Skills Honed During NS Shaped Singapore’s Most Social Media-Savvy Aesthetics Doctor
For Dr Heng Wee Soon, it’s all about the aesthetics – but not just in treating his patients as the Medical Director at Ogee Clinic. He’s also a rising star on social media, putting out entertaining, relatable, and educational content to market his practice.
If you’re not following @theogeeclinic on Instagram, you’re missing out! From riding on TikTok trends to incorporating pop culture references, Dr Heng is an absolute hoot online. Curious about botox, fillers or injectables? His content demystifies these cosmetic treatments, making them feel accessible.
Just a decade ago, this topic was often taboo, especially for men. As someone in my 30s who wants to age gracefully, I stumbled upon Dr Heng’s videos – and I’ve been hooked ever since.
I had the chance to speak with the affable doctor (and budding influencer?), who is 40 this year, about his journey into medicine and aesthetics, and why he believes in the power of social media.
IMAGE: DR HENG WEE SOON
Aesthetics medicine is such a unique field to study. What inspired you to pursue this as a career?
As first-year doctors, together with a few colleagues, I signed up for a new series of seminars on 'aesthetic medicine' that were held at National Skin Centre. It was an eye-opener for me.
The treatments showcased at the seminars (botox, fillers) were non-invasive, rather hassle-free, yet able to give immediate and positive impact on patient well-being. Consequently, I found myself being drawn to the field and continued to learn and train more, and finally decided to pursue this as a career.
How would you say the industry has changed from the time you first joined till now? Is doing fillers or BTX more accepted these days?
I think the industry has expanded a lot. And I think a big factor is because patients’ perceptions have evolved a lot. Aesthetic treatments, be it cosmetic lasers or injectables like botox and fillers, have become more widely accepted.
It used to be taboo to say that you visited a doctor or a clinic to ‘look better’. Now, it is very common for people to talk openly about undergoing aesthetic procedures, share their personal experiences with friends and close relatives, etc.
You’ve once said that aesthetics is a combination of medicine and art. Can you elaborate on that?
Nowadays, medical aesthetic technologies have advanced to a degree where many aesthetic concerns of patients can now be adequately managed, and visible aging, though it cannot be prevented, can be slowed down. This basically shows that the medicine works.
To then use the medical technologies we have at our disposal to bring about a visual improvement to our patient’s face that is naturally beautiful – now that is more tricky. That is art. The artistic eye of the doctor is now very important. We need to treat them adequately, yet at the same time avoid over-correction, frozen looks, and unnatural appearances. This fine balance of medicine and art, in my opinion, is what all aesthetics doctors have to master.
We love your social media content! What inspired you to embrace this platform for your business?
Now all businesses are on social media, right? Haha. Well, we had a website for the first few years of business. But felt it was quite static, and not interactive enough. So we were looking for another way where we can share some interesting facts, parts of our operations, to sort of showcase what we do, what our values are as a business.
So, it was with this idea in mind that we decided to try social media.
Dr Heng with the Ogee Clinic team, including social media marketer Iffah Hamad (second from left). | IMAGE: DR HENG WEE SOON
I am happy that you love our content! Credit doesn’t belong to me though! I definitely have to thank my social media marketing person for the fun and fresh ideas, as well as my clinic staff for being so willing to be on camera!
We heard you came from a dance background. Would you consider yourself a performer at heart and is that why doing social media is such a natural fit for you?
About the connection between dance and social media, I am not so sure. I think there are loose parallels for sure. For instance, to do well in either, first and foremost, you need thick skin! But yes, I was president of my junior college dance club and did modern dance and hip hop during my school days, and continued dance into my early university years.
I do feel performance arts like dance can help to develop confidence and emphasise self-expression. Whether it be a solo, a pair, or a group dance, you need to be comfortable with yourself, and confident with how you move, for the success of the performance. And for any young person, I will encourage them to at least experience it.
Dr Heng (centre) was the Officer in Command of a Mobile Surgical Team during his reservist cycle. | IMAGE: DR HENG WEE SOON
Bonus question: What was NS like, and how did it prepare you for your current career?
During my NSF years, I was a Platoon Commander (PC) in the Medical Response Force (MRF). Our mission was to rescue and decontaminate SAF personnel during chemical, biological or radiological (CBR) attacks.
And during my reservist years, I was Officer in Command (OC) of a Mobile Surgical Team (MST), whose mission is to perform damage-control surgeries on wounded soldiers during battle operations. I feel NS prepared me and gave me skills like manpower management, leadership, logistics, etc.
As doctors, we are always taught to perfect our medical knowledge and procedural skills, so that we can treat our patients to the best of our own ability. However, when you are running a medical unit, you need to consider many other practical factors: accessibility to the medical service, logistics, delivery throughput, manpower considerations, situational risks against operation success… the list goes on.
These are skills I wouldn’t have learnt and developed in medical school, and these are precisely the skills that were needed to run an organisation or company. Now that I am running a clinic, I wouldn’t say I am there yet, as there is always room to be better than who I was yesterday.
But I would say that I am thankful to have had a productive NS career to develop other skills outside of my medical competencies. I have recently completed my last In-Camp Training (ICT) this year, and will be posted to MINDEF Reserve in 2025. Looking back, I would say I have enjoyed my NS experience, and am proud to have served!
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