INDUSTRY NEWS

AAFPRS survey reveals increased demand for facial plastic surgery across age groups

The world’s largest association of facial plastic surgeons, the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, has released the outcomes of its member survey for 2022.

According to the report, mirroring 2021, the demand for facial plastic surgery and cosmetic treatments has increased. In particular, 58% of AAFPRS facial plastic surgeons surveyed reported an increase in bookings and treatments over the past year, with more than 75% indicating they have seen a rise of more than 10% in patient demand.

Significantly, despite widespread discussions around “Snapchat Dysmorphia” - the suggestion that Gen Z are seeking tweakments aimed to mimic Snapchat filters – the report didn’t necessarily reflect these leaps in facial plastic surgery procedure numbers within this age group.

Consistent with 2021, close to 75% of facial plastic surgeons reported increases in the number of patients under 30 years old requesting cosmetic surgery or injectables. This does reflect increased demand, but it also represents a consistently higher plateau over the five previous years than other age groups. As for surgical procedure activity, this year’s survey indicates a significant increase once patients reach the 35–55-year age group.

However, the under-30 age group is likely to increasingly power interest in non-invasive treatments. According to the new data, 82% of the total number of procedures performed in 2022 were minimally invasive and 78% of AAFPRS members believe there will be a greater emphasis on earlier maintenance and age prevention starting in the 20s-30s over the coming years. This is with the view to forestall bigger procedures later in life.

While the AAFPRS survey results suggest “Snapchat Dysmorphia” hasn’t quite overtaken the industry, 79% of facial plastic surgeons surveyed agree that looking better in selfies continues to trend upward. To that end, lip lifts, a new category for the 2021 survey, perhaps due to the removal of face masks, were up three percent in 2022 compared to 2021.

Another proposed selfie-boosting procedure, blepharoplasty, has seen an upward climb in popularity. The treatment comes second to rhinoplasty as the most-requested procedure of 2022. “Both are relatively minor procedures that lend themselves to tremendous patient satisfaction,” revealed Dr Kontis.

Overall, the report revealed that in 2022, the three most popular minimally invasive treatments were neurotoxins, fillers, and topicals, such as chemical peels. The top three surgical procedures were facelifts, blepharoplasties, and rhinoplasties. Rhinoplasty continues to be the single most requested surgery among patients under 34 years old.

L’Oréal Active Cosmetics Division rebrands as L’Oréal Dermatological Beauty

The L’Oréal division formerly known as L’Oréal Active Cosmetics has been renamed L’Oréal Dermatological Beauty. The change was effective immediately, from February 20, 2023. It will be rolled out globally.

Home to pioneering dermatological brands, such as La Roche Posay, Vichy, CeraVe, SkinCeuticals and Decléor, the new identity is designed to better align the division with its objectives.

In the press statement announcing the news, L’Oréal reemphasised that purpose:

• A L’Oréal division with complementary dermatological brands both on the pathological and aesthetic front

• A division with an inspiring mission: pioneer health and beauty to bring the world sustainable and life-changing dermatological solutions to all

• A division that accompanies healthcare professionals to change people’s lives and increase access to skin health, for everyone, everywhere.

As a division, the now-called L’Oréal Dermatological Beauty saw global sales rise by 30.6% to €5.125 billion (£4.48bn) in 2022, as it posted double-digit growth in all regions. La Roche-Posay and CeraVe brands contributed to more than 80% of the divisional growth. It was suggested that this was due to increasing consumer needs and the role of dermatological skincare in meeting this demand.

In the statement, L’Oréal reiterated key statistics about the skincare industry, including that more than two billion people worldwide have skin issues today. It was proposed that this figure keeps growing as the population is ageing and individuals are increasingly exposed to urban pollution.

The company also noted a growing trend for consumers turning to medical professionals to meet their demanding aesthetic expectations. However, according to its in-house research, still, only 36%¹ of consumers have ever seen a healthcare professional about their skin in the UK.

This statistic, coupled with discussions around low access to the right education and resources, plus rife misinformation online, has led to concerns about consumers making decisions that could be harmful to their skin health.

Thus, L’Oréal sees the dermatological brands within the Dermatological Beauty division as having a critical role to play in addressing rising skin pathologies and aesthetic needs. That’s because they can offer skincare co-developed with doctors, as well as access to advice and dermatological services in this fast-evolving world.

¹Kantar Omnibus, L’Oreal Consumer Insights

Tributes paid to the co-inventor of modern liposuction, Dr Pierre Fournier

Dr Pierre Fournier, credited as a co-inventor of modern-day liposuction, has died, with tributes being paid to him on the social media platform, LinkedIn.

The world-renowned Parisian aesthetic surgeon was acknowledged as a generation-defining mentor in his field, and was dubbed the ‘founder of modern aesthetics’. He passed away on February 24 2023.

“[Fournier] began his medical career from quite humble beginnings; after serving in the French army in World War II, he opened a small clinic in the suburbs of the French capital,” recalled Dr Patrick Treacy in his LinkedIn tribute to the late aesthetic surgeon. “By offering lower prices than most other surgeons in central Paris, clients soon started to line up at his door.”

Although not the first to deliver a liposuction procedure, Fournier, alongside the French plastic surgeon Yves-Gerard Illouz, built upon the work of Giorgio and Arpad Fishcer to popularise and improve the cannula-based approach to liposuction. In the 1980s, Fournier suggested the use of the local anaesthetic lidocaine to make the procedure safer and was known for widely advocating and lecturing on liposuction technique.

Several aesthetic doctors took to LinkedIn to acknowledge the news of Fournier’s passing and shared anecdotes about his impact on their lives and careers.

“So sad to hear about the passing of Dr Pierre Fournier, who has rightly been attributed the title of ‘founder of modern aesthetics’,” posted Treacy. “I met Pierre for the first time in Miami in January 2004 at the American Academy of Aesthetic Medicine… At [that] stage, he was still practising as a septuagenarian but came across as a charming gentleman; in the words of an interviewer: ‘his mind and wit as sharp as the instruments he used’. During later IMCAS conference sessions in Paris, he would often invite me to his house in Paris, where his wife gave a beautiful piano recital. He once presented me with an original framed copy of one of his older 1960 lectures, The Concept of Beauty, which I proudly hung back on the walls of my clinic in Dublin.”

“Pierre was a brilliant doctor and a true gentleman,” echoed Dr Steven Victor. “He was my mentor for liposuction. I still have my 6mm cannulae he gave me as a graduation present. We operated together in Paris and New York and every time I was with him I learned many pearls and new techniques. He should be honoured and his teaching lives on in many, many doctors! May he rest in peace.”

The plastic surgeon Marc Abecassis also posted condolences and thanks, with the quotes below translated from their original French. He said: “Thank you teacher. I learned to see straight and far because from the start I stood on the shoulders of a giant: Pierre Fournier. A world-renowned Parisian plastic and aesthetic surgeon, Dr Fournier has been the mentor of entire generations of doctors. Many of us remember his lessons at his office, on Boulevard de Strasbourg, where he taught with passion and always with a unique sense of humour, his principles, his methods and his tricks. He was a world precursor of Liposuction and inventor of syringe liposuction which is at the origin of all its modern applications.”

Abecassis added, “I remember that when my father died, he was one of the first people to whom I announced this and he said to me: ‘someone is really dead when you no longer remember him’. So, dear colleagues, dear friends, we who have worked with him, think of Dr Fournier for a moment… and every time we put our gloves on to perform a lipo…”

The Aesthetic Medicine team would also like to extend their condolences to the family and friends of Dr Pierre Fournier.

Save Face reports triple the number of complaints about thread lifts in 2022

The number of complaints about thread lifts tripled between 2021 and 2022, according to new data shared by national accredited register and campaginer for improved safety standards, Save Face. Thread lifts are an increasingly popular procedure that involves inserting biodegradable suture threads precisely within the skin using a needle or cannula. The sutures stimulate the skin’s natural healing response, which increases collagen production, providing more skin lift, as well as diminishing fine lines and wrinkles.

However, in 2022, Save Face saw a 30% increase in thread lift complaints from the previous year, with a total of 118 complaints. In particular, there are growing concerns about complaints linked to inadequately trained practitioners. Specifically, those attempting to imitate results, while also “undercutting costs, overlooking stringent safety protocols and covertly captivating patients into a false sense of security that can lead to serious complications.”

Thread lifts are widely considered to bridge the gap between noninvasive treatments and cosmetic surgery, so, a comprehensive knowledge of facial anatomy, contraindications and possible complications is fundamental.

By law in England, healthcare professionals must be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide thread lifts as they are considered surgical interventions. However, this does not apply to nonmedics who, in some instances, perform thread lifts without regulation. This has also been enabled by the rise of inadequate training courses that often claim practitioners will be able to start practising after just one day of training, or merely an online tutorial.

Interest in ‘tummy tucks’ is on the rise

Abdominoplasty surgery or “tummy tucks” have been gaining interest on social media, with the procedure being viewed 2.3 billion times on TikTok.

The increased interest in the procedure has also renewed discussions about the important safety protocols for abdominoplasties, especially around ensuring patients are suitably informed about possible scarring and other complications.

“From my perspective, a medical, as well as mental health and wellbeing assessment, plays a key part when I see prospective new patients to ensure they are suitable for surgery,” said plastic surgeon Miss Sujata Tadiparthi. “Patients also need to be at their ideal weight and remain stable at that weight for a few months before proceeding with surgery. Otherwise, if they lose more weight following the operation, they will have excess skin and fat. In addition, I would advise against ‘tummy tuck’ surgery for anyone who may have excess abdominal tissue but is thinking about having more children or planning to start a family in the future.”

Evolus, Inc. launches Nuceiva ®in Germany and Austria

The performance beauty company Evolus, Inc. has commenced the commercial launch of Nuceiva® (botulinum toxin type A) in Germany and Austria. It is now available for direct order and delivery to customers in the two countries.

Evolus is partnering with Novvia, a leading supplier of specialist products to aesthetics practitioners, to commercialise the product there.

Nuceiva® is currently commercially available in Canada and Great Britain, which is the largest aesthetic market in Europe, according to DRG’s Aesthetic Injectables Market Insights. The product is also approved for sale in the US under the brand name Jeuveau®. The launch into Germany and Austria signals a significant step in Evolus, Inc.’s aims for geographic expansion. The company expects to enter additional European countries and Australia in 2023.

ALMA Lasers is moving to a direct distribution model

For 20 years, ABC Lasers has been the trusted sole distributor forALMA Lasers in the UK and Ireland. However, it’s now been announced that ALMA Lasers will be moving towards a direct distribution model for its range of energy-based medical and aesthetic laser machines.

The news that ABC lasers will no longer be part of the ALMA group is likely to shock many in the industry, considering the company has been ALMA Lasers’ main UK and Ireland distributor for two decades. The company was founded in 1999 and has a headquarters in Reading, Berkshire.

ALMA was established in the same year and has global positioning across 90 countries. Its world-leading portfolio includes devices such as UniPolar, SHR, ClearLift, FemiLift and Soprano hair removal, radiofrequency, and ultrasound technology.

The change to ALMA’s distribution model means the company will liaise directly with both new and existing clinics going forward.

New clinical study reveals benefit of AlumierMD’s topical skincare for discolouration

A new clinical study has positively assessed the efficacy of AlumierMD’s medical-grade skincare for treating discolouration.

The research examined the collective effect of the four products within AlumierMD’s Prep and Enhance: Discolouration collection, looking at the range’s effectiveness in both stabilising and improving redness and discolouration before an in-clinic treatment.

It was designed to show how the products could help prepare skin for, and enhance the safety and clinical outcomes of, in-clinic treatments by improving skin quality and resilience in patients of Fitzpatrick types I-VI.

The small study was conducted with 24 patients of Fitzpatrick Types I-VI, including four men and 19 women, aged from their20s to 60s, over four weeks. It was a multi-country and multi-site study, which included both subjective patient satisfaction data capture and analysis of surface and subsurface skin conditions using IntelliFlash®, cross-polarized and UV lighting.

Menopause in Aesthetics launches survey to discover the experiences of those supporting women through menopause

A head of its newly announced consumer event, Pause, the team behind Menopause in Aesthetics (MiA) has created a new survey. It is specifically aimed at finding out the experiences of the partners, children and loved ones of women going through menopause.

The ethos behind the new research is two-fold. Firstly, MiA wants to better support women on their journey through ‘the change’ by educating those living or spending the most time with them. Secondly, the findings will help identify how support can be provided for families, who may be finding their mum or partner’s changing moods or symptoms challenging.

The responses from the survey will help inform the educational content at MiA’s Pause event, which will take place later this year at a date and venue to be confirmed.

Neauvia becomes first medical aesthetics business to attain new MDR certification

Neauvia, the global medical aesthetics business, has attained CE marking under the European Union’s new Medical Device Regulation (MDR) for its range of facial dermal filler products.

In the process, Neauvia has become the first medical aesthetics business to be granted the certification in Europe.

CE marking certifies that a product has met EU health, safety and environmental requirements. The new regulation aims to create a ‘robust, transparent, and sustainable regulatory framework, recognised internationally, that improves clinical safety and creates fair market access for manufacturers’. It is considered to be a more thorough and stringent regulatory process in comparison to its predecessor, the Medical Device Directive (MDD).

News in Brief

Circa Skin UK Ltd. partners with Platform20 Medical Services Ltd.
The aesthetic distribution company Circa Skin UK Ltd. has partnered with Platform20 Medical Services Ltd. for the supply and management of their aesthetic medicine products for Irish customers. Platform20 will be responsible for supplying and managing existing Irish customers of KYSENSE and WOW facial and will work on the development of the brands in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The company will launch WOW facial’s award-winning Synergy 6 SPF 50 to the Irish market too.

AlumierMD relaunches entrepreneurial course for skincare practitioners
Medical-grade skincare brand AlumierMD has relaunched its entrepreneurial business course, ‘The Growth Factor’. Now with additional support and new modules, the programme is designed to help support skincare practitioners grow their businesses. It does so by connecting them with their ideal patients, while guiding them to maximise themselves and the success of their businesses. AlumierMD will continue to partner with the business development company Aesthetic Entrepreneurs to bring the seven-part course to customers. Courses will be taking place in London, Manchester, and Dublin.

SMARTDiode lasers evaluated by the physicist Mike Murphy
The SMART Group has partnered with the renowned physicist Mike Murphy to review its range of SMARTDiode lasers. Murphy is a laser protection advisor, and a trusted educator on all things laser and Intense Pulsed Light (IPL). Both The SMART Group and Murphy are members of the British Medical Laser Association (BMLA). During his visit to The group’s headquarters in Bracknell, Berkshire, Murphy shared his vast knowledge and theory in all aspects of laser technology with the company’s education, operations, and maintenance teams and was left suitably impressed, according to a press release.

PRIORI® skincare appoints AestheticSource as distributor for the UK and Ireland
The professional skincare brand PRIORI® has announced AestheticSource as its official distribution brand representative for the UK and Ireland. Practitioners can now access the brand, which includes the industry’s first alpha hydroxy acid line, through AestheticSource, helping provide clients with results-driven, clinically-proven skincare at home. PRIORI® will join other global skincare brands on AestheticSource’s books, including Revision Skincare®, Skinbetter science® and NeoStrata®. 


The Medika Clinic launches Emerald Laser
The Medika Clinic, Manchester, has added the Emerald Laser to its range of treatments. Erchonia’s® Emerald laser is an FDA market-cleared full body fat loss treatment that can treat those with a BMI of up to 40. Founder Dr Kamran said, “With inner health being at the forefront of our brand ethos, The Emerald Laser has been a fantastic addition to the range of health treatments that we can offer our clientele. What drew me to choose Emerald Laser over other body sculpting and fat-reduction devices on the market is that it shrinks the fat cells, rather than killing them, before being safely removed by the body’s lymphatic system.”

Dr Patrick Treacy’s book featured in ‘unputdownable’ list
Dr Patrick Treacy’s second memoir, The Needle and the Damage Done, chronicles his life, working as a doctor around the world, and the behind-the-scenes of his research on the influence of botulinum toxin on the brain. De Mode magazine is a global online magazine that covers a range of topics from news to literature, to fashion. The memoir features at number three on its ‘unputdownable books for 2023’ article.

Dr Sophie Shotter creates the first ever CPD-accredited complications course for NHS staff
On February 25, 2023, Dr Sophie Shotter and her faculty of peers ran a CPD-accredited training day in London for NHS staff to help them learn how to deal with aesthetic complications and refer severe cases, at no cost. Dr Shotter found that hospitals are not dealing with these cases in the most effective way, due to a lack of training around aesthetic complications, and therefore decided to create training to help provide better treatment for those distressed, in pain and disfigured by aesthetic treatments.

New ruling issued about hair loss medication advertising
The ASA has issued its ruling on a case involving the men’s health website, numan.com. Four issues seen on the website in April 2022 were investigated by the Council, all of which were upheld. Considering that the tests can produce false positives, a GP complainant challenged whether a claim on the website, “FREE if we don’t find anything”, was misleading, implying that, if a biomarker was outside of the normal reference range, there was something medically wrong.