Bad Blood

Botched toxin, backstreet blephs and lunchtime lipo. The surge of cosmetic cowboys has plunged our esteemed industry into a Wild West of selfproclaimed practitioners flogging fake fillers and false expectations. As we stand at this precarious juncture awaiting long overdue regulatory enforcements, how can we safeguard our clients, our businesses and our industry’s reputation from falling into disrepute?

Let’s explore strategies to bolster the foundational ethics and integrity that underpins all medical specialties, and identify how aesthetic practitioners can seek to navigate this changing industry landscape, while ensuring safety, success and scalability.

REGENERATIVE REBRAND

Leaning into the shift from cosmetic and beauty-led treatments to regenerative and longevity-focused interventions is a trajectory that will set clinicians apart from non-medical practitioners. A complex landscape of direct-to-consumer longevity products such as glucose monitoring, fertility testing, and genetic screening has fast-tracked the demand for health-span and lifestyle optimisation. However, this democratisation and increased accessibility brings with it an overwhelming information overload for the layperson, making long-term commitments to lifestyle changes difficult to sustain. Focused medical support from clinicians with knowledge of holistic anti-ageing and longevity will significantly help these consumers. Integrating science-backed services such as nutrigenomics, regenerative anti-ageing treatments, comprehensive longevity screening and genetic testing positions businesses and clinicians at the frontier of longevity medicine. Long term health and holistic wellbeing programmes attract a more discerning clientele and underpin a commitment to patient health outcomes.

PEER-POWER

Professional organisations such as JCCP, BACN and CMACE serve as pillars of professional integrity, providing support, resources and aligned credibility to their members. Respecting regulatory frameworks for self-governance and continued professional development amid industry experts and peers solidifies your commitment to maintaining excellence and bolsters your professional reputation within the field. Active participation in national and global industry events, seminars and conferences demonstrates a commitment to professionalism. Future and existing patients recognise their practitioner’s involvement in medical and scientific industry engagements, serving to uphold clinical and professional reputation.

SCANDAL V SCIENCE

Social media has been a double-edged sword for the cosmetic industry. Instagram and TikTok have turned the aesthetic industry landscape into a viral phenomenon. While access to education and knowledge has capacity to empower, it also enables fake news, false claims and misrepresentation. Despite medicolegal advertising standards and attempts to regulate platforms, self-proclaimed experts pedal unlicensed products and unregulated procedures. Though social media threatens to perpetuate the downfall and de-medicalisation of the industry, it is possible to strategically leverage social platforms and position yourself and your business as an ethical voice to cut through the noise. Avoid the temptation to jump on viral trends and perpetuate gossip culture, such as the critiquing of famous faces, or ‘guess the treatment’, as this detracts from the credibility of the medical professional’s voice. Clinicians and businesses can utilise social platforms as a place for education, expert insights, and the promotion of safe practices. Disseminating new research, innovation, and advancements in the field with accessible, digestible, and evidence-based hooks will harbour trust, authenticity and integrity for medics in a metaverse of imposters.

ADAPTATION AND SURVIVAL

To prosper and truly differentiate from the democratised outlook of the demedicalised cosmetic field, medical practitioners and their businesses must remain steadfast not only in their commitment to ethics and patient safety, but also to growth and adaptation. By leveraging unrivalled medical foundations, unrelenting innovation, and the powerful networks of esteemed organisations who maintain and champion regulation of the industry, we will carve a new era of aesthetic medicine for both industry leaders and the new generation of changemakers.

ELEANOR HARTLEY

Eleanor Hartley is an aesthetic nurse practitioner and NMC registered midwife with a core focus on women’s health and wellness. On completing postgraduate studies in aesthetic medicine, clinical dermatology and a current MSc in advanced clinical practice, she demonstrates her keen interest in the psychosocial context of health and a commitment to advancing clinical expertise. Hartley launched aesthetics and integrative wellness clinic Hart Medical in Mayfair, taking a holistic approach to balance and optimisation of face, body and internal wellbeing.