London: As the nation prepares for summer, think twice before soaking up the sun or jumping on a sun bed to accelerate your tan as you could be one of the many people having to seek help from a cosmetic practitioner for their sun damaged skin. Despite the growing awareness of the dangers of sun exposure the message is still not getting through.
According to a new survey carried by Cosmetic News magazine at the launch the first Cosmetic News Expo conference and exhibition, 55% of cosmetic doctors cite sun damage as the most significant cause of ageing in the patients they see and a staggering 84% believe that sun beds should be banned. And while prevention is better than cure, 88% of women and 61% of men are having non-surgical injectable treatments to fill in lines and wrinkles, lift the face and hold back the years, but the frozen look is out with the majority of doctors predicting that the biggest trend for 2010 is a more natural look.
Survey Highlights:
· The most popular cosmetic treatment for women is botulinum toxin injections such as BotoxÒ/VistabelÒ and DysportÒ/AzzalureÒ (47%) followed by dermal fillers (31%) and Sculptra (10%). Botulinum toxin was also the most popular treatment for men (47%) followed by dermal fillers (14%) and laser hair removal (9%). Significantly 89% of doctors would not use permanent fillers because they deem them too risky and 39% did not think that mesotherapy works.
· 76% of cosmetic doctors were opposed to remote prescribing to nurses or beauty therapists stating that the practice was too risky with unexamined patients being treated.
· 71% think that newly launched IHAS Shared Regulation scheme will work.
· 29% of doctors surveyed stated that improved dermal fillers to treat the face were the biggest innovation in aesthetic medicine over the last five years and Sculptra (26%) and Juvederm Ultra (17%) were selected as the two treatments that had revolutionised cosmetic practices
· 84% believed sun beds should be banned and 55% cited sun damage as the most significant cause of ageing, followed by smoking (33%) and genetics (9%)
· The biggest trend in aesthetics for 2010 was predicted to be the natural look with treatments that stimulate natural collagen production.
· The age group having the most non-surgical cosmetic treatments was 40-50 years olds with botulinum toxin injections being the most popular procedure for mums post pregnancy followed by weight reducing treatments such as radio frequency and VASER Lipo (15%)
· 50% of doctors currently use non-surgical radio-frequency treatments for body contouring with 7% using VASER Lipo. 29% believed that VASER was the biggest innovation in medical aesthetics in the last five years.
· Laser hair removal was the most popular laser treatment for patients (50%)
· 86% of cosmetic doctors have their own private clinics but 59% are still working within the NHS.
Dr Patrick Bowler, Co Founder and Fellow of the British Association of Cosmetic Doctors says:
Non surgical treatments are the most popular and fastest growing area in aesthetics. This survey shows no real surprises but it is pleasing to note the trend for natural looks rather than the overdone, overcooked appearances of the last decade. Subtle use of botulinum toxins and the latest fillers is the way forward. However I was rather disturbed that 24% of doctors thought it OK to remote prescribe to nurses and beauticians. There seem to be a significant number of doctors treading a dangerous path in the pursuit of commercialism.
The survey was carried out in association with the British Association of Cosmetic Doctors (BACD) and Cosmetic News readers.