Beauty beyond borders

The Aivee Clinic at The Fort first opened its doors eight years ago and stood out with its chic modern French interiors and luxed-up treatments on top of offering the latest beautifying technology. Even with a discreet backdoor for patients who opt to keep their upkeep hush-hush, these little touches paved the way to empower men and women to own up to these acts of self-care. The results on Dr. Aivee Aguilar Teo and Dr. Z Teo’s patients — positively radiant and glowing, preaching the good news — did all the promoting for the clinic that didn’t even have a sign back then, accessible only by elevator off of Burgos Circle. The social media clout of #AiveeLeaguers, beauty influencers sharing their “me time” in the clinic, just happened organically.

But beyond her clinic doors, Aguilar-Teo has been beautifying people in a different way. For the past 15 years, she has held a charity clinic in Las Piñas Doctors Hospital every Monday. She attends to indigent patients for free, providing free medicine to those in dire need of skin healthcare. Aside from being actively involved in medical missions at least every quarter, not to mention her support for charitable institutions such as the Philippine Cancer Society and Real Life Foundation (VCF), Aguilar Teo is also the head of the Green Card Program in Las Piñas Doctors Hospital that offers charity admissions of underprivileged patients.

“I don’t want to give up my pathological dermatology because it keeps me grounded. If you see patients only for cosmetics, you will lose the essence of being a doctor at the very core, which is what I really studied to be: a doctor for skin health,” she says.

She doesn’t toot her own horn about it, but in the same way all good things never stay secret for too long, local media caught on, and the more she talked about it, the clearer it became that the help she gives on her own end could be multiplied. By launching the Beauty Beyond Borders foundation alongside The Aivee Clinic Fort, Aguilar-Teo will now be able to help even more.

Two Aivee Clinics — one in Alabang and another in Mega Fashion Hall —and a holistic progression that is The A Institute later, the doctors bring it all back to where it all began with “Aivee x Art,” a by-invitation art auction in collaboration with J Studio and Provenance Art Gallery. Several young up-and-coming artists were commissioned to create artwork inspired by the theme “Beauty Beyond Borders.” Proceeds of the art auction will go to the medical missions conducted by the Aivee Group.

“What we as aesthetic doctors do is very similar to what artists do: our medium is the human skin and body while the artist’s canvas is a blank canvas. Our tools are our scalpel, needles and lasers while their tools are oil, paint and charcoal,” says Dr. Teo on the event concept.

The couple nurtures their artistry with a fresh pair of eyes through travel and an appreciation for contemporary art. Dr. Teo continues, “In the world of beauty, it is crucial that there is a deep sense of appreciation for proportions and balance. This is what makes the difference in our kind of work. We are very different from mainstream medicine like cardiology where it is all about science and facts. We deal with all types of individuals and if we do not have a sense of artistry, everyone will just look exactly the same.”

Famous #AiveeLeaguers like Gretchen Barretto and Raymond Gutierrez front the campaign in a photo shoot by BJ Pascual (Pascual himself stepped in front of the camera as well). “We believe in making our patients look naturally good. We don’t like to alter and change people’s features and so these Aivee Leaguers are a perfect statement that one can be naturally beautiful and contented and successful. Many of them have their own stories of hurdling through boundaries like Mond (Gutierrez) who make a conscious decision to live healthy and lose weight. Once that boundary in his mind was crossed, the rest is history.”

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The new Aivee Clinic Fort now has Aivee Café, Beauty Bar (showcasing the Aivee Skincare line Aivee Skinscience and the Visia Complexion Analysis machine), Drip Lounge (for IV therapy), the Spa, and the VIP Area (which has four VIP Suites). It also introduces body scrub services and new laser services: Shining Bright Laser for photorejuvenation, acne, vascular pigmented lesions on the face, and melisma and the Angel White Body Laser for the body.

The Aivee Clinic Fort is at 2nd Floor, East Building, Forbestown Center, Burgos Circle, Bonifacio Global City. Call 0917-7283838 or 573-1420 or email info@aivee.ph for inquiries.