Hello, I'm Dr. Tae Hoon Kim, board-certified dermatologist and Medical Director of Grays Dermatology, a place where you meet your natural beauty.
“Do I really need to be treated by a board-certified dermatologist?”
“Non-specialist clinics use the same devices for treatment — is there really a difference?”
On the surface, it may look as if the same devices are being used and procedures with the same names are being performed,
but the results differ greatly depending on whether a board-certified dermatologist personally diagnoses and treats you.
Inside Grays Dermatology
What is a board-certified dermatologist?
A board-certified dermatologist is not simply a doctor who deals with the skin.
After completing medical school, a doctor can obtain board certification only by going through specialized training as a dermatology resident.
During this training, they study the treatment of skin diseases such as acne, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis and hair loss,
aesthetic procedures for pigmentation, scars, wrinkles and lifting,
and academic fields such as skin physiology, immunology and pathology,
and they gain experience by personally treating countless patients.
So it goes beyond simply operating a single machine —
with a deep understanding of the skin's structure and its conditions, more stable and effective care becomes possible.
“Aren't devices like Ultherapy PRIME, Thermage FLX and Oligio all the same anyway?”
Even with the same device, results vary widely depending on how it is used.
Let's take pigmentation disorders such as melasma and blemishes as an example.
If a laser is fired based only on the surface pigment, the pigmentation can actually become darker.
That's because delivering high-power energy to skin with a weakened barrier can cause post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.
A board-certified dermatologist assesses the patient's skin thickness, melanin distribution and even barrier condition, and sets the parameters accordingly.
The same goes for lifting procedures.
Even with the same Ultherapy PRIME, results differ depending on how the number of shots, depth and spacing are planned.
Because a board-certified dermatologist understands facial anatomy,
they can design the treatment so that effective lifting is possible without damaging nerves or blood vessels.
Accurate analysis of the cause
: We identify the root cause of a skin condition, not just the visible symptoms.
Customized treatment design
: 1:1 customization that takes skin thickness, barrier, pigmentation, fat distribution and more into account
Ensuring safety
: We keep complications to a minimum, and can respond quickly even if they do occur.
Reflecting the latest knowledge
: We continually study the latest treatments through the Korean Dermatological Association and various societies of aesthetic medicine.
Our ‘graduation’ treatment philosophy
: Rather than keeping patients in treatment for a long time, we create meaningful results and help them ‘graduate’ quickly.
Every doctor at our clinic is a ‘board-certified dermatologist.’
Our doctors also treat patients with the goal of helping them ‘graduate.’
This means not dragging treatment on needlessly, but creating meaningful results in a short time so that patients can complete their treatment.
And we don't simply promote device specifications.
A device is only a tool; what matters is how it is planned and used.
Only through the eyes and hands of a board-certified dermatologist can you expect better results, even with the same device.
If you're considering a dermatology procedure, I hope you'll keep this in mind:
“The core of dermatology care is not the device but the expertise of the medical team.”
A board-certified dermatologist is someone who understands every layer of the skin and designs a solution tailored to each individual patient.
And instead of making exaggerated promises to patients, we practice according to the principles of customized planning based on diagnosis, minimal intervention and maximum effect.
Rather than trying just any clinic for your skin concerns, I recommend getting an accurate diagnosis and treatment through the eyes of a board-certified dermatologist.
I will design the safest and most effective change for your skin. This was Dr. Tae Hoon Kim, board-certified dermatologist at Grays Dermatology.
The medical information on this website is general guidance only. Diagnosis and treatment may differ depending on your individual condition — please obtain an accurate diagnosis through an in-person consultation.