Developing facial pigmentation issues is very common problem for Singaporeans. Living in a tropical climate, we are highly predisposed towards developing pigmentation due to our constant exposure to the harsh UV rays of the year-round sun.
Our skin acquires its colour through a specific pigment known as melanin. Melanin serves as protection against UV radiation as well as playing an important part in our immune system. Melanocytes, which are a special cell found in the epidermis, produce melanin when stimulated or damaged.
When our body overproduces melanin, this can cause patches of our skin to become darker, causing our skin to look patchy or asymmetrical. Most commonly, this happens when our skin is exposed to the UV rays of the sun and we aren’t prepared for it with proper application of sunscreen. Many Asian women, especially those who are of a darker skin tone, are also susceptible towards developing hard to deal with pigmentation issues such as Melasma or Hori’s Naevus. This boils down to both genetics as well as the hormonal changes that comes with old age and/or pregnancy.
There are a variety of pigmentation treatments available on the market, ranging from topical medicines, lasers, and chemical peels. Pigmentation removal can often be a tough journey, having a long and arduous treatment course spanning multiple sessions and months. It takes an experienced doctor to treat pigmentation correctly, so here are our reviews on the top 4 doctors most qualified to treat your pigmentation conditions in Singapore.
Dr. David Ng CH
When on the topic of pigmentation experts practicing in Singapore, it is impossible to not include Dr. David Ng CH at the very top of the list. Dr. David prides himself as an expert at treating tough and tricky pigmentation conditions such as melasma and has written widely on the subject on his blog and on a variety of online publications. He’s the author of a highly popular online guide on pigmentation removal, Pigmentation Removal Treatments: A Guide by Dr. David Ng C H, a comprehensive breakdown on a variety of pigmentation conditions faced by Singaporeans and the correct approach to tackle them.
His stellar track record speaks for itself, with 114 reviews and boasting a 4.9 rating across all of them, placing him in the upper echelon of aesthetic clinics in this particular metric. To not have a single bad 1-star review that would undoubtedly affect his rating over nearly 115 reviews exhibits a definite consistency and professionalism for him and his practice.
Unlike other clinics which host different aesthetic treatments and services, One Face Clinic primarily focuses on skin issues and skin health, offering mainly skincare and laser services for pigmentation (eg melasma) and active acne, as well as medical facials. Though available, they don’t really push high quantum services like Botox, dermal fillers, HIFU etc, preferring to stay focused on their strengths in melasma and pigmentation removal.
Due to his passion towards educating his patients, he’s penned several comprehensive case study articles where he shares details about past-patients and their specific struggles with pigmentation-related conditions. For many of these cases, the patients had tried a variety of options, ranging from home-remedies to spa treatments to other clinics and had been unable to solve their pigmentation issues prior to visiting One Face Clinic.
It’s heartening to see a doctor speak up so candidly about the lack of useful information online about such conditions and really place his flag as a dedicated pigmentation specialist so that online readers will have a guiding beacon of light to finding the correct treatment for themselves.
Image via: https://onefaceclinic.com/freckles-removal-treatment-by-laser-a-patients-experience-in-singapore/
Dr. David’s amicable and approachable personality certainly seems to have built up a good relationship between him and his patients, as he even collaborated with a male patient (pictured above) to author an article about the patient’s freckles removal journey. The article is written from both the perspectives of the doctor and patient and we found it to be a highly interesting and compelling read. You can read the original article at https://onefaceclinic.com/freckles-removal-treatment-by-laser-a-patients-experience-in-singapore/
One Face Skin & Aesthetic Clinic
Fans of Korean and Japanese cuisine will undoubtedly be familiar with the stretch down Tanjong Pagar road, a bustling street with many Korean barbeques stalls, Japanese fine dining and of course the usual drinking spots buzzing with activity deep into the night. Situated at a cozy little corner at the 2nd level of Orchid Hotel, One Face Skin & Aesthetic Clinic has a bright and inviting décor.
Their service staff converse in fluent Mandarin and English and they have several small waiting rooms where pre-treatment and initial scans can be taken before the full on consultation in the doctor’s room. The highly accessible nature of One Face Clinic by both public (2 minute walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT) and private transport (indoor parking at Orchid hotel) makes it a great choice for those unwilling to beat the town rush hour.
Clinic website: https://onefaceclinic.com
Address:1 Tras Link #02-01 Orchid Hotel, Singapore 078867
Opening hours:Tues-Fri: 11am-8pm Saturdays: 10am-530pm Sundays: 12-5pm
Contact number: +65 6222 2262
WhatsApp: +65 9822 2989
Dr. Sam Pradeep
Dr Sam Pradeep is an expert in skin rejuvenation and his weapon of choice for restoring the skin’s natural beauty is a laser. Patients can be confident of Dr Sam’s handling of this powerful equipment– the credit goes to his knowledge of laser physics and experience of performing over 30,000 laser procedures. When it comes to patients’ satisfaction, Dr Sam’s record is topnotch. Those who have gone through his care are all praises for his excellent services and professionalism.
Being an ace in handling laser procedures, patients can turn to Dr Sam and Ozhean Zoey’s PICOMAX laser program to treat pesky dark spots on the face caused by sun damage and skin ageing. Not only that, this impressive laser procedure also treats other skin problems like acne scars, large pores, and dull skin.
The PICOMAX program utilises 3 lasers -
- Pro Yellow Laser - to target blood vessels and redness of skin
- Curas Advanced Nano Laser - for deeper pigmentation like melasma and hori’s nevus
- Pico Laser - for ‘superficial’ pigmentation like freckles and sunspots
Together, these 3 lasers work together to clear off red, black and brown pigments on the face.
Rachael Wong is one of the many patients of Dr Sam that underwent the PICOMAX laser program. In her review, she shared that the PICOMAX method involves the use of three powerful lasers that can zap skin impurities away. These are the Proyellow Laser, CURAS Advance Nano Laser, and PICO laser with each laser targeting specific skin impurities. The Proyellow Laser provides instant skin brightening by reducing skin redness, the CURAS Advance Nano Laser works to erase unsightly pigmentation, while the Pico laser improves drab acne scars, minimizes pores, and stimulates collagen production to make it more firm.
Rachael adds that the PICOMAX treatment was quickly done in 30 minutes and the pain she felt from the laser was bearable.
Dr Sam has also written extensively on pigmentation treatments, including some arguably controversial ones like this piece on why the pico laser isn’t the sole answer to treating pigmentation.
In the article, he explains why the pico laser does not work on conditions like melasma and age-related hyperpigmentation, where the chances of rebounding are extremely high. Rather, he suggests combining the pico laser with other lasers as highlighted in Ozhean’s PICOMAX program.
Ozhean Zoey Aesthetics
Going for laser treatment can be intimidating, but Ozhean’s welcoming environment alleviates all nerves. The clinic is also a stone throw away from Somerset MRT, which makes it convenient enough for lunchtime treatments.
Clinic website: https://ozheanzoey.com/
Address: 111 Somerset Road #04-10 Triple One Somerset Singapore 238164
Opening hours: 10.30am - 7.30pm
Contact number:+65 6235 4534
Dr. Kan Hun Yee
Dr. Kan, founder and director of Curamed Aesthetics, believes that aesthetic medicine has the transformative power of helping patients regain their confidence and emotional stability in order to thrive in today’s challenging modern world. It would not be remiss to say that for many patients suffering from unsightly pigmentation issues on their face like melasma, many of them struggle with self-esteem issues and may lack confidence in social or professional settings.
“Aesthetic medicine is not just skin deep.” – Dr. Kan Hun Yee
Her commitment to curing patients who are struggling with the issues of self-image is certainly commendable.
With a 4.3 star rating over 49 Google reviews and many of them being skin related conditions, they have definitely established themselves as a frontrunner for pigmentation and skin-related solutions.
Pigmentation removal is one of their main services they provide and they provide a multiple level approach, ascending through topical treatments, chemical peels and then finally lasers. It’s common to see clinics try to push a one-size-fit all approach to treating pigmentation, so seeing Curamed take a balanced, systematic approach towards dealing with pigmentation shows care for the patient and a deep understanding about effective treatment protocols.
CuraMed Medical and Aesthetic Clinic
Situated at Kovan, quite an unusual destination for an aesthetic clinic, Curamed still looks chic and stylish even when placed smack in the middle of a heartlands district. With warm and friendly staff, they are a pleasant departure from the sometimes intimidating central district clinics that are a little glamorous for the older, more traditional patrons who are the demographic most badly hit by many of the pigmentary issues that Dr. Kan seeks to treat.
Clinic website: https://www.curamedaesthetics.com/
Address: 988 Upper Serangoon Rd, #01-06 STARS OF KOVAN, Singapore 534733
Opening hours:
Wednesday 9am–1pm, 2–5pm
Thursday 9:30am–1pm, 2–5pm, 6–9pm
Friday 9am–1pm, 2–5pm, 6–9pm
Saturday 9am–1pm
Sunday Closed
Monday 9am–1pm, 2–5pm, 6–9pm
Tuesday 9am–1pm, 2–5pm
Contact number: +65 6513 0529
Dr. Nicholas Ngui
A veteran of aesthetic medicine, Dr. Nicholas Ngui has an impressive 19 years of clinical aesthetic experience under his belt. As a physician, he defined himself as placing a strong emphasis on building a culture with unyielding ethical standards, compliance to medical safety standards and commitment to his patients’ improvement and well being.
Dr. Ngui has dealt with the entire gamut of pigmentary conditions, from dermal to epidermal to more complex pigmentary conditions that have a vascular element to them. Above, you can see him and educating his younger trainees on a specific case study where the inflammatory nature of the skin condition made the treatment approach far more complicated.
As with all doctors with a skin-health centric approach, Neu-Age Clinic has its own line of proprietary skin care products, all with specific formulations to account for the variety of skin types and skin PH levels that Singaporean patients will exhibit. Even for such a senior doctor, he is more than keen to share about the various lasers and topical treatments he as frontline treatments for basic pigmentation conditions, and was happy to show us the various lasers he favors at the clinic for those conditions, the Fotona laser and Fotona SP Dynamis.
Being such a senior practitioner, he’s always making time in his busy schedule to educate the younger aesthetic generation in the art of lasers. Here he conducts a seminar on laser techniques for pigmentation @ The Fotona 4D Laser workshop, June 2016.
Neu-Age Clinic – Medical Aesthetics & Laser
Situated near Chinatown & Outram, Neu-Age clinic is located in quite a non-descript area down Bukit Pasoh road. At first glancs, we were unable to even tell if it was a clinic from the outside as they were located around a bunch of eateries and boutique fashion establishments.
Once inside though, we found their interior to be comfortable and discreet. The treatment rooms were spacious and well kitted out with stylish and fashionable fittings and the overall experience went fairly smoothly.
Clinic website: https://neuageclinic.com/
Address: 13 Bukit Pasoh Road, Singapore 089827
Opening hours:
Monday to Friday : 10.00am to 7.00pm
Except Wednesday : 10.00am to 2.00pm
Saturday : 10.00am to 4.00pm
Closed on Sunday and Public Holidays
Contact: +65 6222 1481
