The first thing we learn in medical aesthetics is that a lot of procedures have side effects – they come with contraindications. However, with qualified aesthetic professionals, safety and perfection takes precedence.
Bimbo Ige, the President of the Medical Aesthetics Association of Nigeria and the visionary Founder of Celeb Laser And Aesthetics Clinic, made the above statement during a beauty refinement session tagged ‘An Aesthetics Affair by Celeb Clinic’ recently in Lagos, where she revealed how the aesthetics industry has not only become the hub for healthy and happy lifestyle but also saving relationships and marriages.
Ige, who has a medical background in radiography also spoke about the challenges in the aesthetic industry in Nigeria which is now saturated with mediocrity practitioners as demand for medical aesthetic procedures increases globally. She said: “A lot of people are not qualified to practice as they did not go through appropriate medical aesthetic training, hereby risking the overall health of clients. For example, you’re not allowed to use a laser machine if you’re pregnant or epileptic because the light will trigger it. Also, sometimes, you can be allergic to vitamins. Just like Botox and fillers as well, if not done correctly, it can make someone blind. So, if someone who isn’t medically qualified takes up technical procedures ignorantly, they put the patients at high risk. However, we are working tirelessly to regulate the industry. We have collaborated with the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH).
They go to check clinics every three to six months to make sure that everything is clean and tidy and to ensure they have qualified nurses and doctors on ground. They also check their licenses. We have also collaborated with the Ministry of Health and also the Lagos State Medical School to train people who don’t have qualifications. We send them back to school to go and do relevant courses.”
The medical aesthetic boss however revealed the core medical procedures that Nigerian men and women have, to enhance their physical look or correct certain disfigurations or discomfort. She said: “At Celeb Laser & Aesthetics Clinic we have high-end technology for advanced medical aesthetics services such as: Medical Facials, Dental, Glutathione and weight loss, Botox and Fillers, Laser Hair Removal, Laser Fat Removal, Laser Tattoo Remover, PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma), SPMU (Semi-Permanent Makeup) among others. However, our best-selling procedure for now is laser hair removal. The laser hair removal removes hair permanently. It helps a lot of people that have the PCOS medical condition, whereby the hair grows all over their faces and their chest, and they feel uncomfortable. This affects marriages and relationships. When they do makeup procedures, the hair is showing outside the makeup. It makes a lot of people feel very uncomfortable. So, we help those kinds of people with their self-esteem issues by permanently removing their hair. In the medical aesthetic industry, bestselling changes.
Last year, it was laser teeth whitening. Two months ago, it was glutathione injection which helps to brighten up skin and helps the skin texture get better. Glutathione has the most vitamins in the world. It has 10 times more vitamin C than oranges. There are a lot of vitamins in glutathione – once you inject glutathione, it helps to brighten up the skin. The Caucasians used glutathione back in the days to refresh their bodies. They used it on people that had cancers to give them vitamins.
Then, they realised that it was making their skin whiter which is the side effect of it as they didn’t like it. White people don’t want to get lighter; they want to get darker. That’s why they are always under the sun in sunny countries. But when Africans heard about glutathione and all the vitamin C it has, they went for it because it has the side effects they want – Africans desire lighter skin. This is how glutathione entered our market and became popular in Africa.
“Another popular procedure is the therapy department. This department helps people that have stretch marks after childbirth. They have things like cellulite, loose skin that comes up after childbirth. It helps to firm it back up, so that ladies can actually get their confidence back. Most times, a lot of men send me DMs to help remove the stretch marks on the skin of their wives. I’m usually very touched when I get these messages because it shows the men really love their spouses and want the best for them. The aesthetic issues that mostly affect males is excessive sweating of the armpits. When they wear white shirts, everything is dripping with sweat. This can also affect their self-esteem. So, when they do laser, laser stops the excessive sweat on the armpits permanently. Men also do back hair removal.”
Ige also narrated how she started medical aesthetics due to the issues she had with ingrown hair and razor bumps as a teenager and nobody could help her medically at the time. “I became obsessed with lasers and laser hair removal because I understand firsthand how that can make you have zero self-esteem. Every doctor I went to said there was nothing they could do about it because the lasers available then were for white people and it would burn a black person’s skin. Once the laser for black people came out, it took me six months to pay for the machine, it was around €35k. It was a risk as we were not sure if it would work out but, in the end, it worked out.”
Speaking on her educational and professional background Ige said: I’m obsessed with education, in fact, I have about 75 certifications including degrees. They made it easy for us abroad as sometimes we didn’t have to pay.
I did Radiography for my first degree and Business Management. I went to the University of Greenwich in London. It is not easy getting jobs abroad either. I first got my big break with KPMG, the biggest consulting financial group in London at the time and they were able to hook me up with GSK in 2016, which was the largest pharmaceutical company in Europe. I was involved in one of their biggest projects. As a project manager, I was able to navigate into a lot more and experienced more in the medical field.”
