Aesthetic medicine, the new body positive course

The world of beauty is experiencing a phase of revolution, something has changed in the perception of aesthetic canons thanks to the rise of the body positive movement that focuses on the person and not his physical appearance, which invites us to accept ourselves as we are and to value them. characteristics that have long been perceived as minuses. To feel the effect is also the world of aesthetic medicine. We discussed it with Jelena Petrovic, General Manager and CEO of Allergan Aesthetics Italia, the first woman to reach the top of this company, with deep-rooted and multi-year experience in the pharmaceutical and health care sectors.

Being free to transform as you wish, how do you combine body positive movement and aesthetic medicine?
«The Body Positive movement teaches us that I have to accept my body, as it is and as it has become over time; that I have to love my physical characteristics and try to enhance them; that the signs of aging reflect the experiences lived. Said this if in that body I don’t recognize myself and feel the desire to change, to feel and see myself better, I can do it. We speak, in both cases, of acceptance and pursuit of self-confidence, of one’s self-esteem. These are decisions that must be able to be taken independently ».

And why don’t women talk about it if they do some tweaking?
“I believe that fear plays an important role, although it acts on different levels. On the one hand there is the fear of seeing oneself different, changed, of not recognizing oneself in the mirror. We strongly believe in the importance of the first consultation with the specialist doctor in order to highlight the real needs and better define the final expectations but above all, thanks to the vision of other clinical cases, to become aware of the natural and lasting results that can be obtained with injective technical specifications and innovative solutions. On the other hand, we are faced with patients who are afraid of being judged as superficial, unable to accept their body, age and physical characteristics. This is why they experience the use of aesthetic medicine as a taboo because of this erroneous belief that “taking care of yourself” is equivalent to being superficial. L’WHO defines health as a state of psychophysical well-being and not absence of pathologies. I believe that a lot would change if we stopped to reflect on the fact that everyone reaches and maintains their psychophysical well-being as they prefer. If we find ourselves faced with an aspect of ourselves that prevents us from living our life to the full, we must be able to be free to improve ourselves and thus unblock our self-esteem ».

What do post-pandemic women increasingly want?
«This last year and a half of pandemic and more or less stringent closures seems to have led to an increase in requests for aesthetic medicine interventions. A reason can be found in the so-called “ZOOM effect”: the greater time spent staring at our image in the monitors of our electronic devices has led us to see aspects of our face that we had never noticed. There is also a new awareness and a renewed desire to start again and show oneself at best, to come out of the pandemic with more determination and an improved appearance. The largest number of operations were recorded in the periocular area: after all, given the continuous use of masks, the eyes are in the foreground. Even the lips are the object of attention as if to wish for a return to free smiles. As for us, we have continued our constant research and development activity over this year and a half to meet the needs of doctors and patients. There will soon be some interesting news that I am sure will be appreciated for their innovation, avant-garde and high safety profiles ».

How do you approach the phenomenon defined snapchat dysmorphia, or the obsession with seeing yourself equal to a social filter?
“This is actually a trend that is recorded: in the past, there could be cases of patients who brought the photo of an actress or a singer asking to look like her. Today you bring your own photo taken with filters applied that smooth the skin or redefine proportions. In these cases, the consultation with the doctor is essential to become aware of the objective results that can be achieved beyond unrealistic images and that are suitable for the person and not standardized ».

Aesthetic medicine and the acceptance of one’s age, how should they be related?
“Time passes for everyone and I believe it is a question of” awareness “: from the awareness of this truth, to the acceptance of the changes that time operates on everyone, to the awareness of what we can do to improve our appearance, with actions that are consistent with our age. The doctor and the conscious patient will come to highlight an adequate and personalized treatment plan, without distorting the features of a face and achieving natural results. Allergan is very confident in the consultation phase which is crucial, as already mentioned, and is the moment in which to highlight needs and clarify expectations. During the consultation, in fact, the doctor identifies the needs of the individual patient inviting him to look at himself and to indicate the emotions that the whole face transmits and those desired. It is the innovative approach of emotional attributes, developed by the well-known Brazilian surgeon Mauricio De Maio and used by Allergan ».

What is the approach a woman wants to take to a company like Allergan Aesthetics.
«I am a doctor who wants to make his knowledge available to both doctors and to those who wish to see, in aesthetic medicine, an ally to improve their appearance. I am a woman who knows the needs of patients well and wants to be by their side to make informed choices. I believe that resilience, the spirit of observation, the ability to create teams – together with a good dose of multitasking – will be the elements that will characterize my approach to driving Allergan Aesthetics ».