Merz Elevate masterclass 2026

This week is a crazy hectic week for me since I have started to fill up my social calendar with events, trainings and other social gatherings like I use to and honestly I can feel the toll on my body. A small voice inside of me whispers that I am not as young as I use to be but as a believer of age is but a number, I know it is really due to me not being my optimal self – the military style discipline that I use to command is lacking, possibly due to the lack of motivation or maybe drive? Or perhaps my grown babies have influenced a much laid back lifestyle that they both seem to enjoy. I blame my lack of luster to myself. Perhaps more soul searching would bring more light to my conundrums. Luckily my passion for writing has been reignited again, so here is another blog rambling to entertain those people like me who prefers reading than videos.

I was fortunate to be invited to attend Merz Elevate Masterclass this year that involves doctors from Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia. It was quite a big group and it was designed as a sharing session of Merz’s key opinion leaders to share their experience and expertise in using Merz products namely Ulterapy, Belotero, Radiesse and Xeomin. I love going for sessions like these as there is always something new to learn and you get to see real life cases of patient improvements. The one thing that sets apart Merz’s masterclass is how they focus on product purity which translates to a much precise and safer injections to patients, which I also believe is very important in the world of aesthetic medicine.

Myself, being an expert injector for the past 18 years have often wondered about what happens to products after we inject them into the skin. With a more holistic approach to medicine per se, I also wonder about whether the products we inject would cause any unwanted immune response or may cause long term inflammation or act like a foreign body. Compared to a decade ago, we know now that hyaluronic acid fillers do not completely dissolve in the body, some of the cross-link chains remain even years after the initial injections. This is more evident with bolus injections that we were taught to do before, and this also explains why some of the long lasting fillers last even up to 4-5 years of initial injection. Patients may prefer long lasting injections but on the immunology point of view, it stays to be a potential focus for a foreign body reaction. The injection methods for fillers has changed, with focus more on anatomical enhancements in smaller product placements. Luckily, I’ve always been for this method than bolus injections.

It was a great treat to hear Dr Nabil Fakih from Spain speak as he is one of the plastic surgeons who are truly concerned about what products do to patients. He has published multiple studies on the effects of products on to patients and has changed the way we think about fillers, toxins and skin boosters. His message on the importance of product being high in purity to reduce unwanted side effects was clear and made me reflect on the products I have used for patients in the past. He also stressed on the importance of anatomy which is really the bread and butter of aesthetic medicine in the first place. Like I always tell my juniors, the anatomy you must learn before you inject a patient’s face is surgical anatomy – not just the surface but what lies under, how many layers, danger areas and mechanical functions of the area in order for you to be a good injector. It’s not just about copying points based on what another injector does but understanding why those points. My only loss was that I did not get to talk to Dr Nabil personally. I’m sure we would have interesting things to discuss.

Another cool highlight from the Elevate program was how Revive Belotero can help with post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation without the use of other energy-based devices presented by Dr Neil Oropeza from the Philippines. It was cool to see how much improvement was seen with just a skin booster and I think this is a very impressive and important innovation. The only issue I have with revive is that it does not come with lidocaine and so when I injected myself with it, it really burns for a good few minutes. Maybe Merz could solve this issue without compromising the efficacy of the product. What was more interesting, is how he used cannulas into the subcutaneous rather than injecting into the dermis, which reiterates what Dr Lim Ting Song mentioned earlier in the morning about the importance of the extracellular matrix for improving skin quality.

It was a super long day and just one of the many super long days of the week. Despite the lethargy I have to admit, i did learn a lot and definitely would recommend to peers to attend if they haven’t. I also can’t wait to try out the new techniques highlighted, like the foaming technique and the hybrid methods. There were really some precious pearls for me to improve my care on patients. Thank you Merz and Vanguard for the opportunity. Hopefully someday I would be able to contribute to the innovations.