The Fitzgerald Clinic, Tavistock, Devon

My mother used to say: “The Lord never closes one door but He shuts another”

dr.melissafitzgerald@gmail.com — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:40:44 +0000

This was her own version of a well known proverb; one that gave voice to her somewhat cynical and cup-half-empty attitude to life, which I am delighted to say I have not inherited. I suddenly found myself remembering this during a conversation with one of my female clients who was bemoaning the ghastly onset of facial hair. If we have been lucky enough to avoid it during our younger years, many women of a certain age are depressed to find that this is yet another blow to the ego that assaults us as we reach our 40s and 50s. The reduction in circulating oestrogens that accompanies the perimenopausal years means that the normally present male hormones (androgens) are given free rein to rampage unopposed around our fabulous female bodies and wreak havoc in the form of bristles and whiskers.

I commiserated with my client and said, after quoting my mother, “How fortunate, therefore, that we start to go blind at 40 as well so we can’t actually see the ravages of time on our bodies.” Oddly enough she didn’t seem to derive much comfort from this and replied with a hollow laugh, “ This isn’t just a few hairs you know— if I don’t pluck or bleach assiduously every day we’re talking Saddam Hussein here.”

Well I do like a challenge, but the hardest part was persuading her to leave the hairs in situ just long enough for me (and my IPL machine) to be able to see them and blast them to frazzled perdition. I even offered to let her come and see me every couple of days or so, so that the growth would never get excessive. However, it never actually came to that because after just one treatment, the number and thickness of the hairs was so significantly reduced that she was happy enough to shave and use make-up between treatments , which are typically 4-5 weeks apart. After 6- 8 treatments with perhaps a top-up once or twice a year, she will be virtually hair free.

I know that there are many more troubled souls out there keeping this deep dark secret to themselves. They have been waging war on their upper lips and chins in the secrecy of their bathrooms for years and years and telling no one.

Let me deliver you from your chains, and let your hearts be uplifted because salvation is at hand!

Call me on 01822 617873.

Will you be taking your clothes off in public this summer?

james@subtense.com — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 18:34:15 +0000

It’s a shocking thought I know, but now spring has sprung, it won’t be long before camisoles and sleeveless T-shirts are being dug out of the drawer.

PRUNING TIPS FOR YOUR HERBACEOUS BORDER

Holiday brochure riffling leads inevitably to thoughts of the dreaded b (ikini) word, and all its attendant anxieties; not only those concerned with size and shape, but also the added delight of dealing with unwanted foliage sprouting from various nooks and crannies. It is tricky trying to lift a cocktail elegantly to one’s mouth while keeping one’s arm firmly clasped to the side of the body. However, you will be pleased to hear that The Fitzgerald Clinic could be the answer to your prayers. Before you too join the hordes of unfortunates attending Casualty departments all over the country with depilation-related repetitive strain injury, have you thought about a more permanent solution to your perennial gardening problems?

If your hair is dark and your skin is pale, IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) is a truly fantastic treatment for unwanted hair. High energy light is directed onto the skin through a quartz block, where it is absorbed by the pigment (melanin) in the hair follicles. The light energy is turned into heat which destroys the follicle, preventing new hairs from being formed. During one treatment, only a percentage of the follicles ( those that are in the correct growth phase) are destroyed, and therefore several ( usually 6-8) treatments are required to effectively clear an area. It is extremely quick and easy to do especially for small areas like bikini and underarms. Even full legs can be done now in about 1.5-2 hours, using a larger quartz block. The equipment required is extremely expensive to buy, which is why the treatment is not particularly cheap. It is however brilliantly effective, and I know if it had been available when I was in my 20’s I would have mortgaged my (parents’!) house in order to save myself years of battling with the Bic and lacerating myself with the Ladyshave. My daughters are the envy of all their pals, because they are soon to be hair free, pretty much for ever. It’s so good to know that they love me for the really important things in life.

“I’d have all sorts of other treatments but I don’t like the idea of Botox”

james@subtense.com — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 13:41:48 +0000

Why not?

glabellar injection

It’s really not scary. Nor need you look scary when you’ve had a treatment. I have been having botulinum toxin injections in my forehead for 20 years, and I can honestly say it is the most effective and transforming “beauty treatment” I have ever had. In my early 30’s I used to have quite a marked frown line. Even when I was having a perfectly happy conversation with someone, I didn’t realise I was actually frowning. I used to joke that I frightened babies in their prams when I cooed at them, and it wasn’t so far from the truth. Then I read about this interesting new treatment, and went off to a plastic surgeon in Harley St, Mr Dev Basra. He sat me on his treatment couch, put about 4 tiny injections in my forehead which took approximately 60 seconds, and that was that. £200 ( in 1990) thank you very much. I didn’t even get to sign a consent form.

I wouldn’t have dreamed of telling my husband, but about 5 days later he said to me, (completely out of the blue), “Gosh Melly you are looking really happy at the moment! What are you so happy about?”.

I rest my case m’Lud.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

dr.melissafitzgerald@gmail.com — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 20:03:01 +0000

The Fitzgerald Clinic is now offering a special discount of 20% on all hair removal treatments to members of Verity, the UK charity for women whose lives are affected by Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

Will you be taking your clothes off in public this summer?

james@subtense.com — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 20:42:13 +0000

It’s worth thinking about hair removal in advance, because the sessions are spaced 4-6 weeks apart. But you could have made a serious start on becoming hair free before the summer if you book into a course of treatments now. Take a look at my blog!

Book a course of 6 hair removal IPL treatments, in March, April and May, you will get 15% off the listed price plus the 7th and 8th sessions free of charge.

For a course of 8 whole leg treatments that would normally cost £3280, the price until the end of May is £2088. That is a saving of £1192.
8 underarm treatments normally costing £1080, down to £690 –a saving of £390.