Smile for the camera

Editor Anna Dobbie visited Dr Nina Bal at her Belgravia clinic to find out how the advanced facial aesthetics practitioner and star of E4’s Body Fixers has carved out a niche with video content

Dr Nina Bal exudes reassuring confidence. A facial aesthetics practitioner and cosmetic dental surgeon, she graduated in 2008 at the top of her year with distinction (BDS magna cum laude) and gained a highly respected diploma after completing a one-year postgraduate course in Cosmetic Dentistry and Aesthetic Restorative Dentistry in London. She is a board member of SaveFace (the national register of accredited practitioners who provide non-surgical cosmetic treatments) and the International Academy of Advanced Facial Aesthetics (IAFFA), and a member of the General Dental Council.

Her work has been featured many times, in Tatler, Forbes, Evening Standard, and other publications. She has numerous awards to her name, including Highly Commended Aesthetics Doctor of the Year 2022 at the Safety in Beauty Awards, Best Aesthetics Facial Sculpting Specialist at the Private Healthcare Awards 2021, and Most Outstanding Facial Sculpting Treatments at the 2020 Global Excellence Awards.

You might recognise her, as she is the official cosmetic dentist in the second series of the TV show Body Fixers on E4. She has also appeared on ITV’s This Morning Show with Holly and Phil and BBC News, and views being acknowledged as an expert on these and other shows as a career highlight.

However, even when she’s off-set, the cameras don’t stop following her, as I found out when I visited her Tempus Belgravia clinic for the first of my treatments to restructure my lower face, following a consultation. As I bustled in from the office, I was met by three professional videographers and a full camera setup.

Dr Bal has a popular YouTube channel for which her team pre-films several treatments over a few days. The video production team then go away and work their magic, providing her with polished social media content which she publishes periodically over the next few months.

“When I first launched the channel, I realised there weren’t many doctors active on the platform,” says Dr Bal. “With over 120 million people visiting YouTube every day, it’s a great visual way to show the audience treatments, and how they are performed. It’s been hugely valuable, and I will continue to focus on this channel.”

However, while she admires the exposure and reach of the platform, as well as the education and marketing opportunities, she also sees downsides: “YouTube is time-consuming and having a presence exposes you to negative comments, online bullying and trolling.” A cursory glance into the comments section backs this up – but, as Taylor Swift says, ‘haters gonna hate’, and as an online celebrity, it comes with the territory.

STAR STORY

Dr Bal loves her work, and it shows: “It allows me to be a part of a patient journey, building their self-confidence and self-esteem.” She feels that how a patient looks on the outside should reflect how they feel on the inside and strives to enhance innate beauty with her “less is more” philosophy.

“I love making subtle aesthetic tweaks that lead to excellent, yet natural, results,” she adds, explaining how she always aims to adhere to the Golden Ratio of Beauty – the mathematical symmetry algorithm that underlies our perception of attractiveness. “Witnessing a patient’s transformation is extremely fulfilling.”

Dr Bal’s services include facial aesthetic treatments, non-surgical cosmetic procedures, and non-surgical facial rejuvenation treatments. Despite her love of the sector, she feels that more regulation is necessary for the industry to improve: “Non-surgical facial aesthetic procedures are medical, not beauty, treatments, which carry huge potential risks if not performed by an experienced professional,” she adds. “I find it difficult to support that technicians with little medical background or qualifications can inject after a one-day course.”

Looking to the future, she aims to grow her clinic and expand her treatment offering, with a focus on holistic aesthetic well-being. “I have some exciting partnerships coming up,” she adds. “Watch this space!”

VIDEO TIPS

For those interested in replicating Dr Bal’s YouTube success, she recommends working with a dedicated video production team.

“Creating high-quality content is key to running a successful practice”, says a member of Dr Bal’s marketing team. “It not only helps showcase your work, but it helps set the standard for your patients.”

“When patients see a doctor who is fully engaged in their content and is consistently producing high-quality videos, it’s more likely to draw in a crowd. A doctor posting less engaging content for their followers and is out of date will drive less traffic to their social media platforms.”

The marketing team approach content with the aim of bringing more patients into the door of the clinic. “Letting your patient get to know you online and feel comfortable before they step through the door says it all. Not only has content brought more attention to Dr Bal’s page, but it has also helped her name grow on multiple platforms allowing collaborations, TV appearances, and increasing her social traffic. Increasing your social media traffic is like a domino effect, increasing revenue for your company.”

But what should a medic consider when planning video content? “Create for a purpose, do your keyword research to find out what is trending in your field,” she says, “hire a professional and create high-quality content.”

Dr Bal’s top takeaways for any medics hoping to make it on YouTube are “Be consistent, be patient, focus on what you love doing and, most importantly, be yourself”.