Posted by Medical Aesthetics Industry – Now and Then
Medical aesthetics have come an extremely long way in the last couple of decades. While the practice of achieving a person’s aesthetic goals started way back in Ancient Egypt, there were limited options with only two aspects of the spectrum, namely a simple skincare treatment with modest outcomes, and procedures that required anesthesia, hospitalization, as well as a lengthy recovery, carried out by plastic surgeons and specialists.
However, today there is a vast line of minimally invasive treatments including neurotoxins, fillers, body contouring techniques, laser technology, and more that provide dramatic outcomes with low risk as well as minimal downtime.
These treatments are no longer restricted to the operating room. They’re carried out at special aesthetic medicine clinics, doctors’ offices, and medical spas, and by various healthcare providers such as plastic surgeons, registered nurses, dermatologists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and even aestheticians.
Opportunities in the Industry
More understanding and higher access give rise to normalization. With patients more educated, there is less anxiety about treatments and more willingness to jump on the bandwagon. This has resulted in an exponential surge in consumer demand across various age groups, from Millennials to Baby Boomers. Millennials (ages 21 to 35) show a keen interest in receiving treatments, with 95% of the population saying they will consider treatment at some point in their lives.
In 2021, consumers spent more than $10 billion in total on aesthetic plastic surgery, says the Aesthetic Society’s annual Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Statistics, sourced from the billing data belonging to the Aesthetic Society plastic surgeons. In 2021, there was an 8.9% surge in aesthetic procedures compared to 2020, reveals the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS).
The most popular and in-demand surgical procedures include liposuction, breast augmentation, abdominoplasty, rhinoplasty and eyelid surgery. The leading nonsurgical procedures include hyaluronic acid, botulinum toxin, nonsurgical fat reduction, photo rejuvenation and hair removal. Several trends help foster these numbers, including the rise in video calls as well as discreet downtime, not to mention the surging social acceptance along with greater awareness with regard to medical aesthetic treatments.
That will translate into unprecedented avenues for healthcare providers keen on entering the medical aesthetics field, whether creating novel products, technologies, and procedures.
Botox
Botox is a term that has come from C. botulinum bacteria, elements that are present in various natural settings, such as forests, lakes, soil, and even the intestinal tracts of fish and mammals. Naturally available C. botulinum bacteria, as well as spores, are usually harmless. Issues arise when these spores transform while the cell population expands. At some point, the bacteria start generating Botulinum toxin, which is the toxic neurotoxin that leads to botulism.
Botulinum toxin is highly toxic and dangerous. Several scientists estimate that 1 gram of this toxin could kill over 1 million people and just a few kilograms of the toxic could kill almost every person on the planet.
Botox is a type of neurotoxin that target the body’s nervous system, restricting the nerve signaling processes that facilitate muscle contraction. This way the drug results in temporary muscle paralysis. For muscle contraction, the nerves produce a chemical messenger known as acetylcholine at the nerve-ending junction meeting muscle cells. Acetylcholine gets attached to the receptors present on the muscle cells and allows the cells to shorten or contract.
Botox injections disrupt the production of acetylcholine, stopping the muscle cells from shortening or contracting. This is how the toxin enables the muscles to turn less stiff.
Dermal Fillers
Dermal fillers, also called soft tissue fillers, injectable implants, wrinkle fillers, or facial and lip fillers are medical device implants. These have been given the approval from the US FDA for use in the creation of a fuller or smoother appearance of the face, including cheeks, nasolabial folds lips, the back of the hands, as well as chin.
Since a few dermal fillers get naturally absorbed over time, patients are required to go through the procedure again after some time for maintaining the desired effect. A successful outcome is dependent on the underlying tissue structure as well as the type and volume of the filler used.
Liposuction
Liposuction is a form of cosmetic surgery that helps remove undesirable excess fat for improved body appearance and smoothen irregular shapes. This procedure is also known as body contouring and can be useful for contouring under the neck, upper arms, chin, abdomen, cheeks, hips, breasts, buttocks, knees, thighs, ankle area,s and calves.
Liposuction is one of the most popular surgical procedures albeit with a few risks, often involving a painful recovery. It can have serious fatal complications.
Breast Implants
Breast implants can be described as artificial devices that are surgically placed in the breasts. These are silicone shells containing either silicone gel or salt water (saline). In the United States, close to 4.7 million people currently have breast implants and nearly 65% of the breast implants have silicone gel. All over the world, nearly 46 million people have breast implants.
Medical Aesthetics Market Status Quo
Manufacturers active in the worldwide market are increasingly focused on creating novel aesthetic devices with improved quality which has raised the demand for a variety of aesthetic treatments over the years. For example, the emergence of technologically innovative products, like non-invasive, advanced body contouring devices that utilize fat freezing technology, will offer attractive opportunities for market expansion in subsequent years. The Aesthetic Society (U.S.) reveals that in 2020, body fat reduction was one of the leading five non-invasive treatment procedures in the United States, with around 154,123 procedures being performed in the country.
The rising desire to look fitter and younger has bolstered the demand for aesthetic treatment in emerging countries. Aesthetic procedures like nose reshaping, Botox injections, and liposuction have gained significant consumer interest in India as well as South Korea. The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) states that India ranked among the leading five nations in the world that performs non-surgical procedures. This indicates the notable growth prospects lying ahead for the aesthetic medicine developers in the country.
Emerging Markets
Emerging nations like China, Mexico, India, and Brazil offer a series of lucrative opportunities to the renowned players active in the medical aesthetics industry. The need for medical aesthetic devices in these economies has surged exponentially, thanks to the rapid rise in medical tourism, the fast-growing elderly population, surging disposable incomes, and mounting awareness of aesthetic specialties. The expansive base of highly skilled surgeons in these countries will further contribute to the expansion of the medical aesthetics market.