Expressionality: Embracing Self-Expression in Aesthetic Medicine

In this week’s episode of the “Anti-Aging Insights” podcast, Dr. Teri Fisher delves into the concept of expressionality, the latest trend shaping the field of aesthetic medicine. He explains how expressionality is all about portraying one’s personality, identity, and authenticity, and how it is increasingly becoming a central theme in aesthetic treatments. Dr. Fisher discusses the factors driving this trend, such as the shift away from traditional beauty standards and the rise of gender fluidity, particularly among Gen Z and millennials.

Furthermore, Dr. Fisher provides insightful examples of how expressionality is manifesting in the industry, including the growing demand for aesthetic treatments among young males seeking to masculinize or soften their appearance. He also highlights the trend of female empowerment leading to women exploring more masculine treatments like jaw fillers. Additionally, Dr. Fisher explores the trend of personalization in treatments, showcasing the diverse requests for lip treatments that go beyond simply boosting volume.

Moreover, Dr. Fisher discusses the cultural aspect of expressionality, noting how various cultures are embracing cosmetic treatments that enhance rather than mask their ethnic identity. He emphasizes the importance of embracing individuality in aesthetic consultations, moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach. Dr. Fisher leaves listeners with a message of self-expression and individuality, encouraging them to reach out for further discussion.

Stay tuned for the upcoming episode where Dr. Fisher will delve into the trend of “canceling age.” If you want to connect with Dr. Fisher, visit DrTeriFisher.com or find him on Instagram @DrTeriFisher. Don’t miss out on gaining more insights into the evolving trends in aesthetic medicine.

Key Insights

• Expressionality is all about portraying one’s personality, identity, and authenticity.
• Standards, particularly beauty standards, are evolving towards embracing individuality and self-expression.
• 8 in 10 Gen Z and millennials associate “being yourself” with their definition of beauty.
• Increased awareness of appearance due to virtual meetings has led to a reevaluation of self-expression.
• Male demand for aesthetic treatments is rising, including both masculinizing and softening looks.
• Female empowerment is evident in the increasing interest in traditionally masculine treatments, like jaw fillers.
• Personalization is key, with a focus on unique treatments and requests for specific outcomes, such as various lip treatment styles.
• Cultural identity plays a significant role, with some consumers seeking to enhance rather than alter their ethnic features.
• Expressionality encourages a focus on individuality in aesthetic treatments, moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach.

Episode Transcript

Dr. Teri Fisher: Hello there and welcome to this week’s episode of the podcast. Today we are continuing our exploration of the different trends that have been identified in the Galderma NEXT report, and today we are talking about expressionality.

If you haven’t listened to the previous episodes, then I encourage you and invite you to do so. In 67, we talked about the macro movements. In episode 68, we talked about proactive beauty, 69 was all about mindful aesthetics, episode 70 was about fastest aesthetics episode, 71 was about beauty fandom, and again, today we are diving into expressionality.

And so let’s get right into it. Let’s talk a little bit about what that means, and talk about the trend itself, and I’ll give you some specific examples of the way that this trend is shaping our industry of aesthetic medicine.

So what does expressionality really mean? Well, when you think of the word express, it’s all about portraying who you are. It’s about your personality. It’s about your identity. It’s about your authenticity. It’s about your sense of self and self-expression. And that can come about in a number of different ways. For example, you may express how you see yourself in the way that you choose your clothing, in the way that you style your hair or the way you do your makeup, and now we are seeing that more and more in the realm of aesthetic treatments. It’s all about who you want to be and your expression of yourself.

What’s driving this trend of expressionality? Well standards, particularly beauty standards, are becoming a thing of the past, and it’s more about embracing who you are and having your own sense of what is beautiful to you. There’s an interesting stat out there, and it says that 8 in 10 gen Z and millennials claim that “being yourself” is the phrase that fits most with their own definition of beauty. There’s an acceptance of gender fluidity, and there’s also a heightened awareness of the way that one looks due to the amount of zoom meetings that we have all been on since COVID. And that has prompted us to evaluate how we look and think about how we want to be identified and how we want to express ourselves.

I’d like to give you a couple of examples now of the way that this trend is being portrayed in the industry. The first one is simply male demand. Traditionally, aesthetic treatments have been more focused to females, but now we are seeing a lot more young male patients coming in to look for treatments. Oftentimes they want to masculinize their look. but also there are times when they want to soften that look, and in fact, there is a hashtag #softmasculinity that has approximately 7.3 billion views on Tik TOK. So that’s an example of the way that this masculinity element can go either way, depending on your own personal expression.

A second example is with regards to female empowerment. The expression of gendered features continues to be more experimental as more women are seeking out more masculine treatments. This is something that we haven’t seen as much in the past, but now we definitely are. A good example of this is that jaw filler, which primarily was focused more on a masculine type of client, is now highly requested by women. The jaw filler term, if you will, has approximately 144 million Tik TOK views. And this is something that we previously would not have seen as much interest in from the women’s segment of the industry.

A third particular example is with regards to personalization. And this is all going back to that concept that I talked about at the beginning, where we want to express our unique selves. Treatments are more individual. And even within a particular treatment, there are more requests for specific types of treatments. A good example of this is with regards to lip treatments, because even when you have lip treatments, those could be a request for Russian lips, for Cupid bow lips, for butterfly lips, for keyhole lips, a lip flip, and many, many others. It is simply beyond just boosting volume. It is more about the personalization and the way that one wants to express themselves.

And finally, a fourth example, which I think is a beautiful example, has to do with cultural identity. And this has to do with cultures wanting to enhance their ethnic identity. In fact, we’ve seen that many Asian and middle Eastern consumers prefer cosmetic treatments that enhance, rather than mask, their identity. I think this is beautiful and I think it really brings into account the way that these people want to express their natural beauty, and choose how they want that to be portrayed.

So what’s next in expressionality? Well, it’s all about who you feel you are and how you identify regardless of what you are seeing in the media, what you are hearing from other people. It’s about self-expression. And I think that this is going to be very important because this is going against the cookie cutter approach. This is going against the one size fits all approach. And that means that consultants have to be focused on individuality, which I think is incredibly rewarding and really, really the way to go as we embark on treatment plans with our clients.

So with that being said, I hope that gives you a little bit of insight into the trend of expressionality. As always, I encourage you to have a chat with me if you want to discuss any of this. I can be reached through my website, DrTeriFisher.Com or on Instagram @DrTeriFisher. Of course, at the clinic as well. And I’ll give you a little sneak preview- next week we’re going to talk about one more trend. This one is all about canceling age, which is a huge trend as well. And I look forward to speaking with you again at that time.

Thanks for tuning in and be well. Talk to you soon.