Live and Let Live?

Live and Let Live?

This weekend I presented a talk on my Nonsurgical Lip Lift (NLL) at the Aesthetic Live Conference in London.

I used the house analogy where I compare the face to a house and specific areas to windows and doors. The point I try to make is that all areas of the face are connected; they should blend in and flow for harmonious and natural looking aesthetic results.

Unfortunately, there is a trend these days involving odd and exaggerated features, especially the lips as in the ‘ducky look.’

An argument can then be made to ‘live and let live’, in other words, allow people to do what they want with their faces.

During my talk, I discussed why as doctors we should refuse to cater to requests for a ‘done look’. Most importantly, I believe that the More is More approach is harming people who are most vulnerable; the young and those with image disorders, such as Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD).

As doctors, we have a duty of care and responsibility to do no harm and this should always be our priority. There are other reasons too: the done look is scary and offensive; it negatively impacts on basic human interaction.

Furthermore, by encouraging one-fits-all formulaic approaches, it destroys creativity; the art of Aesthetic Medicine has been lost and as a whole, the industry has lost its self respect.

In my opinion, the best way to deal with these issues is for all practitioners to adopt the Less is More Holistic approach which encourages ethical practice to first and foremost protect our patients.