Inside the future of injectables — conversation with Dr Ellen Selkon
Injectables are everywhere. Whether or not you’ve tried them, most of us are at least a little curious about Botox, Fillers, or Profhilo — the skin booster that’s been gaining serious traction. But with so many options (and a few horror stories out there), knowing what’s right for you can feel overwhelming. That’s where Dr Ellen Selkon comes in. Partner at Clinic42 and Treasurer of the NZ Society of Cosmetic Medicine, Ellen has almost two decades of experience and a refreshingly honest take on the industry.
We asked her everything from lip fillers to “natural” tweakments — here’s what she had to say.
Sauce : Are lip fillers still really popular?
Dr. Ellen : Lip fillers are still as popular as ever, but the trend, thank goodness, has changed. Our mature patients are always looking to replace the volume they have lost over the years and smooth the lips that have developed creases and lines from ageing. Our younger clientele are looking to define their lips and sometimes some cautious volumisation. The big lips of the past are thank goodness a thing of the past! People are also more aware of migration of lip fillers into the surrounding tissue and the need to keep fillers subtle, age appropriate and confined to the lip area is important.
Sauce : When it comes to skin, everyone wants glow — what are the best low effort, low downtime options?
Dr. Ellen : There are so many factors that contribute to a youthful glow and looking after your skin is the foundation of it all. This comprises using medical grade ingredients in your skincare, such as retinol, niacinamide, vitamin C etc. and good skincare (doesn’t necessarily have to be expensive). Sunblock factor 50 on a daily basis - summer and winter. Then we get onto skin treatments and how to renew your skin such as microneedling, IPL, peels and nano fractionated radio frequency resurfacing. The third dimension is injectables, such as Profhilo which is a pure Hyaluronic Acid, injected into the superficial layers of the skin, and another is Sculptra which tightens the skin and gives a radiant glow. The combination of these various treatments and topicals will ensure you have glowing, radiant skin.
Sauce : What exactly are temple fillers?
Dr. Ellen : As we age, we age through all different layers of the face. The bone, muscle, fat and skin. In the temple area, ageing can be quite obvious and from an early age. The layers here are extremely thin. We lose muscle, bone and fat volume here and as there isn’t too much to begin with, it doesn’t require much loss before ageing shows. Filling in the area can subtly rejuvenate this area and not make the hollowing as obvious. People often ignore this area but by rejuvenating it, it creates overall facial harmony. It is also a good idea to fill if you tie your hair back off your face often as this accentuates and shows off the hollowing of the temple area more. It is however, a high risk area to use fillers in this area and needs to be performed by a highly skilled expert practitioner who has been doing this for a while.
Sauce : What is Profhilo—and why is it popular?
Dr. Ellen : Profhilo has been a game changer in the Cosmetic industry. It is made up of pure Hyaluronic acid (the same as dermal fillers) but the difference is that it is super concentrated yet in a very liquid form. So it spreads over the entire face after only 5 injections per side. It also plays a role in increasing collagen and elastin and actually forming more hyaluronic acid in our skin, so not only does it give the glow and short term effects but has a long term “behind the scenes “ effect as well.
Sauce : Where does Botox fit into “natural” tweakments?
Dr. Ellen : Botox, or botulinum toxin fits into “natural” tweakments in the way that it can look - completely natural. If Botox is not overdone, you wouldn’t pick the person that has been treated. I think it’s best to use the appropriate dose and not over treat areas as well as not treating every area on your face. It has just recently been approved for jawline and neck treatments in New Zealand and this is a very subtle yet fabulous use of Botox. It is injected along the jawline and into the neck bands, targeting a muscle called Platysma, which pulls everything downwards. By releasing the pull on this muscle the jawline looks sharper and more “snatched” and the neck smoother and firmer. Tweakments are where individualised treatments come in as we all have our own “nemesis” that we don’t like, be it the frown lines, fine lines around the eyes, downturned mouth etc. we can decrease the effect of these with Botox injected into the correct muscle in a subtle manner.
Sauce : Can tweakments improve texture and tone, or are they only for volume and wrinkles?
Dr. Ellen : Tweakments, or small amounts of treatment are mainly for addressing wrinkles and some are for just adding that small amount of volume to a particular place where it is needed. I think you need full/proper treatments to work on tone and texture over time. Once you have had these , you can maintain the effect with small treatments or tweakments!
Sauce : What do you recommend for someone preparing for a big event—say, 6 weeks
Dr. Ellen : My first thoughts are “nothing drastic”, you always want your special day photos to reflect you and how you naturally look. I think prior to a big event, it’s all about your skin and getting that “glow” going. Starting 6 weeks out a Tribella is my treatment of choice, this is a combination of IPL, RF skin tightening and Nanofractionated laser, targeting texture, tone and pigment of the skin, this can then be followed by some light peels and a couple of days before, a facial like “fire and ice” facial to really make you glow for your event. If you are a regular Botox user, I would suggest having a treatment 4 weeks out and if you haven’t and would like to try it have a treatments 5 months out so you know if you love it and want to repeat it. Dermal fillers can be fabulous at tweaking certain areas, but these should probably be done 2-3 months before your big event.
Dr Ellen Selkon is a dedicated medical professional and partner at Clinic42, where she brings expertise in using a combination of cosmetic medicine treatments to enhance and rejuvenate the face and body.
