The last two decades have seen considerable growth in the non-surgical aesthetic sector. The demand for these treatments has increased by over 400%,1,2 and last year alone, non-surgical treatments were worth more than $8.5 billion in the US.2 This has been attributed to increasing numbers of people being dissatisfied with their appearance,3,4 as well as improved convenience, affordability and perceived safety of non-surgical treatments. I have noticed that this growth in non-surgical aesthetics has recently been accompanied by an apparent rise in ‘do-it-yourself’ (DIY) treatments. This term refers to members of the public treating themselves with medical therapies, ranging from chemical peels to self-injecting. One author has suggested that practitioners themselves are partly responsible for this trend.5
Practitioners are increasingly using social media platforms to engage with patients, provide education and promote their services. This has been accompanied by a recent trend in practitioners using…
