Insights Into Minimally Invasive Aesthetic Procedure-Defining Demographic Factors and Impact of the Treatment on Self-Perception: A Propensity-Matched Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND

The lion's share of the research on facial aesthetic procedures focuses on visual results and patient satisfaction.

OBJECTIVES

To characterize treated and untreated potential patients and the identification of determinants that influence the decision making as well as the impact of such treatments on patients' self-perception.

METHODS

A cross-sectional, propensity-score-matched study on minimally invasive aesthetic procedures was performed through a survey comprising elements regarding demographics, conduct toward minimally invasive facial plastic interventions, as well as psychological well-being and social self-esteem domains of the validated Face-Q module.

RESULTS

Complete data were collected from 598 participants. Among those, 88% ( = 529) were females and 12% ( = 69) were males. Forty-six percent ( = 277) of the participants were below the age of 30, and 39% ( = 233) were between 30 and 45 years of age. Of the 598 participants, 22% ( = 134) of the participants had undergone a minimally invasive aesthetic procedure of botulinum toxin and/or hyaluronic acid injection, and 78% ( = 464) of the participants had never received any aesthetic treatment. Female gender, 30 to 45 years of age, self-employment, and an income over 75,000€ were significant predictors of undergoing minimally invasive aesthetic procedures. Among treated participants, the overall FACE-Q score as well as the scores for the social esteem and the psychological well-being domains improved significantly with the aesthetic treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

This study highlights the major role of healthcare providers in better informing patients and the positive impact of facial aesthetic treatments on patients' appearance as well as on psychological well-being and self-esteem.