Why she does not look only at the skin: Dr Yoon Su-jeong

Not only the skin, but general health

So she starts elsewhere. When the symptom began, whether it worsens at a particular point, what cosmetics and topical medication are currently in use, how the skin responded to recent treatment. Sleep, meals and weight change are checked alongside.

The clinic states that it aims at integrative practice: treating not only the surface of the skin but looking at internal health with it.

First author of a study in an international journal

Dr Yoon was first author of a study published in PLOS ONE. Using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, it analysed 9,519 people to see how blood pressure control and albuminuria differ by degree of obesity.

The same applies in practice. Where response to treatment is unusually slow, where the skin improves and quickly returns, or where the two cheeks differ markedly, she checks thyroid function, anaemia, blood glucose and current medication alongside.

Continuing to research and teach

She serves as senior academic director of the Korean Academy of Dermatology, Obesity and Plastic Surgery. She is a member of the Korean Society for the Study of Obesity and the Korean Society of Clinical Nutrition, and an adjunct professor at Korea University Medical Center.

She has given numerous academic lectures on pigmentary and vascular conditions, obesity treatment and laser physics. The clinic describes the reason for continuing research and teaching as attention fine enough not to miss small differences, in pursuit of safe and satisfying results.

Individual treatment rather than a single protocol

Many combinations of treatments are available for a given skin condition. She regards deciding what to do first and what to leave for later as the important part.

Aesthetic treatment rarely finishes in one session. Rather than looking at a single session alone, she designs the order of treatment around the skin and the schedule. It is the same reason she does not recommend several treatments at once: stacked together, recovery periods overlap and it becomes impossible to tell which treatment worked.

Advising broadcast and print media

She has appeared as a medical adviser explaining skin and health information for general viewers and readers.

• TV Chosun Good Morning Information World
• MBN Saengsaeng Jeongbo Madang
• KBS Yeoyu Manman
• SBS Morning Wide
• SBS Good Morning
• Marie Claire, Design House Happy, Allure, Singles, Woman Sense, Yeoseong Donga and Cosmopolitan

Dr Yoon graduated from Ewha Womans University College of Medicine and completed her residency at Korea University Medical Center. She undertook a fellowship at Shands Hospital, University of Florida. She also advises the pharmaceutical companies Huons and Ildong.

A full explanation before treatment

She explains fully before starting. What can be expected and what cannot, and what counts as normal during recovery. Knowing in advance leaves less to worry about afterwards.

The direction the clinic describes does not end at a single treatment. It aims at practice spanning prevention, treatment and consultation: beyond appearance alone, toward helping patients continue a healthy life.

Who this suits

• Repeated treatments with little response
• Improvement that returns quickly, again and again
• Skin worsening after a change in weight or general condition
• Wanting general health checked alongside the skin
• Several concerns at once, needing an order to work through them

The actual direction depends on skin condition and medical history, and has to be confirmed in consultation.