26/09/2026
Since Covid thereās been a massive loss of trust in physicians and the medical profession in general.
We are adding to it with as-yet mostly unregulated areas of medicine that have to do with illness/issues that are medicine but also related to appearance.
The commonest examples :
- aesthetic medicine aka appearance medicine
- weight loss medicine
- menopausal medicine
The lack of regulation has led to behaviour in these areas of medicine unlike most others that often verge on marketing at best and predatory at worst.
I ventured into aesthetic medicine ~ 2016 reluctantly. As an ex OBGYN trainee forced to change specialities at the last minute.
I did it because I missed using my hands & itās where Iām happiest.
So Iāve had a decade of surgery across thousands of cases behind me before I trained in a non procedural speciality - general practice.
I added to that psychology and then psychotherapy training.
Then I added skin cancer medicine, surgery and dermatology training.
And Iāve remained uneasy with the way aesthetic medicine is treated globally.
Iāve never belonged & Iām beginning to understand why but alsoā¦ I wonder if Iām the only one who gets the ick?
Aesthetic medicine done well, isnāt cheap.
Itās not a commodity that you shop for but listening to some of the speakers on stage talk about how they work in their clinic I had insight into why, 3 years after the regulatory changes, we still get people asking :
- āhow much for 20 units?ā
- āwhy is there a consultation fee?ā
- āI know what I need I just need you to tell me how much.ā
And of course, when your clinician doesnāt know how to guide you - in this example above šš¾ she didnāt want just beautiful skin ($506) she wanted to :
- glow up for her wedding &
- to ānot look sick all the timeā
On a tight timeline of 3-4 months.
That is thousands of dollars.
The problem based on her account is that there was a communication mismatch between her and the doctor.
And sticker shock.
When you walk in with a budget of $500 for a $10000 jobā¦there is only one job- stop, ask why sheās shocked & explain why her brief isnāt just āhealthy glowy skinā but far more.
It may have been a
