Dr Maureen Allem, the founder and Medical Director of the Renewal Institute, consults at the Parkhurst, Morningside, Fourways, and Waterfall branches in Gauteng and the Cape Quarter, Constantia, and Claremont branches in the Western Cape. She is a general practitioner with a special interest in aesthetic and integrative/anti-ageing medicine and procedures. She also trains all the new doctors and oversees each branch by rotationally traveling between them. Dr Maureen qualified as a medical doctor in 1987. Following a ten-year career in the conventional medical profession, running a medical ward in a provincial hospital, she moved into the executive health field and spent seven years doing annual medicals and lifestyle assessments for top executives nationally. In early 2001, Dr Maureen became increasingly interested in non-surgical aesthetics and the use of non-invasive treatments to rejuvenate the face and body and started an aesthetic practice doing Botox and Dermal Fillers for patients. As there was limited formal training available in this new medical field, she traveled to Belgium in 2002 to train with Dr Koen de Boulle, who is considered a top injector in Europe. On her return, she was invited by Genop Healthcare (the local distributors of Botox and Juvederm), to train other medical doctors in this new discipline. She was one of the first doctors in South Africa to do so and during this period trained many doctors on basic and advanced Botox and filler procedures. After attending Solal's introductory lecture on anti-ageing by Dr Terry Grossman from Denver, Colorado in 2001, Dr Maureen developed a keen interest in anti-ageing/integrative medicine and realized the importance of conditions that contribute to ageing and a decline in health. During the wellness medicals for executives, she incorporated anti-ageing recommendations into all her consultations and was asked to present a talk on anti-ageing/integrative medicine in 2003. In mid-2005, after attending the World Anti-ageing and Aesthetic Congress in Monaco, she purchased her first Cutera laser platform and opened up her first aesthetic center - Renewal Institute in Rivonia - offering anti-ageing injectables, peels, lasers, the Slender Wonder weight loss program, and other cutting-edge therapies such as transdermal mesotherapy and carboxytherapy. In 2006, she was invited by Allergan to attend a forum about Botox, in Spain, for top injectors in Europe and Africa. In the same year, she became one of the founding committee members of the AAMSSA (Aesthetic and Anti-Ageing Medicine Society of South Africa). Realizing that the physical appearance is only one part of the total picture of health and that it’s very important to address the inside as well as the outside of the human body, Dr Maureen started to offer a holistic approach to anti-ageing. As a result, Health Renewal, a functional and integrative approach to medicine was launched in September 2013. She has highly trained medical doctors working with her using the same techniques she has spent years honing. She frequently travels all over the world attending World Anti-ageing Congresses and Laser Forums to stay abreast of the most up-to-date non-surgical procedures. She is a sought-after speaker on anti-ageing and non-surgical facial rejuvenation techniques and body sculpting. She also has appeared on TV and radio many times discussing non-surgical aesthetic solutions and her advice can be read frequently in South Africa’s major publications. She was also part of the team that was responsible for integrating health renewal into the majority of the Renewal Institute centers across South Africa. Doctors at the Renewal Institute investigate the condition of the patient, establish if there are any underlying diseases, and correct deficiencies before dis "ease” sets in. The Renewal Institute has come a long way since it was first launched in 2005. It has grown to incorporate renewal in skin, body, health, hair, and sleep as well as the Oasis Spa and the online store. There are now 16 centers across South Africa’s major cities and four Oasis Spas. In 2009, the Renewal Institute entered into a postgraduate bursary and trainee program with the International Skin and Beauty Academy and Isa Carstens Beauty Academy, providing bursaries to underprivileged therapists, who have achieved excellent academic standards in the first two years of their studies. In addition, each year the company "adopts" a welfare organization to assist. She is a Founding Member of the AASSA (Aesthetic and Anti-aging Society of South Africa), a Member of WOOSAM, and is HPCSA registered. Dr Maureen is interested in research on new aesthetic and functional/integrative medicine, reading, travel, bridge, interior decorating, and garden landscaping. She lives with her partner, Victor, and has two grown-up children, Peter, who lives in London, and a daughter, Catherine, who lives and works in Johannesburg South Africa: https://www.skinrenewal.co.za/staff/doctors/dr-maureen-allem
