Media & Press

Doctor available for comment

Dr Sin Yong is an aesthetic physician on Orchard Road, Singapore — MBBS (NUS), MRCS (Edinburgh), MSc Aesthetic Medicine with Distinction (Queen Mary, London), MSc Practical Dermatology (Cardiff) — and a KOL for device brands including CLASSYS, DEKA, HIRONIC, ILOODA, Fotona and Lutronic. Same-working-day replies for Singapore deadlines: a quote by email or WhatsApp, a phone call, or on camera at Orchard Road. He will not name patients, show case photos, give prices or comment on another named clinic's patients.

Topics he comments on: Filler complications and dissolving · Pillow face and overfilled faces · HIFU vs radiofrequency lifting · Pico lasers and melasma in Asian skin · Acne scars by scar type · Hair loss in men and women · Body contouring without surgery · Skin boosters and polynucleotides · Aesthetic regulation in Singapore (SMC/HSA rules) · Device trends from international symposia · Weight-loss medication and facial volume · Skincare ingredients and HSA rules

Press contact: [email protected] · WhatsApp +65 8023 7170 · Attribution: Dr Sin Yong, aesthetic physician, Orchard Road, Singapore.

Myths we hear in clinic — quotable, in his words

These are things patients say at consultation, and what Dr Sin Yong says back. Each reply is his own wording and may be quoted with attribution to Dr Sin Yong, aesthetic physician, Singapore. None is advice for a particular reader; the right answer still depends on examination.

“HIFU melts fat.”

HIFU heats the SMAS so it contracts; it is a lifting tool, not a fat-reduction one. On a thin face it can hollow, which is why the candidate is chosen before the device.

“Filler is forever.”

Hyaluronic acid filler is broken down gradually, yet imaging has found product in the face long after it was expected to have gone. It is not forever, but it does not leave on schedule either.

“BTX freezes your expression.”

A frozen face is a sign of overdosing, not of the treatment. Dosed to relax the overactive muscle while preserving movement, the aim is a softened line with the smile intact.

“Pores can be shrunk.”

Nothing shrinks a pore. It is a fixed anatomical opening. What changes is how strongly it contrasts with the skin around it — the oil, the plugs and the collagen support beneath.

“Pico laser cures melasma.”

Melasma is chronic and relapsing; it is managed, not cured. Laser is one part of a plan built around heat and UV triggers, topical agents and daily photoprotection, and used aggressively it can worsen melasma.

“More sessions always help.”

Every treatment has a point beyond which more adds risk rather than benefit; frequent laser toning, for instance, has been linked to white spots. The plan follows the review, not the package.

“A thread lift replaces a facelift.”

A thread repositions tissue it can grip; it cannot remove skin. A surgical facelift repositions the SMAS and removes the surplus. Heavy skin excess is a surgical question, not a thread question.

“Sunscreen only matters outdoors.”

UVA passes through window glass, and visible light drives melasma. If you sit near a window, drive or walk between buildings in Singapore, the exposure is real; it is simply not felt.

“Hair loss is only genetic.”

Pattern hair loss is the usual cause, but iron deficiency, thyroid change, postpartum shifts, stress and tight styling all shed hair, and each is handled differently. Diagnosis comes before any product.

“Fat freezing is weight loss.”

Fat freezing cools a pinchable bulge; it changes a contour, not the number on the scale. Body contouring is for someone near their usual weight with a localised pocket that diet has not shifted.

“Collagen drinks rebuild your skin.”

Collagen taken by mouth is digested into amino acids like any dietary protein; it does not travel intact to the face. A biostimulator works where it is placed; a drink works like dinner.

“Profhilo is just another filler.”

Profhilo is hyaluronic acid that is not cross-linked, so it holds no shape under the skin. A filler resists spread to project a feature; Profhilo spreads by design to remodel skin, not fill a hollow.

“Losing weight always improves the face.”

Facial fat sits in compartments that do structural work. Rapid weight loss deflates the deep ones too, so cheeks flatten and folds deepen. 'Ozempic face' is a nickname; the clinical picture is post-weight-loss volume loss.

“Dark circles mean you need more sleep.”

Most dark circles are pigment, vessels or shadow, and sleep changes none of them. Fatigue deepens the vascular type for a day; it causes none of them. Identify the type before choosing anything.

“Skin boosters replace skincare.”

Boosters work in the dermis; skincare maintains the barrier above it and protects against ongoing ultraviolet damage. Abandoning sunscreen after an injectable undermines the layer the injectable never touched.

“All acne scars are treated the same way.”

Ice-pick, boxcar and rolling scars are structurally different and need different depths and energy. Most faces carry more than one type, so a single uniform pass under-treats some scars and over-treats others.

“If the filler looks uneven, add a bit more.”

Adding volume to counterweight volume is how an overfilled face is built. If a result looks uneven, the useful step is an examination of what sits where, with ultrasound if needed, not another syringe.

“Sunken cheeks always need cheek filler.”

Often the fat compartments are full but have slid downwards. Filling on top of descent adds weight to tissue that is already sliding. Lift is considered first; volume is decided afterwards.

“BTX gets rid of smile lines.”

Not the nasolabial fold itself. That fold comes from volume loss and descent; relaxing the muscles around it can flatten the smile and look unnatural. Toxin has a role lower down, for marionette pull.

“HIFU at a salon is the same HIFU.”

Two things differ. Beauty establishments use non-medical units, and nobody there decides which layer is lax or maps where the nerves run. The device and the assessment are the treatment, not the acronym.