How can you achieve a natural result in aesthetic medicine?
A natural result does not mean the change must be invisible. It means the improvement remains consistent with facial features, without giving the impression that treatment has been performed.
The result should remain natural both at rest and during facial expressions. After an injection, the product should not create irregularities visible or detectable by touch.
The aim is to correct what bothers the patient without changing facial identity.
This approach also applies to wrinkles. A wrinkle does not necessarily need to disappear completely: it can be softened while preserving natural facial movement and expressions.
Why should aesthetic treatments be personalised?
Every face has different anatomy, proportions and movement. Two patients consulting for the same problem therefore do not necessarily need the same treatment.
Skull shape, chin projection, mandibular width, cheekbone position and volume distribution influence overall facial appearance. With age, skin, fat, muscles and bone structures also change differently between individuals.
Muscle activity varies too. Some people strongly contract their forehead or glabellar muscles, while others use them much less. Injecting the same amount of botulinum toxin in the same places in every patient therefore makes no sense.
Personalisation means adapting treatment to this anatomy and these dynamics rather than applying an identical protocol to every face.
Should less product be injected for a natural result?
Personalising treatment does not mean routinely using small amounts of product. It means injecting the appropriate amount, in the right place and for a specific indication.
For some patients, a small amount is enough. For others, a more substantial correction is necessary for a balanced result.
An insufficient amount may not correct the problem adequately. Conversely, multiplying syringes or treated areas without an indication can gradually alter facial proportions.
The amount injected should therefore be adapted to the patient's anatomy, desired result and treatment performed.
Why should the whole face be assessed rather than treating wrinkles alone?
With ageing, the skin becomes less dense, fat compartments change, certain volumes diminish or shift, and deep facial structures evolve.
For example, a fold in the lower face may be accentuated by lost volume or support higher up. Filling it directly is therefore not always the most appropriate solution.
Facial assessment identifies the cause of the fold or wrinkle before choosing the treatment area.
This approach avoids repeatedly injecting the same area without addressing the actual cause of the problem.
How can you achieve a natural result with hyaluronic acid?
Hyaluronic acid is indicated when there is volume loss, insufficient projection or a need for support in certain facial areas. Results depend on the indication, product used, amount injected and treated area.
Not all hyaluronic acids have the same properties. Some gels restore deep volume and provide support. Others are better suited to mobile areas or superficial corrections.
The aim is not to add volume throughout the face, but to inject only areas where correction genuinely improves proportions.
Hyaluronic acid can therefore restore volume to a hollow temple, support a cheekbone or improve chin projection. These injections are performed only when they address an identified need.
How can you retain your expressions with botulinum toxin?
A natural result with botulinum toxin relies on precise assessment of the muscles responsible for facial expressions. The aim is to reduce wrinkle-causing contractions without suppressing natural expressions.
On the forehead, eyebrow position, muscle strength and expressive habits vary between patients. The same injection sites and doses therefore cannot be used routinely.
Before treatment, the doctor observes the face at rest and in movement, particularly when the patient frowns, raises the eyebrows or smiles. Injection sites and doses are then adapted to this assessment.
The aim is to soften expression lines while retaining natural facial movement.
Which treatments improve skin quality without adding volume?
Facial harmony does not depend on volume alone. Skin texture, hydration, density, radiance and evenness also contribute to appearance.
Adding volume cannot correct photoageing, visible pores, pigmentation spots or texture irregularities.
Depending on the problem being treated, mesotherapy, Skinboosters, peels, lasers or collagen-stimulating treatments may be offered to improve skin quality.
Treatment should therefore be chosen according to the signs present. Personalisation addresses only the elements requiring correction.
Which treatments stimulate collagen production?
Treatments stimulating collagen production may be offered to improve skin quality and tissue support gradually.
Sculptra stimulates the body's collagen production. Its effect develops gradually, unlike hyaluronic acid, which immediately restores volume in a specific area.
Fractional lasers also stimulate skin remodelling. Their effects and indications depend on laser type, treatment depth and the problem being corrected.
Should several treatments be combined for a natural result?
Combining several techniques can be useful when several different causes contribute to facial ageing. Each treatment must then address a specific problem.
Botulinum toxin acts on certain muscle contractions responsible for expression lines. Hyaluronic acid restores lost volume or provides support. Skinboosters, peels or lasers can treat certain skin changes.
These treatments can therefore complement each other, but combining them is not automatic. A treatment should be offered only for a specific indication.
How can excessive injections and an overcorrected face be avoided?
The best way to prevent excessive correction is not to treat an area simply because it is technically possible.
Before an injection, what actually bothers the patient must be identified and its cause determined. The whole face must then be assessed to ensure correcting one area will not unbalance others.
A gradual approach may also be useful. Improving a correction at a second session is often simpler than managing excess product.
Photographs taken before treatment preserve an objective point of comparison. They are particularly useful in patients treated for several years because perception of one's own face can gradually change.
Finally, follow-up checks that successive treatments remain consistent with each other.
Can artificial intelligence improve treatment personalisation?
Artificial intelligence is beginning to be used to analyse certain facial characteristics more precisely. It can help standardise photographs, identify differences between areas and monitor changes over time.
These tools can provide additional information during assessment. They can also facilitate before-and-after comparison and make certain assessments less dependent on visual impression alone.
However, they do not replace medical examination. A face must be observed in three dimensions, palpated and assessed in movement. The patient's expectations, medical history and treatment limitations must also be discussed.
Artificial intelligence may therefore become an additional personalisation tool, but medical decisions remain based on patient examination.
What happens during a personalised aesthetic consultation?
During consultation, Dr Romano assesses facial proportions, volume, skin quality and expressions. This determines whether the problem calls for botulinum toxin, hyaluronic acid, a Skinbooster, a collagen stimulator, a peel, a laser or no treatment at all.
In Geneva, consultation also defines priorities when several treatments are indicated. They do not necessarily need to be performed at the same time.
Article written by Dr Valeria Romano
Dr Valeria Romano supports each patient through a comprehensive approach to facial, body and intimate aesthetics, as well as skin and hair quality. Every treatment is based on a personalised medical assessment.
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