Inside Aesthetics

Episode 211 hosts Brittony Croasdell, a Nurse Practitioner based in Chicago, USA.  Brittony is a highly experienced injector, trainer and international speaker. She has mentored hundreds of injectors through both the Allergan Medical Institute (AMI) & Galderma Aesthetic Injector Network (GAIN). Brittony is also a board member of the Complications in Medical Aesthetics Collaborative (CMAC) - an influential international consortium dedicated to improvement in complication management amongst medical providers.  This is the 2nd chapter in our mini-series called ‘Disasters & Solutions’. Here we look at some of the unusual, difficult or outright disasterous outcomes for patients caused by injectables. We speak to the injectors who managed the case and go through what happened, step by step. We’ll learn about what might have been done to prevent the problem and what injectors can do in their own practice to be safer practitioners.     In Chapter 2 we discuss a case concerning a patient who was treated

Episode 210 hosts Rick O'Neill, a digital marketing expert from Brighton, UK. (Previously joining us in episodes 134, 193, 197 & 202)  Rick has over 20 years of experience and is the founder of Look Touch Feel (LTF), an award winning digital marketing agency who specialise in supporting aesthetic practitioners & plastic surgeons. This is the fourth and final chapter of our mini-series called the 'The Digital Deep Dive' (sponsored by LTF). Over the four chapters we've covered some of the core pillars of digital marketing to help injectors and clinics get to grips with this side of their business.  Chapter 4 focusses on digital automation. We explore: What we mean by automation? Why automated tasks are so important for aesthetic clinics  Why understanding your patients journey in your clinic is so important How automation creates consistency and removes the risk of human error How to connect your current CRM system to a 3rd party automation platform Creating triggers and work flows for a variety of a

Episode 209 hosts Samantha Shepherd, a nurse practitioner from Atlanta, USA. Samantha joins us in the 13th Chapter of our series called 'The Injector Diaries'. These episodes feature in depth conversations, stories and experiences from injectors around the globe. Each injector brings their own unique take on things and we showcase every level of type of injector, from newbies to masters. We'll explore how and why they chose to inject, why they favour using certain products, look under the hoods of their clinics and aim to inspire our injector listeners.We thank Samantha again for voluntering very last minute and with no preparation to do this podcast with us! We discuss: - Samantha's background and training - Her previous career in medical device sales - and how this helped her feel comfortable talking about pricing- Treatment planning with patients and the concept of 'good, better and best' - The power of word of mouth referrals and getting to know your local community - How and why Samantha started her ow

Episode 208 hosts Dr Pouria Moradi (Plastic Surgeon & Reconstructive Surgeon from Sydney, Australia) & Sheri-lee Knoop (Registered Nurse & President of the Cosmetic Nurses Association from Perth, Australia) Pouria and Sheri-Lee joined us to share their thoughts and insights into the proposed new Australia cosmetic regulations that have been announced by AHPRA (the Australian health practitioner regulator). These new rules affect both surgeons and non-surgical practitioners and come into force on July 1st 2023.  For years there have been arguments between the various cosmetic stakeholders over which practitioners have the right to treat patients, who can and can't offer the various procedures and heated debates over the standards expected of cosmetic practioners. Last year's enquiry by AHPRA into cosmetic surgery led to a full scale review of all cosmetic procedures. This has culminated in a set of sweeping new regulations - and some have voiced that it's a self-inflicted wound on an industry that

Episode 207 hosts Babak Moini, the founder of Laser Clinics Australia (LCA). LCA started in 2008 and have become the world's largest aesthetic and skin chain of clinics with over 200 locations in Australia, Singapore, UK and Canada. Since then, numerous other competitor chain clinic brands have competed with each other for the same demographic of patients (including Silk Laser Clinics, Evolution Clinics, Australian Skin Clinics, Clear Complexion Clinics and several other brands) The universal feature of the chain clinics includes offering discounted and high volume treatments, often in high foot traffic locations and shopping malls. Babak sold his final shares in LCA in 2017 and has observed from the sidelines how the aesthetic chain clinic model that he started has evolved. We discuss: Babak's backstory and how LCA came to be His assessment of the current strategy of his previous company LCA His opinions on the franchisor vs franchisee relationship  His views on why adding additional services to an aestheti

Episode 206 showcases our hosts Dr Jake Sloane & David Segal. Dr Jake has been abroad numerous times in the past 8 weeks for various conferences and meetings. We recorded this episode whilst he was in Dubai (so apologies for his sides poorer sound quality) but we decided to explore what he was up to and what some of the key learnings from his trips were. We discuss: AMWC Monaco, one of the biggest global aesthetic meetings and what's on offer What the best live injection he saw was and why How to best plan for being at such a large conference  Our IA Patron group get together in Monaco and how our Patrons helped one another  AMWC Miami (a new leg of the AMWC  tour) & Dr Jake's three talks here What the best talk he saw was His visit to see Dr Felix Bertram at his clinic in Zurich  The dilemma of seeing overly augmented injectors and whether this is a problem or not  Recapping what IA Patreon is and what we offer in addition to our podcasts We're going on an Easter break now and will be back with epi

Episode 205 hosts Dr Phillip Singh, a dermatologist based in Perth, Australia & Helen Planting, Clinical Development Manager for Alocuro. Alocuro are a privately-owned Australian company that supplies medical devices for use in platelet-rich plasma (PRP) procedures.  We revisit the topic of PRP having first covered it way back in episodes 19 & 20. We explore: Phillip and Helen's backgrounds What PRP is exactly Why platelet concentration is so important How PRP is harvested How the Alocuro system differs to previous generations of PRP devices What the proposed mechanism of action of PRP is How your health and nutrition can impact the quality of PRP  Why injectors might have previously been underwhelmed by PRP PRP for hair loss What 'biofiller' is This episode was supported by Alocuro.   SUPPORT THE PODCAST: If you enjoy listening to IA every week and would like to help support the podcast in a small way, we have a simple donation option: Buy us a coffee   IA PATREON: Did you know that we have an onli

Episode 204 hosts Melissa Isaia, co-founder of Juvae and the CNA (Cosmetic Nurses Association) & Nicole Schmid, Registered Nurse, co-founder of Juvae & the CNA. Melissa & Nicole created 'Juvae' back in 2008, an all in one solution for the training, business support and connecting of nurse injectors to clinics. At that time, the Australian injectable market was very immature. The chain clinics hadn't yet formed, social media was in it's infancy, hyalase wasn't a thing and in many ways, the aesthetic world was far simpler. In Chapter 7 of 'The Business of Injecting' episodes, we explore: Melissa and Nicole's backgrounds How and why they created Juvae Get insight into how Juvae assesses 'competency' amongst their injectors The dilemma with new student nurses specifically training to become injectors   What the CNA is and why Melissa and Nicole helped found it What happens behind closed doors when bodies like the CNA meet with with the regulators, AHPRA The future of injecting and the how the market

Episode 203 hosts four of our listeners and IA Patrons, Dr Steven Land, Tanya Khan, Dr Bonnie Hawthorne & Dan Julien. Steven is an experienced cosmetic physician from Newcastle, UK. He previously worked in Emergency Medicine and is KOL for Evolus and Neauvia.  Tanya is a Nurse Prescriber from Belfast, Northern Ireland and has been an injector for 5 years. Bonnie is a GP and a Cosmetic Physician with 8 years experience from Newcastle, Australia. Dan (previously on episode 169) is Nurse Practitioner wirth 5 years experience from Ottowa, Canada. He has his own successful YouTube channel under his business name 'Danesthetics'. Our section with Dan was recorded separately because of his time zone and is included from 1 hour 05 mins. We explore: What is IMCAS? Our guests personal motivations for attending one of the world's largest aesthetic conferences Their journeys to Paris and insights into just how tricky international travel has become post-COVID How to best prepare for a meeting like IMCAS The logistics

Episode 202 hosts Rick O'Neill, a digital marketing expert from Brighton, UK. (Previously joining us in episodes 134, 193 and 197)  Rick has over 20 years of experience and is the founder of Look Touch Feel (LTF), an award winning digital marketing agency who specialise in supporting aesthetic practitioners & plastic surgeons. This is the third chapter of our mini-series called the 'The Deep Digital Dive' (sponsored by LTF). Over four chapters we'll better understand some of the core pillars of digital marketing to help injectors and clinics get to grips with this side of their business. Chpater 3 focusses on websites and website design. We explore: Why clinics and injectors need a website 'DIY' template-style websites vs professional custom built websites Why you need to have a branding strategy prior to creating your website What content needs to be on a website and how to tailor it for people searching on Google How websites are typically structured and how to best guide prospective patients How to

Episode 201 hosts Dr Patricia Barerra, a cosmetic physican based in the city of Paraná, Argentina.  Patricia joins us in the 12th Chapter of our series called 'The Injector Diaries'. These episodes feature in depth conversations, stories and experiences from injectors around the globe. Each injector brings their own unique take on things and we'll showcase every level of type of injector, from newbies to masters. We'll explore how and why they chose to inject, why they favour using certain products, look under the hoods of their clinics and aim to inspire our injector listeners. Patricia went to medical school in the USA before moving back to Argentina to work as a junior doctor in hospital. After one year of surgical training, Patricia discovered her passion for aesthetic medicine and has worked as a cosmetic physician ever since. This episode was completely unscripted and we thank Patricia again for her time and insights. Due to a planned guest being ill, Patricia very kindly stepped in at the very last min

To celebrate our very special 200th episode, we were honoured to host Dr Arthur Swift (Plastic Surgeon) from Vancouver, Canada.  Arthur has been at the forefront of injectables from the very beginning, starting in the early 1990's when there were no mentors or guidelines. Originally trained as a plastic surgeon, Arthur very quickly identified how transformative non-surgical treatments would be and self-trained himself.  Over the past 30 years, Arthur has established himself as one of the most revered thought leaders in the injectable world. He has lectured in every continent, is a speaker for every injectable brand and has trained tens of thousands of injectors. We discuss: - Our joint IA X Swift Beauty competition (and announce the winner at the end of the podcast!) - Arthur's early years and the career crossroads he had to choose between - Arthur's first experence with Botox and the struggles he initially had - The influence that Leonardo Da Vinci had on his method of assessing and treating a face -

Episode 199 hosts Sarah Graham (Registered Nurse based in Kaiapoi, New Zealand) & Mischell Christmas (Registered Nurse based in Charlotte, USA). In this episode we do something a bit different by inviting on two of our long-term listeners. We explore where they are into their injecting careers, why they joined our 'IA Patreon' and how they have benefited from it. If you've never heard of Patreon, it's an online service that allows creators like us to connect with their listeners and provide bonus content. This is done via a tiered subscription model, with each tier accessing more benefits.   We started IA Patreon around 6 months ago and at the time of writing we now have 132 injectors subscribing from all corners of the globe (a subscriber to Patreon is called a Patron). The purpose of our IA Patreon is very simple - it provides support, education and a community for injectors anywhere. We explore: Who our guests are How and why they listen to IA  What Patreon is and why we started IA Patreon The benefit

Episode 198 hosts Dr Felix Bertram, a dermatologist based in Zurich, Switzerland.  Whilst Felix is still a practising dermatologist, he is best known as a globally-renowned entrepreneur in the aesthetics space. He's the mastermind behind Skinmed clinic, a high end aesthetic destination with 12 plastic surgery theatres, resident dermatologists and a pathology lab, cosmetic injectables and beauty services all under one roof.  In addition to this, various side businesses compliment the clinic including: - the Swiss Aesthetic Institute training centre (co-founded with Julie Horne) - Skinmed Doctors skincare range - Skins restaurant (that has already won two Michelin stars since opening in October 2022) In Chapter 6 of 'The Business of Injecting' episodes, we explore: Felix's background and early career in dermatology Balancing life between being a Doctor and an Entrepeneur  His business enterprises @skinmed_switzerland @swiss_aesthetic_institute @skinmed_doctors @skins_the_restaurant His definition of an entr

Episode 197 hosts Rick O'Neill, a digital marketing expert from Brighton, UK. (Rick previously joined us on Webinar 5 and in episodes 134 & 193) Rick has over 20 years of experience and is the founder of Look Touch Feel (LTF), an award winning digital marketing agency who specialise in supporting aesthetic practitioners & plastic surgeons. This is chapter 2 of a mini-series called the 'The Deep Digital Dive' (sponsored by LTF). Over four chapters we'll better understand some of the core pillars of digital marketing to help injectors and clinics get to grips with this side of their business. In Chapter two we focus on what's known as 'Google Local optimisation'. We explore: - What a 'Near Me Search is' and how this relates to a 'Google Local Search' - Creating a Business profile on Google and setting up or claiming your business - The importance of completing your Google Business profile as fully as possible and regularly - How to attract patients from within your local proximity - Using tools like a

Episode 196 hosts Amy Lynn, a board-certified aesthetic nurse specialist from Philadelphia, USA. Amy joins us in the 11th Chapter of our series called 'The Injector Diaries'. These episodes feature in depth conversations, stories and experiences from injectors around the globe. Each injector brings their own unique take on things and we'll showcase every level of type of injector, from newbies to masters. We'll explore how and why they chose to inject, why they favour using certain products, look under the hoods of their clinics and aim to inspire our injector listeners. Amy previously worked in the hospital-setting for over a decade and focussed on trauma, paediatrics and cardiac care. After she had five children, she found her passion and trained in facial aesthetics to make her dream of opening a medical spa come to fruition. She is recognized as a National GAIN Trainer & Key Leading Mentor (Galderma). She founded her own training academy, Glo Academy, where she upskills injectors from all over the USA

Episode 195 hosts Dr Kate Jameson, a Cosmetic Physician from Perth, Western Australia.  Kate originally trained in Emergency Medicine before specialising as a GP. In 2018 her founded 'Youthlab' with her husband, now a leading aesthetic clinic. Over the past 4 years Youthlab now has grown to three clinics and there are future plans to expand even futher by moving inter-state. In Chapter 5 of 'The Business of Injecting' episodes, we get an insight into how one of Australia's leading boutique clinics was created and then scaled.  We explore:    - Kate's background & pathway into injecting  - Insight into the injectables market in Western Australia   - The challenges of transistioning from General Practice to being a business owner?   - How the brand 'YouthLab' came about  - The Youthlab business plan  - How to provide a 5 star customer service - The injectable patient journey - How Youthlab onboard staff and develop a culture amongst their team - How to motivate & incentivise staff - What servi

Episode 194 hosts Dr Ravi Jain & Dr Sophie Shotter, two leading aesthetic doctors from the UK. Ravi is an extremely experienced injector & cosmetic surgeon based in Harpenden. With over 20 years of experience, Ravi consulted as a KOL for IBSA (the manufacturers of Profhilo) for several years. He was part of the early advisory board meetings and has a wealth of experience teaching Profhilo.  Sophie is a multi-award winning cosmetic doctor based in both Kent & Central London. She is a KOL for Allergan Aesthetics and is a global expert in using their new biostimulator product, HarmonyCa. Sophie has a particular interest in treating and optimising her patient skin and has treated thousands of patients with Profhilo since 2016.  In this episode we re-visit the new bio-remodelling treatment, Profhilo. (Listen to episode 179 for the basic science & background to Profhilo) Having only been launched in Australia in August 2022, it's undeniably been incredibly successful so far. But as with all new prod

Episode 193 hosts Rick O'Neill, a digital marketing expert from Brighton, UK. (Rick previously joined us for our 5th webinar during the lockdown of 2020 and also in episode 134 of the podcast) Rick has over 20 years of experience and is the founder of Look Touch Feel (LTF), an award winning digitial marketing agency who specialise in supporting aesthetic practitioners & plastic surgeons. In this episode we introduce our new mini-series called the 'The Deep Digital Dive' (sponsored by LTF). Over four chapters we'll better understand some of the core pillars of digital marketing to help injectors and clinics get to grips with this side of their business. In chapter one we focus on social media and content creation. We explore: What we mean by digital marketing and why it's so vital for injectors & businesses  What social media is and what it's purpose is The main channels:  Instagram, Facebook & Tik Tok What exactly each channel does in it's simplest form and how each channel differs Instag

Episode 192 hosts Dr Steven Liew (Plastic Surgeon, Sydney Australia), Dr Sam Patel (Business Entrepreneur, Chicago, USA) & Gareth Pepper (National Sales Director of BTL Aesthetics, Australia). We also welcome back Professor Sebastian Cotofana for a cameo appearance! In this episode we discuss a completely new device category in facial aesthetics called EMFACE by BTL Aesthetics. EMFACE opens a new chapter in how facial rejuvenation can be achieved. It combines High-Intensity Facial Electrical Stimulation (HIFES) energy and Radiofrequency (RF) technologies together. This unique combined technique (delivered simulataneously via three facial applicators) strengthens and tones specific muscles of the face whilst also improving the quality of the skin. We explore: - What EMFACE is & how it works - Why the technologies of HIFES & RF are combined  - Who makes a good candidate for an EMFACE treatment  - What the SMAS is, how it ages and why HIFES + RF are combined - Understanding frontalis aging: how stimu