Glass Man speaks to one of the world’s leading dermatologists, Dr Vali, whose bespoke approach to beauty treatment promises to bring out your best
From Summer Issue 54
Forget what you know about aesthetics, dermatology and wellness, you don’t need to change your looks to look great – at least that’s what Dr Vali tells me. Best known as the world-leading cosmetic dermatologist behind the faces and bodies of royals, top models and the wider elite, the twice medically board-certified expert is adamant about enhancing natural beauty rather than changing it.
“I don’t like it when you take people’s features away,” she says as we sit in her recently opened 360° Experiential Centre at London’s Selfridges. “We’re so unique, there is so much beauty in us being such a diverse population on the planet – why am I going to make you a cookie cutter on the outside?”
Dr Vali
She has a point. The effects social media have had on society, especially in terms of appearance, have led to a culture that aims to look the same, moulding itself to today’s trend through a loss of identity.
“Something’s gone wrong here. Why does everyone have the same lips and nose?” she points out. “I need to maintain the uniqueness of your genetics rather than painting the same”.
Unlike others in her field, Dr Vali champions differences and also understands it is because of them that each client who walks through her door deserves an entirely unique treatment plan. Approaching aesthetics from a cellular level, Dr Vali makes subtle but deeply effective changes by helping your cells perform better for you, whether that be internally or externally.
Dr Vali 360° Experiential Centre in London’s Selfridges
“You’re epigenetically different to me,” she begins to explain. “Your microbiome and gut health are different to mine, your hormonal profile is different to mine, your lifestyle is different to mine.” And in the same breath, she states our response to treatment would be different too.
This adaptive approach at the 360° Experiential Centre seeks to map out treatments for both men and women across five key areas: skin, face, hair, body and wellness. Through an initial, in-depth private consultation, you are handed a plan centred around the areas you wish to improve, with notes on helping you understand why enabling the patient to be in control of the changes.
With 40 per cent of her clientele made up of men, Dr Vali is conscious of wanting to even out the ratio more. “I think men are frustrated on where to go and who to speak to, so they look for quick fixes because that’s the only option given to them,” she declares.
Dr Vali 360° Experiential Centre in London’s Selfridges
“They want their skin to be brighter so they get a facial, but they’ve never heard of repairing their skin. Or they have hair loss so they take some minoxidil or spray something on their hair to make it look thicker rather than going to the cause”.
Delving deeper into this topic, Dr Vali notes the gaps within modern society that keep men from being informed about how to better their insecurities.
“Men want to look better – they’re metrosexual; they’re reading magazines and calling other men handsome or groomed or well-dressed. But they are not talking about procedures, they know he looks good but they don’t know why. They question ‘why he doesn’t age’, or ‘what is he doing that I am not doing’. They want to find out, but men don’t talk about it so openly as women do, and I keep going back to the same point but it’s because they don’t have this space”.
“Men go down the wellness route in the gym because they’re safe with that – they’ll just work on their physique because it’s performance driven. But no one at the gym will talk and say, ‘I’m losing my hair’, or even talk about what’s happening inside like losing their libido, or gut health issues. For me, I find men the easiest to treat once they are here because they’re so willing.”
While individuality is the main pillar of her philosophy, the other is educating the client. Emphasised and reinforced throughout all the offerings at the clinic, she believes science-based information is more effective and longer-lasting than social media fads.
With seven degrees and a two-decade-long track record at the top of her trade, Dr Vali aims for minimal intervention. “Less is more,” she concludes as she goes to see her next client.
“Think about the human form, it’s been around for billions of years. God has given you the cells to fix yourself and my job is to use them to do that in an individualised manner rather than giving you the same as everyone else.”
by Imogen Clark
Selfridges, By Dr. Vali 360 Experiential Centre, 3rd floor, 400 Oxford St, London W1A