to a new era of Beauty Welcome

The field of personal aesthetic and cosmetic interventions has come very far over the last three decades, meaning that it’s now possible to address facial and body concerns openly and confidently, with more choices, less fuss and far better results than you could previously hope for.

Most importantly aesthetic procedures are now safer, and the majority of ethical practitioners performing them are better trained and more experienced. That’s not all that’s changed - while in the past people might have wanted big lips, raised brows, a chiselled jawline, and not a line in sight, the world of aesthetic treatments in 2024 looks very different. Overfilled, painfully tight-looking and unnaturally flawless is out, and subtle lifting, soft defining, regenerative and gentle boosting are in.

Alongside our desire to look our best, the quest for a more holistic lifestyle continues to fuel the demand for wellness options, something we openly embrace at Safety in Beauty, which is beauty from the inside out.

So, if you’re thinking about getting a little something done, this guide is a great starting point, here you can discover a vast plethora of treatments on offer and what they can do for you. It’s important to bear in mind that your safety is the reason we exist and work hard for you, so that you can make well researched and thoroughly informed choices.

The only way to know if a tweakment is suitable for you and likely to give you the results you’re after is to have a consultation with a reputable and experienced professional with the relevant qualifications, experience and training in their field. You can find a variety of highly reputable and carefully screened professionals at www.safetyinbeauty.com

Finally, I’d like to extend a huge thank you to all of our lovely medical expert guest contributors for this guide, all of whom are continuously dedicated to supporting you looking and feeling your best, safely.

Enjoy.

Antonia Mariconda I Editor

DERMAL FILLERS. EFFECTIVE. SAFE. BEAUTIFUL RESULTS.

*Actual Patient, individual results may vary. JOIN THE MOVEMENT

Long before “tweakments” were even called tweakments, the options for what you could have done to improve your appearance without surgery were fairly limited. Lasers were far more ablative, peels more aggressive, and fillers more permanent.

Then, 30 years ago, Botox™ (the first brand named botulinum toxin type A to gain FDA approval for frown lines) burst onto the market, igniting a new phase of innovation. Alongside hyaluronic acid (and, at the time, collagen) fillers and advances in device-based technology, it drove growth and demand for nonsurgical aesthetics.

As a result, the field of aesthetic medicine has come very far in a relatively short space of time, meaning that it’s now possible to address facial concerns openly and confidently, with more choices, less fuss and far better results than you could previously hope for.

Most importantly (more on this later), aesthetic procedures are safer, and the majority of the practitioners performing them are better trained and more experienced. That’s not all that’s changed — while in the past people might have wanted big lips, raised brows, a chiselled jawline, and not a line in sight, the world of tweakments in 2024 looks very different. Overfilled, painfully tight-looking and unnaturally flawless is out, and subtle lifting, soft defining, regenerative and gentle boosting are in.

So, if you’re thinking about getting a little something done, here’s an overview of the treatments on offer and what they can do for you. It’s important to bear in mind that certain factors — like cost, how many sessions you’ll need and recovery time (if any) — will vary depending on the individual patient (you) and practitioner, and the only way to know if a tweakment is suitable for you and likely to give you the results you’re after is to have a consultation with a reputable and experienced medical professional. See the safety section below for some crucial advice on this.

Botulinum toxin

Botulinum toxin is still one of the most popular aesthetic treatments across the board. Since its wrinklerelaxing capabilities were first noted in the 1990s, it’s been considered the gold standard for addressing lines and wrinkles in areas including the forehead, crow’s feet (the outer corners of the eyes) and between the eyebrows. Top practitioners are now using it for lower facial contouring and even to smooth and refine the skin’s surface overall. Instead of injecting it into the muscles, toxins can be injected more superficially into the skin to help reduce oiliness and pore size and decrease inflammation, it’s reported. There have also been new brands of toxins launched in the past couple of years, claiming longer durations.

Fillers

Good filler should be undetectable, and many top practitioners now take a holistic approach, sometimes treating multiple areas or even the whole face for a much more balanced, natural-looking approach, rather than just volumising the lips or cheeks, for example. While hyaluronic acid (HA)-based, dissolvable fillers (you might have heard of brands such as Juvederm, MaiLi, Definisse, Restylane or Teosyal) are commonly used for plumping, smoothing and adding definition to the face, a new type of hybrid collagen-stimulating filler called HArmonyCa is creating a lot of buzz and is finally available in the UK. It works to give initial volume or structure (depending on your goals) while also providing a long-term lift through collagen synthesis, making it great for improving skin texture in areas including the lower face and the backs of the hands. Expert injectors are using it alongside standard HA fillers in “facial harmonising” or “profile balancing” treatments to treat the whole face with subtle, longlasting results.

Skin boosters

If you just want to freshen up your face, skin boosters might be for you. A relatively new injectables category, skin boosters are best thought of as a sort of injectable skincare, the benefits of which last for months. It’s a heavy hit of hydration (sometimes along with amino acids and/or vitamins, depending on the specific product) to nourish skin deep down, stimulating collagen production, smoothing fine lines and generally improving skin quality for all-round plumper, softer and healthier-looking skin. You’ve likely heard of Profhilo, but it’s also worth looking into Restylane Skinboosters, Sunekos and Volite too.

Polynucleotides

This type of injectable tweakment is one of the most exciting to hit the market in a while. Derived from salmon sperm DNA (tweakments aren’t all glamorous!), polynucleotides are very similar to skin boosters but kicked up a gear, making them a better option to improve the appearance of wrinkles and skin tone issues. Injected just below the skin, polynucleotides are great for treating concerns around the eyes, like hollow-looking eyes, dark circles and under-eye wrinkles. They work as biostimulators within the skin, activating the body’s own mechanisms to rejuvenate the skin. Ameela, Nucleofill, PhilArt, Pluryal Silk and Pluryal Density are all specific polynucleotide products offered by top aesthetic practitioners.

Devices

There are so many energy-based devices on the market, which typically use either light or heat (or both) to treat aesthetic concerns. The technologies behind these devices have come on leaps and bounds in the past decade, and there are a few treatments, in particular, to know about if you’re looking for something cutting-edge that will get results. Radiofrequency microneedling takes two proven and effective technologies and puts them together in a treatment that can tighten and smooth skin, target lines and wrinkles and improve acne scarring and sun damage in one go, all with minimal downtime. And you may have seen devices like Morpheus8 receiving a lot of press. Some of these devices can even be used right up under the eyes and on the eyelids to tighten sagging skin. There’s also Neogen Plasma, an innovative device that uses pure nitrogen gas mixed with ultra-high frequency energy to achieve impressive skin tightening, resurfacing and rejuvenation without surgery. Most recently, the UK has seen the launch of AviClear, the first FDA-cleared energy-based device for the treatment of mild, moderate, and severe acne.

Staying safe

The most important thing when considering any tweakment is safety. Your health is far more important than any aesthetic improvement, so it’s vital that you do your research on the treatment and feel comfortable and confident to go ahead. It can be difficult to thoroughly vet the practitioner(s) you’re considering yourself, so The Safety in Beauty site is a great place to start. Here, you can use the directory to find practitioners and clinics near you that have been quality-checked on every crucial criterion. You can also search the GMC (General Medical Council, for doctors), NMC (Nursing and Midwifery Council, for nurses and nurse prescribers) and GDC (General Dental Council, for dentists) databases to check if a practitioner is a registered medical professional with a current licence to practice medicine in the UK.