,

See our latest articles in Aesthetics Journal

Our Clinical Director Adrian Richards recently joined the editorial board of Aesthetics Journal, the specialist monthly publication for medical aesthetics professionals.

As part of his work with the magazine, he’ll regularly be contributing expert articles on a variety of subjects. If you don’t subscribe to the magazine, or didn’t catch the latest couple of issues, you can read Adrian’s latest contributions here.

In this article, Adrian offers advice on the most appropriate treatments for each area of the face, based on what your patients are looking to achieve. He covers each area of the face in turn, from the forehead down to the neck, giving his thoughts on whether surgical or non-surgical treatments would produce the best aesthetic results. Click on the link above to read the full article.

Adrian wrote this article in collaboration with Cosmetic Courses trainer and Aurora Skin Clinics Clinical Lead Mel Recchia. They discuss two recent cases treated at Aurora. Both female patients had received dermal fillers to the upper face region at other clinics, and experienced significant late-onset peri-orbital swelling some time afterwards. Both were successfully treated with Hyaluronidase. The article looks at both the causes of Hyaluronic Acid dermal filler associated peri-orbital swelling, and its management. Click on the link above to read the full article.

———————————————————————————————————————————

Are you a medical professional considering a move into the aesthetics industry? Or do you already have an aesthetic practice and would like to broaden your repertoire of treatments?

Cosmetic Courses offer a wide range of medical aesthetic training courses to help equip you with all the skills you need to build a successful aesthetic business. As the industry develops and new treatments become available, we are regularly adding new training courses to our programme.

Our newly launched Cosmetic Courses website includes plenty of support to help you carve out your new career, from podcasts and videos to downloadable materials and a jobs board.

For more information on any of our aesthetic training courses, our trainers or our training venues, please contact the team on 01844 390110 or email [email protected].

/by
,

Project Dynamite set to explode dermal fillers industry?

We know we’ve missed a trick. By rights we should have written about PRP Therapy (a.k.a ‘Vampire Facelift’) last week, being Halloween and all.

But we’re not going to make the same mistake twice, and miss another opportunity to integrate our blog with something topical.

So this week, with the sound of fireworks ringing in our ears, we’ve decided it’s a good time to talk about Allergen’s new initiative to change the public perception of dermal fillers. It’s Project Dynamite.

About Project Dynamite

Industry leader Allergan recently decided to explore the public’s attitude to dermal fillers. Broadly, the goal was to understand people’s motivations for seeking filler treatment, as well as the reservations they might have about fillers.

They conducted extensive research, speaking to 2,000 women of all ages to gauge their opinions about dermal fillers. The findings have now been circulated, and Allergan are convinced they will revolutionise the marketing efforts of clinics and practitioners when it comes to fillers.

Here are the 3 most significant findings of their research, and what they could mean for you:

1. When women refer to filler treatment, the majority use “facial fillers” rather than “dermal fillers”

This is an interesting one, and the implications are simple. As medical professionals, we may be more inclined to refer to “dermal fillers”. But it’s important to speak the same language as your patients. When referring to the treatment on your website, brochure and any promotional materials, it is probably better to refer to the treatment as facial fillers if you don’t already. This will make your website more easily found, and your communications more relatable.

2. There’s a stigma attached to having fillers, mainly for two reasons – people are worried about them looking unnatural, and they don’t fully understand the treatment

It seems that many people need access to much more information about fillers. This represents a great opportunity for you. Fact sheets, Q&As, FAQs, videos, before and after photos, case studies, testimonials – all of these will mark you out as a great information resource. People are hungry for information on filler treatment, so use your website and social media channels to give them plenty of useful information and assuage their fears.

3. Women today feel more positive about ageing, and ageing well is more important than looking young 

Of the women Allergan spoke to, only 20% said they wanted to look five years younger. However, 41% said they wanted to look fresher and more radiant. This should be reflected in your marketing messages. Focusing more on the idea of fillers helping women look good for their age rather than looking younger will resonate more with your potential patients, and reflect the way they feel about themselves.

Cosmetic Courses are one of the UK’s most established training providers for medical professionals looking to enter the aesthetic industry. For more information on our dermal filler training, please contact us on 01844 390110 or email [email protected].

/by
, ,

Adrian Richards interview – a chat about his new book ‘Key Notes on Plastic Surgery’

Anyone interested in better time management would do well to have a chat with Adrian Richards. As well as being a busy surgeon, aesthetic trainer, bass player, father of four, sometime marathon runner and Clinical Director of both Aurora Clinics and Cosmetic Courses, Adrian has also found time to write a book.

He has just finished the second edition of his best-selling textbook, ‘Key Notes on Plastic Surgery’, a concise reference guide for surgeons in training, along with co-author Hywel Dafydd. We sat down with Adrian for five minutes to talk about the book.

Hi Adrian, why did you write the first edition of Key Notes?

When I was doing my final exams in Plastic Surgery, I really felt a need for this type of book. As it didn’t exist, I decided to write it myself. I’m delighted that most Plastic Surgeons doing their final exams now have a copy with them.

How would you describe the style of the book?

George Orwell felt that sparse writing was the best. While I can’t claim to write like him, I tried to live by this principle – using the shortest word that would convey meaning and keeping the text and sentences as concise as possible.

Who do you think will read the book?

Anyone who buys it I suppose! But most people who have it are either junior Plastic Surgeons preparing for their major Plastic Surgery exam or experienced surgeons who want to keep up with the latest information.

Is Key Notes in Plastic Surgery suitable for members of the general public?

The book is quite technical but it’s designed to be easily understood. We’ve broken up the information using bullet points, so anyone with an interest in Plastic Surgery will be able to dip into it.

Why might a member of the general public read the book?

Perhaps if they were researching a particular aspect of Plastic Surgery the book might be a good reference for them.

Why have you published a second edition of Key Notes in Plastic Surgery?

The first edition was really popular but times and techniques change. Plastic Surgery is a rapidly evolving speciality and the book has been updated to reflect this.

What are the differences between the 1st and 2nd Editions?

The second edition is slightly longer and has many more diagrams to bring it to life and help the reader understand what is a very visual speciality.

Why have you recruited a co-author?

When I wrote the first edition back in 1999 I was a young Plastic Surgeon with an up-to-date knowledge of the breadth of Plastic Surgery. Like all Plastic Surgeons, I now focus on specific types of surgery. For this reason, Hywel Dafydd has been responsible for the majority of the updated content in the 2nd edition.

What is Mr Dafydd’s background?

Hywel reminds me of a younger version of myself. He has just passed his final Plastic Surgical exams and is travelling the world learning the latest Plastic Surgical techniques before starting his Consultant post in Swansea. Having studied for the exams for the last 3 years Hywel has an excellent and broad understanding of the current state of Plastic Surgery.

Will there be a 3rd edition of Key Notes?

I would like to see a new edition of Key Notes published every 10 years – ideally updated and improved by a new generation of Plastic Surgeons finishing their training and at their peak of understanding the wide scope of Plastic Surgery.

‘Key Notes on Plastic Surgery (Second Edition)’ is published on 21 November 2014 and available to pre-order now from all good book shops, including Amazon.

 

/by

Find more clients with a FREE listing on our Skin Clinic Finder

At Cosmetic Courses, our relationship with our course delegates doesn’t end when their training does. We believe in supporting all our delegates as they embark on the exciting journey of carving out a successful career in the field of aesthetics. From the practicalities of setting up in business, to furthering your repertoire of treatments, to finding and growing your client base, we’ve a comprehensive support network in place that means once you train with us, we’re there to help you every step of the way.

Although the quality of our aesthetic training has traditionally been our strong suit, we’ve listened to your feedback about wanting more help on the marketing side, and have responded by creating a new sister website to help you.

What’s the NCN – and how can it help you?

The NCN Homepage

The National Cosmetic Network (TheNCN.co.uk) is a specialist clinic finder website that allows people to find and compare reputable aesthetic clinics close to them.

Our aim with the site is twofold – to give patients an easy way to find the most qualified, reputable practitioners in their area, and to help practitioners of a high standard to increase their client base.

The website shares information on non-surgical treatments, from the most established skin treatments, anti-wrinkle injections and facial fillers, to treatments for excessive sweating and thread veins, as well as innovative treatments like PRP Therapy.

A search function then lets people find quality clinics in their local area that offer the treatments. So a well-written listing that showcases your credentials could attract plenty of new clients to you.

How to get your FREE listing on the NCN

To make sure only clinics with the highest professional standards are listed on the site, and safeguard people seeking treatment, only clinics we personally approve make it onto the NCN.

And because every practitioner who has completed training with us has demonstrated they meet the required standard, we give all Cosmetic Courses delegates a free 6-month listing on the NCN for the treatments they have trained in.

When you complete any course from our varied programme, you will automatically be given a free listing on the site to help your potential patients find you.

Please feel free to take a look at the NCN website, and let us know what you think on our Facebook page. If you’d like any more information on the NCN, or any of our training courses, please get in touch with the team on 01844 390110 or email [email protected].

/by