, being mindful of what maintains a healthy gut to maintain optimum integrity, and consuming the right foods but also avoiding processed foods and simple sugars that nourish the wrong organisms in the gut. Stress management and good quality sleep are essential to overall health, and they significantly impact the gut's health when not optimum, which can start the cascade of events that lead to hormone imbalances.
EL: Does PLC offer a food intolerance test in-house or suggest a place to get one? Once clients receive their results, is there a service that delves further into the specifics of improving and maintaining gut health?
PLC: Our clinic offers a food intolerance test kit. Those interested can purchase it from our Bank clinic or call our reception, and we will post it to their address with full instructions. Our kits take a blood sample and analyse antibodies of over two hundred drinks and ingredients. Once our nutritionist Lisa Borg receives the results, she will review them and contact the client for a consultation. Lisa will explain her findings fully and provide instructions on how to proceed if there are gut abnormalities or food intolerances.
EL: What makes Pulse Light Clinic different from other practices that offer the same treatments?
PLC: Pulse Light Clinic incorporates clinical merit and a broad spectrum of advanced laser technology. As a result, we have pioneered innovative therapies for conditions such as acne scars, birth marks, pigmentation and ingrown hair by setting new parameters endorsed by gold-standard medical lasers. Additionally, we have a full-time, in-house trainer to continuously support our practitioners in refining their techniques and providing quality customer service.
EL: Is there a treatment or procedure that PLC currently offers that everyone should try?
PLC: We offer many skin treatments in our clinics, from non-invasive to medium-invasive. We have the best results with Morpheus8 combined with Picosure Pro, a great combination of micro-needling and laser. These two treatments act as a skin booster mainly for anti-ageing purposes but also improve pigmentation from sun damage and reduce scarring.
EL: What's next for Pulse Light Clinic?
PLC: Being in this industry for more than twenty years, we decided to expand into more high-aesthetic treatments that will offer solutions to cosmetic medical surgery. Hence, we have launched our new clinic in Marylebone with a surgical theatre that will deliver more invasive cosmetic treatments.
