New Aesthetics Symposium Raises the Bar

Sponsored by Aesthetics Biomedical, Inc.

Aesthetics Biomedical®, Inc. (Phoenix, Ariz.) re-established the standard for aesthetic conferences with its inaugural symposium, Perspectives: The Evolution of Aesthetics, held at the J.W. Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa April 9-10, 2021. The event was designed to spark discussion around the past, present and future of the industry. Aesthetic luminaries shared their ideas and viewpoints together with content on emerging trends, new therapies and technologies, best practices, and various aspects of marketing and social media management to foster learning, inspiration and growth. More than 200 attended the conference, which was held in a private, socially distant environment. Many more attended virtually.

“Like a lot of others here, this is the first in-person event I have attended since COVID-19,” said Vivian Bucay, MD, dermatologist, founder and president of the Bucay Center for Dermatology and Aesthetics (San Antonio, Texas). “This is a sponsored symposium, but highlighted perspectives and philosophies of care, as well as the evolution of how we treat patients, from skincare to device-based therapies, as well as combination treatments. Aesthetics Biomedical (ABM) assembled an impressive group of top thought leaders, and speakers were invited for their expertise and opinions, not to echo the agenda of sponsors. And because of the pandemic, it has been a long time since most of us have had the opportunity to experience this level of quality and variety of ideas and perspectives in our field.”

“What ABM has done here is simply amazing,” said Lori Robertson, MSN, FNP-C, owner and clinical director of Skin Perfect Medical and of The Aesthetic Immersion (both in Brea, Calif.). “For the launch of a new conference, everything here has been top notch, from the presentation and overall organization, to the videos and lighting, to the educational content and food, not to mention the lineup of speakers. A variety of companies and products were represented in an intimate setting that still affords safety and social distancing, with a lot of little twists, turns and unexpected touches. Obviously, a lot of out-of-the-box thinking went into this symposium.”

“Oftentimes, when we attend events like this there is information overload,” added Ava Shamban, MD, cosmetic dermatologist and owner of Ava MD and Skin Five (Beverly Hills, Calif.). “Here, we also had space and time to truly encounter other things, receive treatments, enjoy hands-on experiences, and learn about new technologies in depth. It was more compact but still featured a spectrum of offerings; and because of their many partnerships the exhibits were more diverse than one would expect. I believe attendees got a lot more out of this than they might at a traditional meeting. It was a totally different experience for me.”

Keynote speaker Shino Bay Aguilera, DO, dermatologist and dermatologic surgeon at Shino Bay Cosmetic Dermatology in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., shared his perspectives about the initiative of inclusion and diversity in aesthetic medicine. “This is not about ethnicity or race, but we must recognize that for a long time we have been very Euro-centric. Only now are we embracing the beautiful diversity among patients and their unique physical, emotional and cultural needs,” he explained. “As we continue to learn more about all types of skin and how different therapies and energy-based devices interact with them, we have more capability and greater responsibility to be a part of this beautiful diversity. This acknowledges some things we know and challenges others, which is exactly the kind of experience this symposium was designed to achieve. This event has been a positive experience and a great environment for inspiration in our industry.”

Dr. Aguilera also spoke about the evolving wellness paradigm and the importance of spirituality – no surprise to those who know of his passion in the space. “Spirituality is important because wellness comes from within,” he said. “Nothing prevents aging like a positive, healthy outlook and the management of unnecessary stress. Everyone knows that stress ages you prematurely, so our best practice should be to treat not only the physical, but address wellbeing as a whole.”

SoME^® Skincare and the Vivace^® Fractional Microneedle Radiofrequency (RF) technologies were showcased, along with those from numerous partners, among the exhibits. The first home skincare product based on autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP), SoME Skincare provides peerless skin maintenance therapy, according to Dr. Bucay. “In-office treatments don’t address oxidative stress and free radical damage in a way that combats these things on a daily basis. SoME Skincare does this wonderfully, with the patient’s own PRP and other compounds that promote healthier skin in daily maintenance use, and can be used adjunctively with other therapies to improve healing and maximize outcomes.”

“SoME Skincare also represents an ideal vector given the trend toward more natural, regenerative therapies, which appeals to a lot of patients,” she continued. “People have become more careful about what they ingest or put onto their skin. By being composed of autologous PRP and safe, effective, proven compounds, it satisfies this growing need.”

With its array of 36 insulated gold-tipped needles and 31 insertion depths, Vivace delivers unrivaled minimal-downtime radiofrequency (RF) microneedling for all skin types via targeted RF delivery, coupled with microneedle induction of collagen. It also creates channels for infiltration of compounds safe for use with microneedling. “Patients choose Vivace,” said Ms. Robertson, “because for many of them the prospect of social downtime may be unacceptable. Also, these beautiful results seem to evolve naturally over time, so busy professionals can undergo treatment and gradually improve without the cost of downtime. We can combine Vivace with other things such as a very light CO₂ peel and get out-of-the-park results.”

“The customizability of Vivace Fractional Microneedle RF lends itself incredibly well to treating the diverse presentations of patient skin on the face and body, for the range of conditions we treat,” said Dr. Shamban. “Vivace’s array of insulated needles, with 31 choices for depth of insertion, really opens up RF microneedling to darker skin types that I think have been left out of the rejuvenation market. It embodies the philosophy of embracing diversity that has been so prevalent at this event. That is why I have two of them.”

“In ABM we are seeing a young, modestly sized company doing things in such a big way that it is inspiring to me, and I am sure to my colleagues as well,” Dr. Bucay added. “This has been a thorough, seamless and authentic experience that resonated with me. ABM is behaving not just like a serious company, but a community leader.”

“They have created a buzz that is not just a wonderful kick-off to future events from Aesthetics Biomedical, but to the industry as we fight to emerge from the pandemic,” Ms. Robertson said. “I can’t wait for the next one.”