The naked truth is that aesthetic medicine it’s not for everyone. The costs of face and body protocols, starting from the very famous injectives, are inevitably reserved for an elite. Nevertheless botulinum toxin, volumizing and biorevitalizing fillers they have never been so popular, highly sought after even by those under 30. This is one trend exploded first in South Korea, a nation of beauty junkies by definition, therefore in the United States and recently arrived here too. In this scenario the new trend of easy aesthetic medicine: the approach of the doctors themselves is informal, prices become more democratic (sometimes even bordering on low cost), the clinic setting becomes pop, welcoming, colorful and fun. But does this trend coincide with less professionalism? And an even more important question: What lies behind this obsession with medical-aesthetic touch-ups from a very young age? We talked about it with some experts.
Young people and plastic surgery: an increasingly close (and worrying) link. The doctors’ alarm
Low cost aesthetic medicine: be careful
In more than twenty years of experience of Dr. Carlo Borriello, maxillofacial surgeonaesthetic doctor and medical director of Medical Beauty Spot in Milan, Rome and Malta, «lowering the prices of injection treatments is part of the strategy of commodifying aesthetic medicine and embrace an increasingly wider user base, such as the very young with (tendentially) a lower spending capacity. This scenario includes marketing gimmicks such as the offer of the month, the classic 3×2 offers, super discounted packages: in short, a competition to see who can charge the least. In my opinion a doctor should never fall into this commercial game, also because we are talking about patients and not customers. The aesthetic doctor practices medicine, it seems trivial to reiterate it, but he is not. Furthermore if I reduce the price of an injection or propose a 3×2 I am de-educating my patient, who will start to think that botulinum or filler is the same in any doctor’s office, but this is not the case. The hand and experience of those who carry out the injection treatments is fundamental for a good result. Unfortunately the price market in aesthetic medicine is wild and unregulatedbut my dispassionate advice remains to be wary of those who offer low-cost treatments, because behind this move often lies the need to attract patients and a cosmetic doctor is not putting discontinued shoes on sale, is proposing a healthcare service which, if not correctly performed, can lead to serious complications. I add that frequently those who offer low budget injections do so because they have purchased poor quality products, with once again the risk of complications and results not up to the patient’s expectations.” He also says he completely agrees Dr. Carmela Pisano, plastic surgeon and aesthetic doctorowner of Achaia Medical Center in Rome and Milan: «the effects on health of the increasingly numerous low-cost injection treatments should not be underestimated, on the contrary. If, as often happens, the proposal of low cost injections hides poor preparation of the injector doctor and/or poor quality of the product (botulinum toxin or filler), could easily occur cases of complications. In particular the lack of standardization and variable quality of products used in low-cost treatments can increase the risk of infections, allergic reactions, facial asymmetries, loss of natural expression and tissue damage. If unqualified or inadequately trained operators perform fillers and Botox, the likelihood of procedural errors and unsatisfactory results also increases.”
What lies behind young people’s obsession with aesthetic medicine?
Already a few years ago the British newspaper The Guardian he had titled one of his pieces They have lost sight of realityreferring to the worrying boom of bookings of fillers and Botox by very young peopleunderlining how those under 30 (who grew up on social platforms dedicated to the cult of image such as Instagram) the little touches were seen as a status symbol. Being able to afford them as soon as you reach adulthood therefore becomes the dream to realize. According to Dr. Carlo Borriello, «until a few years ago Botox was the prerogative of people over 30 struggling with their first wrinkles, while the problem is that these days you don’t want to run the risk of ever having even half a wrinkle on your face. It seems that botulinum toxin should be used at a very young age for preventative purposes, but the truth is this drug should be used to correct a present line when the upper part of the face moves (with simple facial expressions) or in the case of older subjects, to correct wrinkles present even when the face is “at rest”. Imagining using Botox as prevention is a fundamental mistake: it doesn’t solve a wrinkle that isn’t there. Not only: Botox reduces the contraction of a muscle. And a muscle that doesn’t move for a long time becomes smaller and smaller and becomes flatter, with only one result: the expression even at rest becomes false and fixed. Thinking about my own business, I can tell you that I waste a lot of my time in the clinic explain to young girls that Botox is not useful on non-existent wrinkles. An objective indication is needed. Doing it at a young age at all costs hides a much bigger problem: today many young people identify aesthetic medicine as the solution to all problems, considering Botox and fillers a “normal” beauty routine, to be done even without a real indication (for example the classic defect to be corrected). I often realize that behind these requests for touch-ups here and there from young girls there is also and above all a desire for homologation. Approval to friends who have perhaps already tried some treatments, but also and above all to female models prevalent on social platforms.” As underlined by Dr. Elena Benvenuti, psychologist and psychotherapist«the risk of flattening and standardizing one’s aesthetic appearance is high, not to mention that rResorting to Botox and volumizing fillers from a very young age can lead to no longer accepting oneself “natural”with the need for increasingly frequent and numerous appointments with the aesthetic doctor and a growing insecurity in themselvesin a process of self-devaluation of one’s own intellectual and personal qualities, as if only appearance counted.”
No to Botox and fillers on minors: sensitivity is needed
There Dr. Camilla Di Pasquali, plastic surgeon, founder and scientific director of Botox Bar Italiahas established with his clinic to maintain treatments such as Botox and fillers accessible to all, without compromising the quality of the products. However, he does not compromise when it comes to carrying out these popular injections on boys and girls under 18. «In theory it is possible to proceed with a minor patient only with the consent of the parents. With our clinic we have decided not to intervene on children under 18. Undoubtedly in recent years there has been an increase in requests for medicine and surgery from very young people, approximately +56% of demand is calculated. When we are faced with patients who are just eighteen years old, first let’s try to understand if there is really a need to intervene or if, as more often happens, what they see and do not accept is the reflection of exaggerated aesthetic standards proposed at any time of day by social media. We often find ourselves “sending away” children who do not present an objective indication for treatment or we try to point them to the most appropriate route. Sensitivity is needed. It is also very important avoid the risk of faces all being the sameparticularly moving away from the duck face effect. Aesthetic medicine should present itself as the correction of a defecta proposed solution to a discomfort and a means of perfecting the natural anatomical characteristics of the person. It should never turn into a clone factory just because a certain face is in fashion.”
