Why People Love to Hate Aesthetic Medicine
Yikes! I hate that I am writing this but it is a thing - and I think it needs to be addressed and put out there.
I’m quite new to Twitter, so I got a little feisty on an unrelated topic (I now realise there is no point in engaging with trolls), and was quite baffled to have the “You’re apparently an aesthetics doctor/not real medicine” thing thrown in my face. I indignantly pointed out that: A. Being medically qualified is being medically qualified, end of - and B. I also do emergency frontline medicine for the NHS (as do a lot of my colleagues in this field), so is that “doctor” enough for you?
And you know what? Therein lies my mistake.
I don’t need to justify what I do to anyone or add the caveat that I work for the NHS.
And here’s why.
I come from a surgical background, and as much as I love it - it’s not always the most healthy environment. I have seen so many stunning female surgeons be chased out of the field - it’s sad, heartbreaking, shouldn’t happen - But also, it’s the reality.
Here’s the beautiful thing about aesthetic medicine. It is the most female-centric, inclusive specialty I’ve ever come across. This doesn’t just apply to the medics.
I have seen so many badass female entrepreneurs flourish in this field.
Want the low-down on aesthetic medicine?
It is kind, it is inclusive, and it is non-judgmental.
We don’t judge our patients.
We don’t judge each other.
We just support, mentor, nourish, and work so so hard to do our best.
The judgment aspect of it is an major issue - there was a recent BBC show that highlighted some incredible doctors, but ultimately put a very negative and unsophisticated spin on things. I’ve experienced this as I’ve branched into the specialty - it’s easy to take an unuanced and judgmental attitude, and happily belittle our specialty as “fake.”
There is something in being able to judge others that makes people feel superior. I don’t like it, but I get that it’s a very human response and probably something we've all been susceptible to.
There’s such a negative connotation attached to some of our treatments. It’s improving as more and more as people become more open about getting work done (which is wonderful!), but I actually find the negativity so distasteful!
Everyone takes pride in their appearance if they’re able to - we cut our hair, choose our clothes, wear make-up, and present ourselves a certain way. So can we nip the stigma in the bud?
We all have individual experiences and stories in our lives, and if I can do something to make a patient feel more confident - it’s a privilege and a pleasure.
Bottom Line (and a bit of repetition)
I cannot tell you how refreshing and wonderful it is to work in a field of medicine that is beautiful, supportive, non-judgmental, and above all KIND.
You want a stunning “tweakment?” Amazing - I’m your girl! You want to shout it to the rooftops or keep it a little secret? I don’t mind - I don’t judge.
All I can say is thank you for trusting me with your face, your health, and your confidence. XX
There's a whole corner of the internet teaching teenage boys and young men to chase a chiselled jaw — some of it harmless, some of it genuinely dangerous, and quite a lot of it built on the advice of two dentists who've since been struck off.
Here's what actually works, what's nonsense, and the thing underneath it all that I think we need to talk about.
Most of my work — and most of this blog — has, historically, spoken to women. But there's a trend I can't really ignore any longer, because it's aimed squarely at boys, some of them very young, and because bits of it are landing people in trouble. It's called looksmaxxing, and if you have a teenage son, or you are a young man, or you've simply fallen down a certain kind of TikTok rabbit hole, you'll already know the vocabulary: mewing, mouth-taping, bonesmashing, "canthal tilt," "hunter eyes."
The easy move is to mock this latest trend, but mockery is exactly the wrong response. Let me explain what it all is, sort the sensible from the silly from the genuinely harmful — and then talk about the part that actually matters.