My UltraClear experience, and some thoughts on wellness
An update including and not limited to: Interior Design, people's weird wellness habits, my weird aesthetic treatment habits, and the eye puff that saddens me
A lot has happened since my last post. Husband and I moved into a new flat in Kensington, lovely, but still mostly empty after three months of living here.
The process has been slow due to the outrageous cost of filling up an entire house with furniture, the nature of doing a few things custom and their long leadtimes, and sourcing vintage - a game of luck (but I love the hunt, so that’s been great).
I wrote about the experience, a bit, in my response on TDR to Jaime Derringer’s essay Post-Algorithmic Modernism. Another reason why my process has been so slow was that I felt inundated by design inspiration that all looks completely identical. Terracotta and spicy orange mohair sofas in wood paneled walls with moody lighting and art deco furniture. It’s such a beautiful look, but once you realize how prevalent it is, it starts to feel a little sinister. The ig algorithm is so flattened and common that our tastes are completely standardized now. So I went in a very different direction, which kept me up at night a little, but I am finally feeling at peace with some decisions.
Aside from working on the flat, work has ramped up, finally. After months of feeling underemployed after graduating from my (semi-pointless lol) master’s program, things have finally picked back up. I am very happy to be back in the fair world, as program curator for the independent design section in ICFF. It’s been incredibly rewarding reconnecting with my exhibitors from AD Show (which I helped run from 2013-2020), meeting new designers, and helping them figure out where they are in their business, where they want to be, and how to get there.
Trade shows, I believe, are hands-down the best exposure to ramp up your furniture design business, but not everyone has the same goals, and different fairs offer unique types of exposure. But I do think ICFF is the strongest way to get ahead right now in NYC for someone not represented by a gallery, so to me it’s a very smart business decision. I have so many thoughts on this that I get into over at TDR’s substack, so if you’re interested, you can check out those posts.
So, let’s get into the topic at hand: is everyone completely sick of the wellness conversation? Or just getting into it now? Laura Reilly, of the popular Magasin fashion blog has launched a new vertical, which is telling.
I met her at 3daysofdesign, and at the time, she seemed to be moving in the direction of the design world, but she has probably made a smarter decision of using her popular platform to dive into the wellness world, which really means: free products, free wellness retreats, and free procedures. Her new blog High Touch opens with:
In January alone, I’ve done Botox, Emface, IPL, scheduled Moxi / broadband light, seen my orthodontist, cardiologist, GP, OBGYN, ophthalmologist, dermatologist, plastic surgeon, trainer, and pilates instructor. I’ve renewed my health insurance and medspa membership. I’ve drawn blood three times and given two urine samples. My current skincare routine is 6-8 steps, my daily supplement stack is 17 pills (20 on Mondays) and a peptide taken subQ, and I’ve engaged at least 5 high-tech tools from my home device library (red light, SAD light, PEMF, etc). I’ve tracked every meal, macro, and relevant micronutrient. All of this, and I consider myself pretty healthy and not hypochondriac. I am n=1, but I am not alone here.
LOL! It’s kind of horrible in a way, isn’t it? Well I get into some horrors below, don’t worry.
The comments completely roasted her post, which is always entertaining. As a semi-wellness person (yet I don’t see myself as an extremist), and as someone who tries all the procedures, I thought this was beyond over the top. Maybe she has recently yassified herself, but it’s hard to tell, meaning she is doing it all but still looks human and still has character in her face.
I am in no way in the peptide game. I (only?) do yoga twice a week (however, I walk everywhere), I take iron and magnesium, and I think red light is mostly BS.
Regardless, the aesthetics game is where I find myself and where my knowledge is. I have tried pretty much everything from age 28 to now (39), and I wanted to get into it here.
37 is when my face started changing. Every few days, I would see a puff appear under my eyes that started aggravating me. It’s called a malar festoon, and I posted about it on TikTok in one of my best-performing videos, funny enough. My puff would come and go, and then, around turning 39, it became permanent, and another one popped up on the other eye.
I tried a few things, and what worked (temporarily) was when I got enough botox to kill a horse, and I guess all my muscles or whatever sucked back into place. Yet, it left me with a very heavy brow that emphasized the hooding even more.
I really don’t love a full botox face - I think wrinkles look nice as long as everything else looks nice (see: Christy Turlington - I know, a crazy aspiration), and I really do want to age gracefully. But when it all hits you at once, it can really affect your self-esteem.
So I tried a bunch of things: I did the salmon sperm before it hit social media. It was expensive, hurt a lot, and did it do anything? See photo above. Not really. Maybe for a few months, not worth it.
A year later, and about 5 months ago, I tried Julaine (which is a “better” and newer version of Sculptra that stimulates your skin’s natural collagen and elastin production. Did it do anything noticeable? Not really. Not sure I would do it again.
Then I came across this video of a woman’s fantastic results with UltraClear, so I started my research.
The laser world is incredibly dense and becoming as popular as skincare itself, so finding information can be overwhelming. I came across this substack: The Only Understandable Guide on Cosmetic Lasers which did a great job breaking it down.
So after significant research on where to go, I booked myself a consultation at PHI Clinic in London to see what could be done. A very sweet woman named Zoe asked me all the questions, took photos, etc, and then the doctor - Dr. Tapan Patel - reviewed it all and a week later sent me a plan:
My concerns were listed:
1. Dehydrated skin
2. Open pores
3. “Feels skin needs a boost”
4. Ageing around the eye area
Treatment recommendation option 1: Ablative laser (eye area only)
Aim of Treatment: To induce controlled injury to the skin, promoting collagen and elastin regeneration. Multiple benefits include reduction in fine lines, improved skin laxity (tighter skin), reduction in hyperpigmentation (sun damage) smoother texture.
Duration: Approximately 2.5 hours including anaesthetic prep
Number of treatments needed: As advised by practitioner, often one treatment is optimal depending on the individuals skin goals.
Cost: £1800
Treatment recommendation option 2: Ablative laser (full face)
Aim of Treatment: To induce controlled injury to the skin, promoting collagen and elastin regeneration. Multiple benefits include reduction in fine lines, improved skin laxity (tighter skin), reduction in hyperpigmentation (sun damage) smoother texture.
Duration: Approximately 3 hours including anesthetic prep
Number of treatments needed: As advised by practitioner, often one treatment is optimal depending on the individuals skin goals.
Cost: £2995
Unfortunately, it was out of my financial league, as I mentioned, what with all those months not working full-time it would feel so irresponsible to do this. So I said no, no budget for this right now, thanks, I’ll be in touch.
Lucky for me, they were in touch a few months later with an opportunity to be filmed for the procedure as a part of their medical training. Best news ever! So I said YES and got things in motion.
The procedure part is not so interesting to recap, but the experience itself was great. Dr. Patel talked me through everything, our consultation was filmed, and the procedure too. I was numbed in advance and barely felt a thing. The laser basically burns little holes in your skin so that when it heals, it sucks it back in for a tightening effect.
Also, I have to say, I loved that while Dr Patel was out of the room, his nurses would talk about how much they love working for him, that he’s the best in London, and that I was in great hands. I really appreciated hearing that, and everyone was beyond nice.
The day of, and for about three days after, I looked insane. I slept on the sofa in fear that my husband would accidentally elbow me in the face. But the healing process went by so quickly! Here is the day after, and four days later.
I see a significant difference in my eye area. But let’s see what happens with the puff. I’ll update in a week.
Ok there goes another issue of my non-design but maybe design newsletter. I hope you enjoyed it, and maybe this can help if you’re unsure about lasers.
In two weeks, I’ll follow up here, and we’ll know if it was really worth it. I’ll also dive into products that I tried, favorite makeup (I went all out trying to find the best stuff for my October 2024 wedding), and, of that, what I’m still using, plus the game-changer procedure that I highly recommend.
And later on, I’ll do a design-focused letter about my interior design process, my best reference books, best things I’ve bought, and maybe I’ll un-gatekeep my favorite resource for antiques and vintage furniture.
Until next time!
Julia
Brave. Look forward to seeing progress pics. (And congrats on the new place!)