3 Long-Time Filipino Beauty Myths that Haunted Us Growing Up
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“She’s how old?!”
Actress, model, and former beauty queen Alice Dixson tends to elicit this kind of reaction—in the best way possible. If you’ve been following her since she started taking over the small screen at the age of 18, you’ll know why it’s absolutely boggling to see someone look nearly the same in a span of three decades.
Alice credits her trademark timeless glow to a mindset that isn’t bound by age. “Women shouldn’t be afraid of aging, because it’s a natural thing,” she says. “When I was in my 20s, I was like, ‘When I turn 30, what will I look like?’” she asks, mimicking a younger Alice who was once afraid of getting older.
“But then I turned 30, and I still looked the same. And then I turned 40, and I still looked the same!” she laughs. “Siyempre, may mga wrinkles na and signs of aging, but that’s natural and that’s just the external part of yourself.” Instead of only seeing those things, what Alice does is also appreciate all the great things her age brings. “Imagine all those beautiful experiences you had as you were getting older—and wiser, of course,” she says. “The things I did when I was younger, I learned from them and now I’m a different person because of those experiences. I wouldn’t be who I am at this age if I didn’t go through that.”
In a time of 10-step skincare routines, Alice’s current beauty regimen will come as a shock, much like her age does. In the morning, she showers and puts on sunscreen, and at night, she washes her face and puts on a night cream. Nothing more. (If there was a perfect time to ask if the world was fair, now would be it.)
However, Alice insists that her being an effortless beauty comes about only because she invests in taking care of herself holistically—and that goes beyond the number of products she puts on her face. “It really is a way of life, taking care of yourself on a conscious level. What you eat, what you drink, and what you think—they all affect who you are and what you look like. If you’re thinking of horrible things all day and nagpupuyat ka all night, then of course you’re going to look like a wreck in the morning,” she explains. “So happy thoughts lagi. Watch motivational things, look at pretty things, listen to beautiful music, at magiging beautiful ka rin.”
In addition to her fresh outlook in life, Alice swears by sleeping early, drinking a lot of water, and getting a beauty maintenance boost from the Belo Medical Group. Recently, Alice was looking for a fix for sagging skin. “I had all these things that were starting to sag and I wanted it lifted up, up, up! Ayoko ng down, down, down,” she says with a laugh. Alice had two non-negotiables for the treatment she was willing to go through: She wanted something that would give long-lasting results—without surgery involved. That’s when Dr. Vicki Belo of The Belo Medical Group recommended Belo Ulthera Plus.
Ulthera—a buzzword in beauty these days—is a high intensity-focused ultrasound system. Think of it as a more advanced radio frequency, with waves that can go much deeper into the skin, working well with all skin types and all skin thickness.
Dr. Vicki Belo herself describes the wonders it can do: “Ulthera sends a high intensity-focused beam that contracts collagen and elastin by about 30%,” she explains. Collagen and elastin are proteins responsible for the volume or the youthful plumpness of your skin—but the older we get, the more we lose these proteins, which is why a sagging of the skin happens. So when the skin on your face sags, Ulthera can help your skin contract (or tighten) the collagen and elastin underneath. “It’s like a non-surgical face lift,” Dr. Belo reveals.
Another reason why Ulthera is famed is because it works—and it works fast. “Ulthera works immediately,” Dr. Belo explains. “You’ll see instant results, but it will still get better over time. Over the next three months, you’ll have more skin tightening and more collagen production. You’ll see your skin get better and better, although usually, patients are already happy on the day of their Ulthera treatment.”
This science is what attracted Alice to Ulthera—the treatment isn’t just a superficial fix since it works on the skin from within. “Kung ma-lift yung sa loob, ma-li-lift yung sa labas,” Alice explains. Of course, having experienced doctors at the Belo Medical Group administer the Ulthera treatment is a vital edge in itself.
“We have a special technique of applying the [Ulthera] pulses that have given us maximum results. It gives more of a lift,” Dr. Belo shares. “And from my experience, we also use the highest pulse rate. We put more pulses than most other clinics—we’re usually at 600 to 800 when others are usually at 450 to 500. You can see that the results are better when you add more pulses—you get more lift and more collagen production.”
“Ulthera and Belo Ulthera Plus are two different things,” Alice explains. “Ulthera is just the experience of Ulthera, but at Belo, they have Ulthera Plus. This is something that is individualized to you, kung ano kailangan mo sa skin mo, sa katawan mo.” Dr. Belo adds, “What Belo does, because of the number of patients and experience we have, is we know how to combine procedures to give you the best results. That’s why it’s called Belo Ulthera Plus.”
For Alice, her Belo Ulthera Plus treatment included a combination of Ulthera; Belo Vita, an injectable treatment for skin regeneration and tissue repair; Embedded Protein Threads, a treatment that uses special threads to improve fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging; and Skin Reboot, another treatment that uses micro-current technology to help tighten the skin.
Describing how she felt after Belo Ulthera Plus, Alice says, “Ulthera is for a nice jawline, for tightening and lifting up the skin, and increasing the production of collagen naturally. Belo Vita is really wonderful for filling your face.” That’s because this treatment “is really good for hydrating your skin, so it looks plump and dewy—as if you did a 10-step Korean skincare regimen,” explains Dr. Belo.
“We all want to good,” Alice candidly says after describing her Belo Ulthera Plus experience. “We are extensions of who we are through what we wear, what we look like, and how we act in public. Once we feel good about ourselves, whether sa ating pananamit, sa ating labas na pang anyo, it also makes us more confident, makes us happier, and makes us enjoy the world more. So however you want to be more confident at a certain age, go for it.”
Want to learn more about Belo Ulthera Plus? Click here to book an appointment or call 819-BELO (2356).
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