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The aesthetic medicine market in Italy is recording an increasing trend for all age segments, including the young and very young. In a field still largely dominated by the demand of women (who make up over 80 percent), the male world is also showing a growing interest in the solutions offered by aesthetic medicine; in particular, among men the demand for non-surgical aesthetic treatments has increased by 25 percent since 2008. At the basis of the success and growing interest in this branch of medicine is the ‘normalisation’ and social acceptance of these procedures, in largely driven by social media. A significant portion of the market is occupied by the 19-34 age group, which carries out 40-45 percent of procedures and is the most influenced by fashions and social trends. Between 35 and 40 percent of procedures occur in the 35 to 50 age group, suggesting that demand for preventative treatments is rising sharply as we approach the threshold of middle age. Injectables (hyaluronic acid and botulinum toxin) still dominate the market (representing almost 80 percent of all aesthetic medicine procedures). In the field of facial rejuvenation treatments, the stars are chemical peels and skin tightening treatments, while the evergreens are permanent hair removal, anti-cellulite treatments and non-surgical fat removal. Therefore, ‘traditional’ requests are made by Italians to aesthetic medicine, but in a very dynamic and constantly renewing market which has seen procedures such as rhinofiller and coolsculpting establish themselves in recent years.
Finally, the reputation of Italian aesthetic doctors is also making our country a destination for health tourism; as many as 15 percent of aesthetic treatments in 2021 were performed on international patients. Although the international market is firmly dominated by the USA (5.3 million aesthetic medicine procedures carried out in 2021), Italy is the country with the highest number of aesthetic medicine procedures in relation to the number of inhabitants. The international cosmetic medicine and surgery market was valued at around $13.9 billion in 2022 but by 2027 it is estimated that it could reach $23.4 billion. Non-surgical procedures in 2021 accounted for 54 percent of the global market, worth an estimated $7.5 billion. Market growth is mainly driven by the growing importance placed on physical appearance and the need to feel better about oneself. Alongside this, the stigma and prejudices that surrounded the use of these practices no longer exist.
“These data are certainly interesting, but fortunately in some cases they differ from the experience of SIME members – comments SIME president Emanuele Bartoletti – the percentages regarding very young people are particularly significant. In this report, between 40 percent and 45 percent of those who turn to Aesthetic Medicine fall in the age group between 19 and 35 years. It is not specified how many of these fall into the 19 – 25 age range, but I hope they are few. From the survey conducted among SIME members, fortunately only 5 percent fall into the under 24 age group, and the majority of these young people have acne problems. The increase in young people’s use of Aesthetic Medicine represents a serious problem. Very often they are pushed by social media in a direct or subliminal way, and this entails the risk of encountering doctors, or even worse, non-doctors, who comply with often senseless requests. It is important to pay attention, as the dependence of young people on this type of therapy is becoming increasingly worrying. This leads to the risk of undergoing transformations that they may regret later.”
