5 minutes with… Dr Lara Watson & Dr Priya Chadha
What are the key trends you are seeing in aesthetics medicine?
We’re generally seeing a much more holistic approach being adopted in facial aesthetics. Practitioners are treating from a skin-deep level all the way up to full facial contouring and rejuvenation. Generally, gone are the days of isolated treatments- people have been studying trends and faces on social media (especially during lockdown) and now know the ‘shape’ they want to achieve.
Approaches are certainly individualised and bespoke to the underlying architecture. The shift is towards preserving and enhancing facial characteristics, rather than reshaping into a generic ‘ideal’.
Lastly, we know that injectable treatments are surging in popularity for areas like the neck, hands and noses, which is partly due to the ‘zoom face’ era. This is likely to continue as more and more people work from home.
What are the most innovative products you are seeing in the market?
There has always been huge versatility and innovation in the Restylane fillers portfolio which continues to bring out new treatments for tailored ageing concerns – but some additional exciting developments have been coming in as part of the holistic skin health journey, including laser treatments for complicated conditions like melasma. And of course, the launch of the new liquid toxin by Galderma is something we are all eagerly awaiting!!
What excites you most about the future of aesthetics medicine and what it offers?
Aesthetic medicine is growing at an extraordinary pace and it shows no signs of slowing down post Covid. In fact, with the era of the ‘zoom face’ and people spending more time looking at their skin and reflection, the growth has been phenomenal. The excitement is around the holistic approach- patients are now more open to full treatment plans that require long term time investment. Having the ‘buy in’ from patients for this means more impressive results can be achieved. We, as clinicians, can do so much more for skin and facial aesthetics when patients give us their long-term commitment- rather than hoping for a ‘quick fix’.
What are you speaking about at CCR?
We are speaking as Key Opinion Leaders for Galderma about 25 years of Restylane – so we will be looking at the historic milestone achieved by the brand over the years, as well as giving an overview of the industry-leading product technologies. We are also providing our own perspectives on how the brand supports practitioners and clinics in driving best-practice education and patient care, so we’re delighted to be hosting this session.
What are you most looking forward to at CCR?
Aside from our session, we’re really looking forward to reconnecting with the wider industry and networking with new and existing colleagues after such a long break over the last 18 months! This is the first face-to-face industry event for some time, so it will be great to get some quality catch-up time with both the brands and our practitioner peers as well as seeing what people have been up to as the community was certainly working hard!
What advice would you give anyone who wants to start a career in aesthetic medicine?
Our advice would be to invest in the best quality, independent training from trusted, experienced practitioners – which focuses on both the scientific understanding and technical skill of delegates. This is at the heart of our mission at Acquisition Aesthetics – the training academy we founded together, which won the Aesthetics Award this year for the Best Independent Training Provider.
Another critical element is to work with reputable aesthetic brands which have stood the test of time, like Restylane, who can support you as you grow and build your practice.
