Nora Ephron was 65 years old when she published the book of essays “I Don't Like My Neck.” In it, the writer and screenwriter of films like When Harry Met Sally or You've Got Email reflected on aging and lamented about her neck with these words: “According to my dermatologist, the neck begins to break down at age 43, and it is over. You can put on makeup, put on dark circle concealer, and dye your hair; You can inject Botox and hyaluronic acid into wrinkles, but without surgery there is no way to fix the neck. Your neck gives you away irremediably. The face is a lie and the neck is truth.”
The filmmaker was deeply aware of those “irritating little red spots that appear on the torso at a certain age for no reason” and hated having to do without, because of neck wrinkles, 90% of the clothes she could buy. She recognized that, at a certain age, maintenance was just one patch after another; “The Pathetic Attempt to Turn Back the Clock.” But that didn't mean she stopped submitting to him: Ephron kept the color of her hair thanks to dyes, she injected Restylane into her chin to fill in the "flabby areas," and she gave herself Botox twice on a wrinkle in her chin. forehead.
Like the American, more and more patients are undergoing non-surgical aesthetic procedures to win the race over time. They inject Botox to smooth expression lines, hyaluronic acid to reduce bags and dark circles, and undergo laser treatments or peels. “The normalization of aesthetic medicine among the population is indisputable. It has gone from being considered almost a luxury service to being part of everyday conversations,” explains Dr. Jaime Tufet, founder of the Tufet clinic and vice president of the Spanish Society of Aesthetic Medicine (SEME).
Such is the increase in the acceptance of aesthetic medicine in recent times that 80% of the Spanish population would like to undergo some treatment, and the number of patients who have resorted to it has increased by 8% between 2022 and 2024. Advances in medical technology and the influence of social media have played an important role in democratizing touch-ups. And this has marked the beginning of a new era in aesthetics: that of accessible beauty.
Avoiding aging has a cost and almost half of people in Spain are willing to pay it. According to the new report Perception and use of aesthetic medicine in Spain 2023, recently presented by the SEME, 46.6% of the Spanish population has undergone aesthetic medicine treatment in 2023. Of these, 35% had more than 55 years. This is the case of Loli González. Since the 57-year-old administrator entered the world of aesthetic medicine a couple of years ago, she has undergone several treatments: facial and body tightening threads, Botox, and hyaluronic acid in the eye area. “It's about taking care of yourself, and if investing in yourself makes you feel better, I think it's a good price,” she says.
Loli is a patient at the Quiroderma clinic, which has increased, over time, its offer of other treatments within hair and aesthetic medicine. Dr. Julio Fontanella explains that the expansion of services has been, in part, due to the greater demand from the population. “They want to live longer and better. We have a higher longevity rate, with a high life expectancy, and if we can get there as best as possible, without wrinkles or a sad, drooping face, why not,” reflects the specialist in aesthetic and hair medicine.
However, Dr. Fontanella warns about a crusade that specialists face daily: intrusion. “We are talking about medicine. Aesthetics is another branch of it and, as such, it must be practiced by trained and trained doctors, in a safe environment, and not in a hair salon, for example. It is important that people make sure where and with whom they are going to have a treatment,” he explains. The SEME also notes this in its latest study: 28% of the interventions carried out in 2023 took place in hairdressers or similar establishments, and 8% in homes.
Even so, the proliferation of content on aesthetic treatments, the naturalness with which they are talked about both in close circles and in Hollywood, and affordable and less invasive appliances have helped foster a greater culture of aesthetic medicine among patients. . But to what extent?
The age group that most resorts to aesthetic medicine is between 40 and 50 years old. Regarding gender, almost 70% are women. The motivations are several: feeling comfortable with one's physical appearance, looking better or increasing self-esteem. In the case of the silver generation, aesthetic medicine is a way to “recover what they had years ago,” says Dr. Tufet. All of this, through treatments that allow you to maintain or recover the quality of the skin and recover the volumes lost in the lower third of the face. “When people tell you 'how handsome and how young' something in your attitude changes in a very positive way,” shares the doctor.
Dolors is 59 years old and is dedicated to education. She has been undergoing cosmetic touch-ups for six years, encouraged by her daughter, who has also had some touch-ups done on her lips, and by a friend who had Botox injected. “You see that your best stage has passed and the mirror returns an image in which you no longer recognize yourself,” she shares. The woman talks about aesthetic medicine as a way to slow down the aging process with a natural effect, without being aggressive or having to undergo surgery. “It's not about them telling me: 'What have you done to yourself!', but: 'You have a good face!'”
For Paloma Abad, journalist, editor and person in charge of the newsletter Pretty In, Pretty Out, some signs of aging are accepted, as long as the whole thing is beautiful. “Tell me a single celluloid star who has had absolutely nothing done. Even the youngest influencers spend their lives in beauty consultations! ”She reflects. “The stigmas associated with aesthetic medicine and cosmetic surgery have been demolished, but not those related to beauty, youth and fertility. Sometimes, I think that [women] come to consultation with an ulterior motive: not to become invisible in a society that continues to be tremendously ageist,” she continues.
Faced with the eradication of prejudices associated with aesthetic medicine, a contrary opinion arises, that of "those who believe that focusing excessively on cosmetic interventions can create a trap by reinforcing social pressure to conform to certain canons of beauty," argues the Dr. Bárbara Castillo Abdul, professor and researcher at the Rey Juan Carlos University. Therefore, she points out that it is essential to take individual motivations and preferences into account when evaluating the impact of cosmetic procedures on self-esteem.
Some will understand aesthetic medicine as a remedy for the passage of time; others like a trap. Journalist Paloma Abad thinks that there continues to be a double standard in terms of how people judge people, especially women, who attend aesthetic medicine consultations. “We all agree that they do it, but the treatment must remain natural and be almost imperceptible. As soon as the skin is smoother than normal or the volumes are a little higher, the patients run the risk of experiencing a popular trial that not even the witches of Salem," he says, and exemplifies the situation with the cases of Hollywood stars such as Nicole Kidman, Courteney Cox or Madonna.
And he concludes: “Far from celebrating them doing whatever they want with their bodies, they are penalized for being obsessed with youth. If they have become obsessed with youth, it is worth asking what responsibility we as a society have in that obsession.”
