Glory Above Credibility?

Last week I was privileged to be invited to attend a global experts meeting in Miami for a leading dermal filler company. Being the only UK doctor, I was quite apprehensive as the delegate list included doctors whose work I have admired and whose research has paved the way forward for the aesthetic speciality. The meeting was extremely educational on numerous levels and I felt I was able to contribute effectively on several topics.

However I was awestruck by the amount of research each of the American doctors had carried out to help advance our knowledge. The US Food & Drugs Administration (FDA) comes under a lot of criticism there, like the Care Quality Commission has done here in the UK, but what the FDA does create, is a culture to provide good evidence based medicine, more akin to NICE (National Institute of Clinical Excellence) here in the UK.

In the US, the doctors strive to have work published in the peer-reviewed medical journals, and to have recognition from their colleagues from around the world.

This culture is in stark contrast to how the British cosmetic doctors practice.

First came Teen Tanorexics, now comes the rise of Teen Toxing

Reports in the press this week have highlighted the story of Hannah Burge, daughter of the Real Life or Human Barbie who has become the youngest known person to receive injections of botulinum toxin at the age of 15 whilst on holiday in Spain, with her mother Sarah’s full consent.

Sarah Burge, who holds the world record for the most cosmetic procedures, states that she is a fully qualified aesthetic practitioner, despite her lack of formal medical training and beautician status. She is now performing continued treatments on her daughter now 16 years of age, with half the usual dosage given to adults, which she believes will prevent her developing wrinkles in the future.

Take the Dysport Challenge and let the `Botox Wars` commence!

Medicis Aesthetics is the US distributor of Ipsen’s brand of botulinum toxin, Dysport® – which was launched in the USA in April 2009 – and is the 1st U.S. competitor to Allergan’s Botox® franchise. Dysport (which has been available in the UK since 1991, and was then manufactured by Speywood Pharmaceuticals) enjoys extensive use in Europe and has recently been launched under a different brand name – Azzalure® – following its approval for cosmetic use.

In a bid to win market share Medicis have recently launched a new direct to consumer campaign.

What Should I Look For in Skincare Products? (Part 2)

There are so many Cosmeceutical products available these days how do you decide what is what?  Well my simple advice to this would always be check your ingredients and once you find out the key active in a product check out what it does. 

Take Retinol for instance. Retinol is Vitamin A and is collectively known as retinoids. Research on this ingredient has been conducted for nearly a century and has given plenty of comprehensive findings regarding the importance of Vitamin A. Studies have shown retinol as a viable solution for combating skin ageing and problematic skin when delivered in a stable formulation at high concentrations. Retinol can be obtained from the diet either directly from foods such as fish oil and liver or indirectly in the form of beta-carotene. 

Is the American Professor right or wrong in telling the British public what is good for them?

Dr Sam Epstein, chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition and a leading US professor has said that ANTI-AGEING creams regularly used by millions of Britons could increase the risk of skin cancer.