Ludy Holst, KNMG cosmetic doctor and owner of the Van Lennep Clinic, was interviewed by Corine from 'BeautyJournal'. In the interview, you can read why Ludy's skin guru is doctor Zein Obagi and why she has been working with ZO Skin Health's skincare protocols to great satisfaction for years. Read the interview below.
It's Dr. Zein Obagi's promise: “I can make your skin tight again!” But how do you do that... make sagging skin firm again? I spoke about it with Ludy Holst, KNMG cosmetic doctor and owner of the Van Lennep Clinic, with offices in The Hague, Wassenaar and Oegstgeest.
The Van Lennep Clinic is known as the botox and filler specialist in South Holland. I ask Ludy Holst if this automatically makes her the botox and filler expert. She smiles: “I do use botox and fillers to relax and firm the skin. But I have many more tools to make skin firmer and more beautiful. Like collagen stimulation with Sculptra and ZO Skin Health skincare.”
Ludy calls herself a healthcare provider with a holistic approach. “I'm a healthcare provider. I want to help people create the look that matches how they feel. In doing so, I'm not only looking at injectables and skincare, but I'm also involved in lifestyle and makeup. Sometimes in the clinic, I see young girls who look at least ten years older because they wear a thick layer of foundation. I say something about that and let them experience that a thin layer of mineral foundation with SPF not only gives a better effect, but is also better for the skin.”
Many customers initially come to the Van Lennep Clinic because they are bothered by, for example, an angry or tired look caused by a frown, or bags under the eyes. People are often slightly less aware of the condition of the skin, says Ludy. Nevertheless, skin condition is very important. Ludy: “Your skin should last a lifetime and the better the quality, the better a cosmetic doctor can work with it.”
Unfortunately, it's a fact: every skin ages. Ludy: “As the skin ages, irregularities, blemishes, dilated pores and a rough skin texture occur. All signs that the skin is sagging and sagging. Even people who have had beautiful skin all their lives and never had skin problems, such as acne or rosacea, will have thinner and less resilient skin at some point.”
Ludy has been working with ZO Skin Health's skincare protocols to great satisfaction for years. The effective ingredients and excellent delivery techniques mean that she achieves great results with them. Ludy: “When it comes to skincare, I mainly find active ingredients and delivery techniques relevant. Retinol, Vitamin C, Salicylic Acid and Antioxidants, for example. They must be present in high concentrations in the products, because I want to be able to make a difference for my customers. I can do this with ZO Skin Health. The latest development that I am extremely excited about is the ZO serums accelerated that can be added to salon treatments such as microneedling and HydraFacial. This can give a real boost to the skin's rejuvenation process.”
Ludy continues: “In addition, I've learned a great deal from Dr. Zein Obagi, founder of ZO Skin Health and ZO Medical. He is my skin guru. As a doctor, you mainly learn about skin disorders, less about bringing the skin back into condition and making it more beautiful. Dr. Obagi has more than filled that knowledge gap.”
Bringing the skin back into condition (and keeping it!) has a surprising amount of similarities with charging an electric car battery, Ludy explains to me. “Antioxidants have a signaling function, which transmits signals deeper into the skin. They tell the skin to store active ingredients, just like a battery stores energy. Once the skin's battery is properly charged, your skin functions best. Just like a car on a full battery gets the farthest. If you stop supplementing the active ingredients, the battery will run out again and the condition of your skin will deteriorate and become weaker again.”
As skin ages, surface skin cells forget what to do. Ludy: “You have to rejuvenate the skin to restore skin functions to normal. Think of retaining moisture, good blood circulation to supply nutrients and removing waste products. But also consider the skin's natural protective mechanism against the sun. The thicker and firmer the skin, the harder it is for UV radiation to penetrate the skin. So you can say that tight skin contributes to the prevention of skin cancer.”
According to Ludy, ZO Skin Health products sometimes have the negative reputation of being aggressive: “ZO Skin Health can also be very mild. For example, the products from the Daily Skin Care Box. This is a nice and gentle introduction to ZO Skin Health, where you work to restore the protective layer of your skin. After that, it is possible to add more powerful products, for skin tightening. Radical Night Repair or Wrinkle + Texture Repair, for example. Doctor Obagi calls these his' heroes' and they are.”
Ludy states that the use of ZO Skin Health always requires professional guidance. Ludy: “If you have no guidance and you choose products randomly without the right knowledge, there is a pretty good chance that you will flake or get a bright red head. This is how the brand gets a bad name. When determining a protocol, I also always look at my customers. Some, for example, are willing to flake. In consultation, we can then decide to go for a more challenging protocol with faster results.”
At the heart of all ZO Skin Health protocols, from mild to challenging, is the removal of sebum. Ludy explains why: “For a long time, we thought sebum was good, just like sebum on bird feathers has a protective function. But people are not birds, after all, we are descended from monkeys. And sebum in monkeys has the function of keeping the hair supple, not the skin. And our face isn't hairy anymore either.”
In fact, sebum is a waste product of the skin that you would rather lose than be rich. Ludy continues: “Due to the presence of this waste product, the skin ages faster. Sebum also inhibits the absorption of the active substances in your skincare. So it's best to make sure that sebum leaves the skin as quickly as possible. You can use ZO Skin Health's Oil Control Pads or Complexion Renewal Pads for this. Two more 'heroes' by Dr. Zein Obagi and mine.”
Just as sebum reduces the effectiveness of professional skincare, dead skin cells also make the active ingredients less absorbed by the skin. It is therefore also better to remove dead skin cells frequently (or have them removed). And that's possible with ZO Skin Health's HydraFacial treatment with boosters. Ludy: “You can have this treatment with the skin therapist. For acne and rosacea, the treatment even includes reimbursed care. With light acids, the dead skin cells are sucked up from the skin with a special disposable vortex attachment. Like a gentle wash for your skin. You leave the clinic with a healthy glow and no excess dead skin cells.”
Ludy gives me another interesting look behind the scenes. She tells me that everything that is removed from the skin during the HydraFacial treatment (dead skin cells, sebum and makeup residue) is collected in the capsule in the device, also known as the “gunky jar”. Ludy: “It remains extraordinary to see how the contents of the gunky jar become cleaner as customers use ZO Skin Health products for longer. That really shows me a lot about the effectiveness of the brand and is addictive.”
In addition to being a doctor, Ludy is also a true entrepreneur. She once started out as a one-sitter and now has a thriving clinic. The Van Lennep Clinic team consists of around 25 employees, from consultants to skin therapists, from store staff to plastic surgeons, and a back office has been set up. In addition, Ludy trains cosmetic doctors and offers internships to skin therapists in training. Because she has a lot of experience with marketing and sales, Ludy can assess ZO Skin Health's treatments and products from different perspectives.
Ludy: “It's great to be able to do business. And if a brand comes your way, such as ZO Skin Health, all you can do is squeeze your hands as an entrepreneur. The products provide their own sales and marketing. Once customers have experienced the results of ZO Skin Health, they will never want anything else. When something is good, it sells itself. And that's what ZO Skin Health does.”
For specific advice and products that meet your skin needs, you will of course be advised. Make an appointment at the Van Lennep Clinic.
