Aesthetics in Lichfield – Are your treatments right for you?

What is Aesthetics?

What does Aesthetics mean to you? What is an Aesthetics Nurse? I decided to look up the dictionary definition – because while I know what it means to me, that clinically it means a practitioner who works in the area of beauty, clinical treatments and injectables to give individuals confidence, improve their skin, reduce signs of ageing and adjust their natural features to enhance beauty, I didn’t really know what the official definition was.

I’ve found some really interesting definitions!

This was the first thing I came across:

“A set of principles concerned with the nature and appreciation of beauty.”

“Aesthetic is defined as a concept of what is visually acceptable, in trend or expected at the time”

And then this:

“the philosophical study of beauty and taste. It is closely related to the philosophy of art, which is concerned with the nature of art and the concepts in terms of which individual works of art are interpreted and evaluated.”

And I really loved all of these!

It implies art rather than science, and the implication of beauty being in the eye of the beholder – it describes aesthetics as being the philosophical study of beauty and taste.  I realised very quickly after I started offering dermal fillers that the thing I loved most about it was the artistic, creative side. I never really appreciated this and assumed that it was a bit more ‘paint by numbers’!! But I have come to understand that clinical aesthetics is very personal, and the best practitioners develop their own style and techniques, and the clients who come to me come because they like my style and techniques. It suggests that styles change with trends and expectations – I am starting to see the ‘trend’ of huge lip fillers starting to diminish – fortunately! And also, younger women who have previously been influenced by celebrities to become over-filled are seemingly starting to reduce. Again this can only be a good thing – often, a general trend can become over-copied and overdone until it almost becomes a caricature of its original intention.

In clinical terms, aesthetics usually means treatments involving injectables such as dermal fillers, lip fillers, skin boosters such as Profhilo, Volite, Sunekos, and anti-wrinkle treatments such as botox (botulinum toxin treatments for relaxing wrinkles etc). It can also include the provision of treatments for skin such as chemical peels, skin tightening, radiofrequency and ultrasound treatments, Microneedling, LED treatments, facials and a plethora of other things such as laser and IPL treatments, Hydrafacial, Caci, the Vampire Facial, wow Fusion, and so many more it’s impossible to list them all!

I believe it should include problem-solving – by tackling the root causes of skin concerns, and helping people suffering from real issues such as Rosacea, Acne, sensitive and reactive skin, and even delving down into the causes of these issues such as gut health, nutrition, environmental stresses etc.

Aesthetics is a big umbrella covering a whole variety of treatments and approaches and is carried out at different levels, from Beauty Therapy all the way to doctors and consultant-run clinics offering minor surgery. 

Where do I sit? 

As an aesthetics nurse in Lichfield, I love creating beauty and natural changes to people. I love boosting people’s confidence by making their skin glow, or by replacing volume lost by ageing, and menopause. I love it when my clients come back and say, ‘My husband didn’t notice that I have had fillers’ or ‘Everyone is telling me how well I look’ – I rarely have someone say they have been asked, ‘what have you had done?’ This is exactly what I want to achieve – subtle, natural beauty using dermal fillers, lip fillers, softening lines and wrinkles and leaving you with glowing skin. This is what Aesthetics means to me. 

There are loads of aesthetic practitioners. There are loads of beauty therapists, aestheticians, aesthetics nurses and more right here in Lichfield! But that’s ok because we all work from different starting points, we all offer different things, and have different outlooks on what we should be offering, what we enjoy doing, the things we are qualified in and the techniques that we choose to bring our aesthetic clinical practice.

The only thing I would say is that if you want clinical aesthetics – i.e. fillers, botox etc, look for someone who is medically trained (nurse, doctor or dentist), can demonstrate an understanding of anatomy, what to do in case of adverse incidents such as occlusion and infection, and has plenty of genuine reviews – don’t ever shop solely on price. Good aesthetic products and treatments are expensive – if they are really cheap, ask why. It is impossible to get genuinely good treatments for really cheap prices. Ask where their products come from (did you know it is possible for anyone to order cheap dermal fillers online – I’ve seen them on amazon!!). Do you have a genuine prescription for your anti-wrinkle treatments? Are they using legitimate, quality products from a genuine supplier? (For example, I’m only insured if I order my aesthetic products from specific recognised suppliers – I would not be insured if I used a product I ordered from Amazon!!).

So, what is aesthetics…?

To me, it is sending my clients away having had high-quality treatments with excellent, natural results.

What is it to you?