8 mins
NO-TOX: FACING FEARS
A new survey uncovers what is discouraging potential patients from non-surgical aesthetics
A new survey has revealed the reasons people are put off undergoing non-surgical aesthetics treatments such as dermal fillers, thread lifts and wrinkle-relaxing injections. It also highlights considerable regional, age and gender divides in aspects such as fears about looking ‘fake’, horror stories in the press and what friends, family and partners might think.
The research was conducted by independent survey company OnePoll on behalf of SafeAP, a marketplace app that helps people find qualified practitioners, founded by two female NHS doctors. It surveyed 500 men and women who have considered cosmetic treatments such as non-surgical liposuction, facial peels, and rejuvenating injections, but ultimately did not go ahead on exactly what put them off.
HIGHLIGHTS
Perhaps unsurprisingly in the current climate, cost is still the number one factor in changing people’s minds about undergoing cosmetic procedures, with half (50%) citing this reason – yet this is closely followed by fears of possible complications (46%), looking unnatural (e.g., over-inflated lips, frozen expressions) with 41% quoting this as the cause and ‘horror stories in the media’ at 32%.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
• 28% are scared of suffering pain during the treatment
• Nearly a quarter (22%) don’t know how to find a reputable practitioner
• One in five (21%) decided they want to ‘grow old gracefully/accept their flaws’ – yet there is a considerable age discrepancy, with older people less likely to accept their fate
• One in six (16%) fear being judged by friends and family (interestingly, the older the respondent, the less likely they were to care)
• One in seven (14%) are worried their partner wouldn’t like it
GENDER DIVIDES
There’s also a considerable gender divide in certain factors, such as the worry about complications—over half (53%) of women cite that as a concern, compared to just over a third (36%) of men. Women are also more likely to be put off by horror stories in the media, with half (49%) scared off having treatments thanks to frightening headlines. Men care considerably less, however, with just over a quarter (27%) being concerned about what they see or read in the news – though it is possible women are simply more exposed to negative stories in female focused publications.
Genders are aligned when it comes to growing old gracefully, with equal numbers (21%) saying they are resigned to what they see in the mirror and will accept their flaws (though this changes with age!). More men than women, however, are concerned about what partners will think, with around one in six (15%) men reporting that as a factor, compared to about one in eight (13%) women.
Interestingly, more than twice the number of men (21%) than women (9%) admit to having already had a negative experience with a cosmetic procedure.
REGIONAL DIVIDES
• Nearly two-thirds (63%) of people living in NI are worried about cost, compared to just 38% in the East of England
• Over half (56%) of people living in East of England are scared of complications
• Almost half of people (47%) in the West Midlands have been put off by horror stories in the press
• Pain? What pain? Just 13% of Scots are bothered about this, compared to 38% in the East of England
• Scots might not be bothered about pain, but they certainly care what their partners think, with a quarter citing that as a reason for avoiding treatments
• Almost one in three (28%) people living in Yorkshire and the Humber are not sure where to start or how to find a reputable practitioner
• Growing old gracefully is a factor for 29% in the North West, but definitely not on the radar for people living in Wales, with just 9% happy to accept their beauty destiny
• No respondents in the South West of England have had a prior negative experience, while a quarter (24%) of those in the North West have suffered at the hands of an unscrupulous practitioner
AGE GAP
Unsurprisingly, it seems that the less ageing a person has experienced, the more likely they are to be resigned to their flaws, with more than twice (43%) of 18-24 year olds happy to grow old gracefully, for now, versus just 18% of 55-64 year-olds saying the same.
Older folks were also less likely to fear judgment from friends and family – with one in five (21%) 18 to 24-year-olds worrying about this factor, versus only 8% of over 65-year-olds.
SafeAP also released the results of a companion survey, which polled 500 women only. The results were largely the same, although it further revealed that 80% of women in Northern Island are concerned that they would appear unnatural, superseding all other concerns.
Maxillofacial surgeon Sieuming Ng who, along with Dr Subha Punj, pioneered SafeAP says:
“It’s always interesting to get an overview of human behaviour in times of social change, such as during the current cost-of-living crisis and a post-pandemic world. Unsurprisingly in this climate, the cost is still the overriding factor for many people considering undergoing an aesthetic treatment, however the survey did throw up some interesting results with, for example, a few over-65-year-olds cite a fear of pain as an issue, compared to almost 60% of 18 to 24-year-olds. This may simply mean that with age comes less worry when compared to the benefits of achieving a rejuvenating look. Gender differences were also notable – perhaps men feel less of a societal stigma and therefore are less fearful about possible complications or looking ‘unnatural’.”
CASE STUDY
A 58-year-old woman from Brighton whose ex-husband’s comments about her appearance left her at rock-bottom has managed to regain her confidence through non-surgical aesthetic treatments, despite initial fears of looking ‘fake’ and having had a previous electrolysis procedure leave her with scarring.
Nina Charles, an HR business professional and owner of an event security and management business, was left in shock after her husband of 16 years suddenly upped and left. His parting shots about Charles’s ageing and appearance rocked her to the core and she was left feeling low and traumatised by both the end of her marriage and her appearance. Charles’s friend and clinical director of Phi Balance Clinic, Mark Taylor, suggested she may feel more confident after some treatments, so she had a consultation with him, and they decided upon a course of treatments.
Charles had previously had an electrolysis treatment that had left her with minor scarring and that, along with her fear of looking ‘inflated’ and like a doll left her feeling a little anxious. However, she knew some of Taylor’s previous patients and after a chat with him, she was confident he had her best interests at heart, and she trusted him as a practitioner.
Charles says: “Loving yourself is especially hard when someone says hurtful things about your appearance, and I struggled for quite a while with the impact of what had been said. When Mark initially spoke to me about aesthetic treatments, I was a little unsure -mostly because of my negative experience with electrolysis, but also because I had some pre-conceived ideas about what I might look like afterwards, and I really wanted to avoid looking unnatural and ‘dollyfied’.
“Ironically, despite my initial worries, I ended up putting my trust in Mark’s hands without any preconceived notion of the volume of fillers that would be used. It ended up being a higher volume than each of us anticipated and I look incredible. I no longer look exhausted, and I really like what I see in the mirror. I look healthier, and younger and feel energised, my confidence has bloomed-I feel like I’ve got back the 16 years that were stolen from me, and I am finally myself. I can’t stress enough the value of undergoing these procedures with someone trusted; I wouldn’t have had any treatments had I not trusted Mark implicitly. I can see the value in having a portal for registered practitioners, avoiding negative experiences, and helping other people to consider their journey to feeling as fabulous as I do!”
“I truly believe aesthetic medicine is not about vanity; it’s about supporting a process of resolve for a person’s psychological well-being, as well as the physical/visual aspects of what the person sees looking back in the mirror,” says Taylor who is a member of SafeAP. “It’s been an absolute pleasure to witness Nina’s ongoing personal growth and to be a part of her journey. There is always a need to proceed with caution when a patient is at a turbulent milestone in their life, however initial treatment was more my encouragement on this occasion, Nina having never had or considered any treatment herself.
Nina agreed to be a model for a skin bioremodelling treatment which is administered over four sessions, each two weeks apart. I’d spoken to her about how amazing dermal fillers can be, and she embarked on a 10ml facial rejuvenation to restore lost structure and volume and the benefits were profoundly impacting, both in turning back the years but also kick-starting her personal journey of growth and rediscovery. Both Nina and I agree what underpins confidence in this process is undergoing treatments with someone trusted, and I can’t stress enough how crucial it is for others to consider the same when embarking on their own journey. An app such as SafeAP should be an essential part of finding a practitioner.”
SafeAP co-founder, Dr Sieuming Ng, concludes:“It’s profoundly important that people seeking to undergo any type of aesthetic treatment are confident that they can do so safely and with a trusted practitioner. Nina was in the fortunate position of knowing Taylor and some of his clients, but other people are not always so lucky. With nearly a quarter of people saying they don’t know where to start when looking for a provider, we innovated SafeAP to bridge that gap and will continue to work tirelessly to support safe treatments for all.”