Talking with an expert: Dr. Teresa Cattin...

Recently I had the good fortune to sit down and have a coffee with Dr. Teresa Cattin, who I’d heard about for years - and always in rather glowing terms – as being New Zealand’s best cosmetic physician. A Medical Practitioner (MSc, MBBCh, FRNZCGP, FNZCAM) and a member of the Appearance Medicine Society of Australasia, she is also the owner of FaceWorks Clinic in Albany, Auckland. As well as being president of the New Zealand College of Appearance Medicine, she is a national trainer in Botox Cosmetic and Juvéderm, training other doctors in New Zealand and Australia. Needless to say, she is a clearly a woman who knows who stuff when it comes to needles and ant-ageing, and I grilled her for the latest and greatest innovations in the industry, as well as the changing face of beauty.
When asked for the low down on the cutting edge happenings in the world of Botox and fillers now, Teresa doesn’t hesitate before waxing long and lyrically about how far the likes of Botox have come since the days of being just a product used to freeze the forehead. “The products we have on hand now are so superior to the ones we started with,” she says, “and anything with hylauronic acid is just a joy to work with: safer, longer lasting, softer and more importantly, can be used in a variety of ways.” She says that her work has gone so far beyond freezing and filling that it’s not funny, and she and her peers’ understanding of the ageing face has evolved to the point where the companies creating new products are struggling to keep up. When asked if consumers are demanding a more dynamic face, she says “absolutely, and then we’re demanding more from the pharmaceutical companies as a direct result”. She says that when the industry was in its infancy a lot of influence came down from the US, where the “wind tunnel” facelift had been big business, and beauty was equated with being line free. “Now we know that being completely without wrinkles doesn’t make you look any better,” she says with a smile, “and in most cases, can make you look really peculiar. A lot of the focus now is going in under the skin rather than on the surface, and the main trend is creating volume in the face.” Now experts are looking at the likes of shadows and where light reflects on the face, as well as shape in general. “IF you look at an older woman’s face the shape is often more like an inverted triangle,” she explains, “whereas a young woman’s will have a beautiful soft oval shape. One of the most rejuvenating things you can do is smooth out the jawline and try and recreate that oval for a client, which can achieve an incredible result without even touching a wrinkle”. Her favourite filler for this sort of work is Juvéderm, which she says is the “next generation filler as well as much longer lasting. She says that as we get older and the fat disappears from our face the light reflection gets lower and lower, making the face look dull and drawn. Shadowing in the tear trough in particular makes a face look incredibly tired, and filling in that can make a much bigger impact than getting rid of the surrounding wrinkles ever could. It must be asked: is addressing a loss of volume in the face a massive investment? “It doesn’t have to be, and if a client has looked after their skin well it makes things that much simpler again,” says the doctor. She says that a lot can be done for around $800-$1200, and the results can last up to twelve months.
She says that cosmetic trends amongst New Zealanders now follow Europe’s lead as opposed to America’s, “although our initial influence came from there as that is where the action was happening, where more and more doctors were trialling products in different ways”. This lead to both good and bad looks emerging, whereas the Europeans – and in particular, the French – prefer a more subtle approach, “which I think is what New Zealanders appreciate, too”, says Teresa. She says that we as a nation ”want work done, but don’t want anyone to know that its been done… and we want to look different, but only if that means better”.
In her role as president of the New Zealand College of Appearance Medicine, she is passionate about ensuring that her peers are up to par, and that patients and potential patients are getting treated with the respect that they deserve. For a guide to what you should expect when you’re thinking of getting some “work” done got to the New Zealand Medical Council’s website and do your homework when you’re shopping for a doctor. Look for someone who has training and experience as well as ongoing training and peer reviews, “as we’re not afraid to discipline our own if we think they need to be pulled up.When you're dealing with anything to do with your health and your face, only accept the best".