Through the looking glass: perceiving risk and emotions toward cosmetic procedure engagement

Purpose This research aims to develop a user risk segmentation typology and implement a method that traces how user emotions adapt before, after and toward a next cosmetic procedure. It introduces the user risk segments to an empirical framework to explain re-engagement with the procedure. Design/methodology/approach A survey was self-administered to online consumer panels in the USA. The survey targeted users who had previously undertaken one of three elective procedures, namely, Botox (N = 550), hair transplant (N = 350) or liposuction (N = 350). Findings The typology identified timid image seekers, daring image crafters, approval-seeking socialites and mainstream image adopters. The method tracking user emotions found significant differences before, after and toward a next cosmetic procedure in the user risk segments. The framework predicted user re-engagement with the procedure for each segment. Research limitations/implications The typology presents more sophisticated user risk profiles. The method maps adapting user emotions toward engagement pre- and post-procedure. However, findings are limited to the USA and three cosmetic procedures. Practical implications The typology offers a profile of users and their risk perceptions of a behavior. The method presents an instrument that follows how user emotions adapt. The framework advances understanding of user re-engagement with the behavior. Originality/value Arguably, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research to explore how perceived risk operates on emotional states and adaptation, which manifest user well-being and impact user behavior.

Esthetic Dentistry on Twitter: Benefits and Dangers

Objectives. The demand for esthetic dentistry is growing, and social media constitute the main driving force behind this revolution. Twitter is a leading social media platform; however, there is a lack of research on the pattern of communications and the impact of Twitter on esthetic dentistry. The purpose of this study was to analyze the content of tweets related to esthetic dentistry and to investigate how Twitter has affected the perception of, and demand for, esthetic dentistry. Moreover, it aimed to assess the potential benefits and risks of esthetic dentistry advertising strategies on Twitter as a potential social media platform. Materials and Methods. Using a specialized web scrapping tool made available by the Python programming language, a total of 54,000 public tweets were downloaded from Twitter at real-time by matching specific keywords. The downloaded tweets were manually filtered, and 13,787 tweets were included and categorized into four tweet sets by content. Results. The main categories were tweets regarding specific cosmetic procedure, totaling 56.53% (43.2% for veneers, 13.3% for whitening), advertisements (36.72%), information (5.53%), and general cosmetic dentistry (1.22%). Negative opinions towards veneers and whitening were the most common themes (68.03% and 43.44%). For veneers, illegal use for kids was the most common negative theme (59.7%) and being destructive for whitening (86.3%). Positive opinions counted 6.26% of veneers and 4.3% of whitening tweets. Advertising for whitening products was the second most common between all tweets (16.6%), and advertising for dental practices was the third (14.7%). Presenting facilities/services was the most common marketing strategy for dental practices (49.7%). Twitter was weakly used to circulate educational content (5.5%) and to post reviews (0.75%). Conclusion. Twitter was extensively used to share experiences/opinions towards dental cosmetic interventions. Advertising is another vital use of this platform. However, circulating information was the least common use of this social media. Additionally, tweeters were rarely to post online reviews and specific advices and recommendations regarding esthetic dentistry. Moreover, females tended to participate and tweet more significantly in cosmetic-related topics than males. This platform should be tailored efficiently to target users’ priorities and to improve health literacy and self-care. Twitter was weakly used to circulate educational content according to this study and rarely used to share online reviews.

Assessment of Patient Satisfaction With Appearance, Psychological Well-Being, and Aging Appraisal After Upper Blepharoplasty: A Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study

Background To determine the success of an upper blepharoplasty, a popular cosmetic procedure, it is essential to measure outcomes from the patient perspective, these often outweigh objective outcomes. Objectives This study aimed to assess patient-reported satisfaction with facial appearance, psychological well-being, and aging appraisal after upper blepharoplasty with validated questionnaires. Methods This prospective cohort study included upper blepharoplasty patients from eight outpatient clinics. Patient-reported satisfaction was assessed using the FACE-Q at intake, six and twelve months postoperative. Results 2134 patients were included. High satisfaction with outcome and decision to undergo treatment were measured six months postoperative. Large improvements in FACE-Q scores (range, 0 - 100) between intake and six months postoperative were seen for satisfaction with appearance (mean, effect size; eyes +48, 2.6; upper eyelids +48, 3.1; facial appearance overall +26, 1.4), psychological well-being (+11, 0.56) and aging appraisal (+22, 1.0). Patients reported to appear 3.3 years younger (SD, ±5.2) postblepharoplasty. No clinically relevant changes were seen between six and twelve months. Additionally, improvements in appearance were not dependent on their intake scores, whereas improvements in psychological well-being and aging appraisal were smaller in patients with higher intake scores. Satisfaction with treatment outcome was strongly correlated with appearance satisfaction but not with aging appraisal. Conclusions Significant improvements in patient satisfaction regarding appearance, psychological well-being, and aging appraisal can be seen 6 months after blepharoplasty, and outcomes remain stable up to 12 months postoperative. These data may be used to inform patients and clinicians and improve the overall quality of care.

Properties and parameters for effective laser hair removal: A review

Because some people seek consultations for the removal of unwanted body hair, a permanent, safe, and non-invasive method of hair removal is needed. Laser hair removal has been a popular cosmetic procedure. It is a monthly treatment that may take up to ten sessions for permanent results. However, its efficacy varies due to the patient’s biological skin hair traits, the adjustment of the optimal parameters of the laser, and the protocols. The purpose of this review is to discuss the properties and parameters employed for laser hair removal. Once parameters for laser hair removal have been optimized, this treatment offers an effective and permanent solution for unwanted body hair.

Plastic Surgery: Review on Screening of Psychiatric Disorder

Recently the popularity of plastic surgical procedure has been increased. Many people surgically alter their physical appearance with the intent of boosting their social and psychological well-being; however, the long-term effectiveness of aesthetic surgery on improving well-being is unconfirmed. To have successful cosmetic plastic surgery result, it is imperative to assess candidates for predictors of poor outcomes. These include the following factor: psychiatric disorder, demographic factors (male and younger age), relationship issues, unrealistic expectations, previous dissatisfied surgery, and minimal deformity. For psychiatric patients, despite having technically satisfactory cosmetic surgery, poor emotional adjustment and social functioning were seen post procedure. Proper screening and evaluation of these patients could save money and resources. In this brief review we discuss about psychiatric disorder screen on plastic surgery to prevent unwanted outcome. A literature review was conducted in the electronic database PubMed using keyword “Psychiatric Disorder”, “Plastic surgery”, “Prevention” and “Screening”. All type of studies were included for this study, such as controlled trials, systematic reviews, literature reviews, and pilot studies published between 2011 and 2021. Articles which not written in English were excluded from the study. This search resulted in 18 papers. Some patient who undergo cosmetic surgery suffer from underdiagnosed or untreated psychiatric disorder. To avoid unnecessary expense and resource it is advisable that all patient who seek cosmetic procedure undergo psychiatric screen such as PHQ-9, GAD-7, BDDQ and other test to avoid un-necessary expense and resource.

Plastic Surgery: Review on Screening of Psychiatric Disorder

Recently the popularity of plastic surgical procedure has been increased. Many people surgically alter their physical appearance with the intent of boosting their social and psychological well-being; however, the long-term effectiveness of aesthetic surgery on improving well-being is unconfirmed. To have successful cosmetic plastic surgery result, it is imperative to assess candidates for predictors of poor outcomes. These include the following factor : psychiatric disorder, demographic factors (male and younger age), relationship issues, unrealistic expectations, previous dissatisfied surgery, and minimal deformity. For psychiatric patients, despite having technically satisfactory cosmetic surgery, poor emotional adjustment and social functioning were seen post procedure. Proper screening and evaluation of these patients could save money and resources. In this brief review we discuss about psychiatric disorder screen on plastic surgery to prevent unwanted outcome. A literature review was conducted in the electronic database PubMed using keyword “Psychiatric Disorder”, “Plastic surgery”, “Prevention” and “Screening”. All type of studies were included for this study, such as controlled trials, systematic reviews, literature reviews, and pilot studies published between 2011 and 2021. Articles which not written in English were excluded from the study. This search resulted in 18 papers. Some patient who undergo cosmetic surgery suffer from underdiagnosed or untreated psychiatric disorder. To avoid unnecessary expense and resource it is advisable that all patient who seek cosmetic procedure undergo psychiatric screen such as PHQ-9, GAD-7, BDDQ and other test to avoid un-necessary expense and resource.

Validation of the Cosmetic Procedure Screening (COPS) Questionnaire in the Greek language

Practitioners in cosmetic and aesthetic treatment practices are likely to unknowingly work with patients with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). Screening questionnaires to identify the disorder in Greece are lacking. The purpose of this study was to validate a Greek version of the Cosmetic Procedure Screening (COPS) questionnaire, a self-report measure of how the respondents feel about their appearance, before an aesthetic intervention. The COPS was translated into Greek and was completed by 216 adult females from several areas of Attica (four private beauty centers, three dermatology clinics, five plastic surgery clinics, and Thriasio General Hospital of Elefsina) who pursued a cosmetic procedure. Participants also completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14). The Greek version of the COPS questionnaire demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's α of 0.856) with corrected item’s total range 0.468 to 0.687. Two of the factors explained 58.98% of total variance. Twenty (9.26%) women had a possible diagnosis of BDD (80% were unmarried, 95% had no children, 80% had university education). An increase in perceived stress levels was associated with an increase in the likelihood of being diagnosed with BDD (Pearson’s r=0.726). The Greek version of the COPS questionnaire is a valid instrument that can be used by professionals to screen adult women for BDD.

Analyzing the Quality of Aesthetic Surgery Procedure Videos on TikTok

Background TikTok is one of the most popular and fastest growing social media apps in the world. Previous studies have analyzed the quality of patient education information on older video platforms, but the quality of plastic and cosmetic surgery videos on TikTok has not yet been determined. Objectives To analyze the source and quality of certain cosmetic procedure videos on TikTok. Methods The TikTok mobile application was queried for content related to two popular face procedures (rhinoplasty and blepharoplasty) and two body procedures (breast augmentation and abdominoplasty). Two independent reviewers analyzed video content according to the DISCERN scale, a validated, objective criteria that assesses the quality of information on a scale of 1-5. Quality scores were compared between videos produced by medical and nonmedical creators and between different content categories. Results There were 4.8 billion views and 76.2 million likes across included videos. Videos were created by MDs (56%) and laypersons (44%). Overall average DISCERN score out of 5 corresponded to very poor video quality for rhinoplasty (1.55), blepharoplasty (1.44), breast augmentation (1.25) and abdominoplasty (1.29). DISCERN scores were significantly higher among videos produced by MDs than by laypersons for all surgeries. Comedy videos consistently had the lowest average DISCERN scores, while educational videos had the highest. Conclusions It is increasingly important that medical professionals understand the possibility of patient misinformation in the age of social media. We encourage medical providers to be involved in creating quality information on TikTok and educate patients about misinformation to best support health literacy.