Treatment Facility Review: BHPS by Dr. Gabriel Chiu

I was invited by Dr. Gabriel Chiu to visit his facility in Beverly Hills for a customized, medical-grade facial. BHPS is a beautiful facility. With stylish furnishings, chic light fixtures and sweet treats to sample…I was very impressed when I walked in. The décor lives up to it’s location in the heart of Beverly Hills. All expectations are met!

My visit began with a skin scope. A skin scope shows above and below the surface skin damage on the face. I’m told I have a little bit of sun damage, I’m moisture balanced, well hydrated, and I have no build-up. Sounds like I could have used a little more sunblock over the years, but otherwise I’ve been taking good care of my skin. One way to work on sun damage is to get peels and microdermabrasion which Alexa, my esthetician, suggests for me. So that’s exactly what we did.

While I was getting a glycolic/lactic peel and crystal-free diamond tip microdermabrasion, I had a chat with Alexa. She told me that when she was 15 years old she struggled with acne so badly that she didn’t want to raise her hand in class because it would call attention to her. I have to say, her skin looks flawless and radiant now. She’s a beautiful young woman and it’s hard to believe she ever had a hard time with self confidence. I asked her if there is an appropriate age for someone to start getting these kinds of facial treatments. She explained to me that something like a light salicylic peel could help with acne for a teenager and that once you’re in your teens, those types of treatments are perfectly fine to get. When I was in junior high, all we knew about was Clearasil, Noxzema and Sea Breeze. I remember the days of opening those packages and even getting excited about those products. I’ve always loved skincare products! After my peel and microdermabrasion, Alexa applied a calming masque to my face. While the masque did it’s job, calming my skin, Alexa massaged my neck and shoulders as I relaxed to the sound of “Besamé Mucho” playing from the sound system above. During our session: SkinMedica Calming Masque, SkinCeuticals Epidermal Repair, and SkinCeuticals SPF 30 were all used on my face.

After my facial, I sat down to talk with Dr. Gabriel Chiu. I asked him what the most common misconception about plastic surgery is and he told me that “It’s not a cookie cutter technique and skin care shouldn’t be either”. I like that. He told me that he’s very honest with his patients and that he makes sure all of his patients have realistic expectations. He then took the time to show me several before and after shots of his patients. I was very impressed. His work looks amazing. During our chat, Dr. Chiu gave me a drink to sample that he gives all of his patients before and after surgery. He doesn’t sell it, he just gives it to them. It’s an energy supplement and it’s packed with vitamins. He tells me that he believes in a “multi-disciplinary approach to taking care of a persons body whether it’s before surgery or with skincare”. This brings up a question for me that I’ve always wanted to ask a doctor. I ask him why more doctors don’t talk to their patients about nutrition? He responds with “One side feels it may be beneath them because it’s not their specialty but that’s changing.” We went on to discuss the effects of nutrition as it’s related to skincare. It was a great meeting and quite informative. At one point during our chat when we were discussing the different reasons that people come in for plastic surgery Dr. Chiu says “If the reason is, my husband complains about this all the time“. (referring to a body part) Dr. Chiu says…”Well, bring your husband in here and let me talk to him.” Well said, Dr. Chiu! Then Dr. Chiu ends our chat by saying “You have to do it for yourself“. I couldn’t agree more.

BHPS is a beautiful facility and has a great menu of facial treatments.

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3. Spa Review: Burke Williams