Welcome to The Aesthetics Edit™ - our educational platform at the intersection of art, beauty, medicine and science.
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What is Happening with the EU’s New “Ban” on Retinol?
You might have seen it all over the media recently - the EU is apparently banning retinol?! What is going on?
Well don't panic - retinol isn't disappearing completely! Instead, there are new rules that are going to regulate its percentages in cosmetic, over-the-counter products - and this does not apply to the use of these vitamin A derivatives (prescription retinoids) by healthcare professionals.
So let’s explore what’s happening.
Long, Long Lashes: Do Eyelash Serums Really Work?
Raise your hands if you were born cursed with short, stubby lashes?
That is definitely me.
I also approached eyelash serums with a healthy dose of skepticism - and to be honest, that skepticism is well-deserved in most cases.
However, there are genuinely eyelash growth serums that do work. They are prescription medications containing prostaglandins, and should only be available to you after a medical consultation with a prescribing doctor. But there is some controversy about the safety of such serums in the long-term.
So let’s delve into the science behind them.
What to Expect at Your Injectables Appointment
There are a few very basic things you should expect from your injectables appointment.
This is why I am often surprised and even baffled when I hear that patients who have seen other practitioners have not been consented properly, have not been offered reviews, or have had their faces dissected and told they “need” XYZ treatment at quite a cost.
Don’t get me wrong. A clinician needs to be honest about what is achievable within your budget for a result that you have said you have wanted to achieve. That’s different from unsolicited critiques of any small asymmetry.
To that end, there is the Aesthetics Guide to the basics of what you should expect from your medical aesthetics injectable appointment.
Protect Your Tatas: Why You Should NOT Be Getting Filler Injections in Your Breasts
While the idea of a liquid or “lunchtime” boob-job may sound appealing on the surface, getting filler in your breasts is not recommended by most ethical clinicians.
Why?
Well, not only is it a procedure that was rapidly withdrawn from the market over a decade ago, it was never supported with much safety data, there were various complications and risks that went with it, and it makes breast cancer screening almost impossible!
An Easy Guide to Aftercare Dos and Don’ts of Injectable Treatments (And How Worried You Should Be!)
I’m always fascinated when I speak to patients from different clinicians. We seem give different aftercare advice, to be worried about different things, and it always seems to be so inconsistent!
There are some things we warn about, but that are actually quite low risk. There are other things we warn about, that should very much be paid attention to!
So here is your handy aftercare guide to the dos and don’ts after injectables.
The Top Five Rules for Filler Safety
Thinking of getting fillers? Not so fast! While this is a wonderful treatment in medical hands, there are many ways it could go wrong. Here, Dr Emmaline shares her Top Five Tips for Filler Safety.
Which Cosmetic Treatments and Skincare Ingredients are Safe in Pregnancy?
Pregnancy is such an exciting and beautiful time in a woman’s life, but it can also be confusing and scary to navigate all of the sudden rule changes about what you can and cannot do. We want to look after ourselves and the baby as well as possible - and for many women a huge part of self-care can often involve medical aesthetic treatments and our beloved skincare routines.
But things do change during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and there are some cosmetic treatments that are better to avoid. Want to understand why you can have one treatment and not another? Read to 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.