Positive Impact of Aesthetics in Mental Health

This month, we discuss how aesthetics can improve mental health. Overall it may improve one’s confidence when tackling conditions, such as, melasma or acne but also increase happiness by taking away the negative attributes of our facial expressions, such as, treating the lines associated with anger, disappointment, frustration and sadness.Often in clinic, patients tell me they want to look as they feel, yet when someone presents dark circles due to, either pigmentation or volume loss, they are not necessarily tired but their facial attributes dictate otherwise, as they look tired even though they don’t feel it, and even though their sleep was not disrupted and/or have just returned from holiday.Other circumstances, such as hyperhidrosis to under arms and hands might constrain social interactions, hand shakes, public presentations, even relationships. Tension headaches, migraines which lead to anxiety and depression. In cases of facial asymmetries, caused or not by a medical condition, it can impact facial expressions and by attempting to achieve symmetry we can freeze the activity on the other side, bringing harmony to the face.Not only for anti-ageing purposes, which uplifts someone’s spirit, the botulinum toxin prevents formation of deeper wrinkles but also, controls the action on sweat glands (excessive sweating), reduces tension on muscles (migraines & teeth grinding). Dermal fillers not only reshape (i.e. non surgical rhinoplasty) but replace volume loss which could be a consequence of ageing, stress, sleep deprivation or even weight loss. And even more drastically these are applied after reconstructive surgery (i.e. journey after cancer) where hyaluronic acid can be used volumise and reshape depleted or resected areas.In the clinic, I often see patients wanting to look as they used to look, not only in an anti-aging perspective, but to mirror what they feel inside. Therefore, I do think aesthetics play a significant role in mental health by giving someone their confidence back and allowing them to see themselves as they feel, not tired and not angry, not stressed.Teresa RochaAesthetic Nurse Practitioner