Specialist in Aesthetic Medicine and Hair Surgery, professor of the Master of Aesthetic Medicine and Anti-Aging at the Complutense University of Madrid and secretary of the Board of Directors of the Association of Aesthetic Medicine of Madrid, A TU SALUD talks with Mª Victoria Zamorano:

Have you noticed, after the pandemic, that aesthetic consultations have skyrocketed?

There has been an increase in people's interest in taking care of their health and aesthetic appearance. Consultations had already been growing in recent years, but immediately after the pandemic treatments skyrocketed by almost a million in 2021: 72% were facial treatments, and authorized centers increased by 20%. But not only the users; At a professional level, many doctors from different specialties are interested in training in Aesthetic Medicine (especially ophthalmologists, maxillofacial surgeons, gynecologists and family doctors).. Particularly, I have also noticed that they want more and more immediate results, with fewer adverse effects and more effective, also decreasing the age of initiation of treatment.

And have you noticed the influence of the use of filters and social networks on the tastes of patients?

Age is decisive when requesting treatments, and there are many generational differences. The “baby boomer” and “generation X” seek anti-aging treatments, fight against flaccidity, loss of volume and skin alterations, wrinkles and blemishes. They ask for natural-looking treatments that fight the signs of aging, they are more realistic about filters, but they can be confused by social media ads that sometimes offer unrealistic results.. The youngest, “millennials” and “centennials”, are more influenced by filters and comparison with personalities from social networks. Young people work with functional units, that is, they request treatment of the mouth, lips, nose, cheekbones, changes in the position of the eyebrows or in one of these facial units.. This type of treatment is more punctual, with faster results and generally effective: your expectations can be met, a bigger lip is easier to achieve than fighting flaccidity. Another issue is where is the limit of a large lip, the abuse of successive treatments to maintain the appearance or how much should be invested to resemble that filter.

What are the most requested treatments?

Not only in Spain, in the world, the most demanded is the elimination of expression wrinkles with botulinum toxin. In my case, patients between the ages of 40 and 50 request treatments to prevent or fight flaccidity, improvement of expression wrinkles, and I have noticed an increase in interest in this age group for lip volumization with hyaluronic acid (HA).. In younger people, volumization with HA of the lips and cheekbones and the correction of dark circles are the most requested. I do hair transplantation and trichology, so I also have many patients interested in hair health and preventive treatments for hair loss or hair transplantation.

Performing elective surgery in a country where you do not reside involves a lot of risk

Is there a lot of myth around botox and hyaluronic acid?

Patients associate HA with fillers, but in addition to volumizing it can fulfill other functions depending on its characteristics: it can work as a powerful moisturizer and it is also a redensifier and restructuring of the skin.. Sometimes, they show fear because they think their faces will look plump, you have to explain to them that there is a wide range of different molecular sizes that allow you to make from small volumizations to big changes.. The result depends on the type of HA, the technique of the injecting physician, and the volume injected.. Regarding botulinum toxin, perhaps the most widespread belief is that it paralyzes the face. May be used in paralyzing or relaxing doses that allow some movement. It is a treatment with very good results if it is applied correctly by a certified doctor, after an adequate evaluation of facial dynamics and after agreeing with the patient how he wants to see himself.

Now the tensile threads are in vogue. What do they consist of and in which areas do they have the best results?

What we seek with them is the repositioning of the tissues. If the thread has spicules or cones, we can apply mechanical traction that repositions the tissue, achieving an immediate tensing effect.. They also have a biological effect that stimulates the formation of collagen, giving the skin a thicker appearance.. They can be used in both facial and body areas, and to obtain a good result, the thickness of the skin to be treated, the mobility of the area and the weight of the tissue that we want to reposition must be evaluated.. Patients are usually satisfied with the results, but we must warn them that mechanical traction is applied in the medium term, that in the long term there will be a new production of collagen but the treatment must be repeated to maintain the results over time.

What would you say to a person who is considering going to Turkey for a transplant?

Performing elective surgery in a country where you do not reside implies a lot of risk from various points of view, we do not know the health center or its staff, we have not been personally evaluated preoperatively and there is no possibility of monitoring the surgery, nor to solve complications if they arise.