Insights Into Minimally Invasive Aesthetic Procedure-Defining Demographic Factors and Impact of the Treatment on Self-Perception: A Propensity-Matched Cross-Sectional Study.

[BACKGROUND] The lion's share of the research on facial aesthetic procedures focuses on visual results and patient satisfaction.

[OBJECTIVES] To characterize treated and untreated potential patients and the identification of determinants that influence the decision making as well as the impact of such treatments on patients' self-perception.

[METHODS] A cross-sectional, propensity-score-matched study on minimally invasive aesthetic procedures was performed through a survey comprising elements regarding demographics, conduct toward minimally invasive facial plastic interventions, as well as psychological well-being and social self-esteem domains of the validated Face-Q module.

[RESULTS] Complete data were collected from 598 participants. Among those, 88% ( = 529) were females and 12% ( = 69) were males. Forty-six percent ( = 277) of the participants were below the age of 30, and 39% ( = 233) were between 30 and 45 years of age. Of the 598 participants, 22% ( = 134) of the participants had undergone a minimally invasive aesthetic procedure of botulinum toxin and/or hyaluronic acid injection, and 78% ( = 464) of the participants had never received any aesthetic treatment. Female gender, 30 to 45 years of age, self-employment, and an income over 75,000€ were significant predictors of undergoing minimally invasive aesthetic procedures. Among treated participants, the overall FACE-Q score as well as the scores for the social esteem and the psychological well-being domains improved significantly with the aesthetic treatment.

[CONCLUSIONS] This study highlights the major role of healthcare providers in better informing patients and the positive impact of facial aesthetic treatments on patients' appearance as well as on psychological well-being and self-esteem.