Welcome to The Aesthetics Edit™ - our educational platform at the intersection of art, beauty, medicine and science.
Explore by category and read our latest articles below,
or see a full list of all of our pieces here
What is Culinary Medicine?
I have a deep love of culinary medicine. Like aesthetics, this is a field of medicine that is a lovely blend of creativity and science to promote overall well-being. But it can be hard to adequately describe or explain, so let’s explore the topic more fully here.
What is Culinary Medicine?
Culinary medicine is a field that combines the art of cooking with the science of medicine to promote health and prevent disease. It involves using food and nutrients as part of a holistic approach to healthcare, and emphasizes the role that diet and lifestyle play in maintaining good health. You are essentially combining the principles of nutrition and culinary arts with a dash of science. This can involve using fresh, whole foods and herbs to create flavorful, nutrient-rich meals that are tailored to an individual's specific needs
Menopause and Your Skin
Menopause represents a huge change in a woman’s life. We know that there are a variety of different signs and symptoms that you can experience, but how does menopause affect your skin?
Let’s dive in.
Face Yoga: Complete and Utter Nonsense?
love yoga as much as the next person. Yoga was a huge part of my life and what kept me feeling healthy and well as a medical student, and I have tried to keep it as part of my daily routine (with varying success) when I became a doctor.
However, there is one “yoga” trend that I cannot get behind. And that is face yoga. Let’s be clear, there are no rigorous, scientific studies to verify the claims that these sorts of face workouts are effective at eliminating wrinkles.
But let’s dive a little deeper into this practice.
Minerals & Skin: An Essential Guide
“Mineral” is a word that is often used when discussing various substances in our diets, but actually getting to the bottom of what we are talking about can be quite confusing!
As more and more research emphasises that a well-balanced diet has a great effect on skin health and skin ageing, more interest is turning to the role that diet plays in skin.
In this article we will summarise the roles of minerals for our skin health, and explain where you can find these minerals in your food!
Vitamins & Skin: An Essential Guide
“Vitamin” is such a buzzword in skincare and health in general. People love declaring that something contains vitamins and is great for you, but sometimes that loses its meaning when it is repeated again and again without an explanation of how they work.
The truth is that vitamins are an essential part of your skin health, but not all vitamin formulations are created equal. This is why it’s important to know exactly how each vitamin works its magic, as well as which products are worth investing in.
The Problem with the “Wellness” Industry
Aesthetic medicine and concepts of wellness tend to go hand-in-hand, and that is something that I personally love. But more and more, it’s also something that I have seen as inherently dangerous as well - something that can breed pseudoscience, and where selling and marketing are prioritised over patient health.
This rhetoric that some of these companies have somehow discovered a secret that big pharma and greedy doctors don’t want you to know is is toxic and damaging. The issue is with this constant chipping away at professionals, at education, at research. Let me be clear - the messaging can be really dangerous and really unethical.
You Are What You Eat: Skin and Diet
Culinary medicine (and just cooking and eating in general) are passions of mine outside of the field of aesthetic medicine. I actually firmly believe that aesthetics and wellness go hand-in-hand - both feed into a general philosophy self-care for ourselves, which is essential to both our physical and mental health.
In a nutshell: I love food and I love celebrating, enjoying, and eating it. Our skin is also a reflection of our overall health, and there is not doubt that our diets play a massive role in our overall health. However, is there any truth to the claim that you can “eat for your skin?”
What is the Truth About Collagen Supplements?
Recently there has been a rise in so-called “nutricosmetics” or “nutraceuticals,” a trend that involves ingesting certain substances or supplements in order to improve the health or appearance of your skin or hair.
Of course your diet affects your overall health and appearance. But I will be the first person to put my hands up and say I naturally have a high, high skepticism of the whole field of dietary supplements.
But what about collagen supplements? There has been a long history, especially in countries like China, of eating collagen-rich foods, and recent research has shown some promising results. So what does the skincare science recommend? Let’s find out!
The concept of “Instagram face” is not a new one, but has received more recent attention as Meta has banned filters that encourage plastic surgery. Awareness of the role that social media and photo editing plays in aesthetic medicine is incredibly important for both clinicians and patients. The influence of social media can be incredibly negative, and it means it’s more important than ever to navigate between good, ethical medical practice versus “selling” cosmetic procedures.