Billboards showing before-and-after photographs of “an ugly girl who turned pretty” or “a dork who became a fashionable man” via the intervention of an aesthetic medicine clinic have been commonplace in cities across the nation in recent years, but now a fad for these types of minimally invasive cosmetic treatments appears to be dying out, observers said.
While the Ministry of Health and Welfare claims that it does not have data on how many clinics practicing aesthetic medicine there are across the nation — due to a difficulty in defining them — sources within the industry said the number has dropped from nearly 2,000 two years ago to a little more than 1,000.
Several years ago there was a boom in the number of these clinics, but many have now closed down, with about 30 percent closing after only being in operation for two years, Chinese Society of Cosmetic Surgery and Anti-Aging Medicine committee convener Sung Feng-i (宋奉宜) said.
While there still seem to be a lot of clinics in business, many are being run by new owners, he said, adding that sometimes the previous owners left before their clients completed their pre-paid treatment courses.
People often forget that cosmetic procedures are a form of medical intervention, because patients elect to undergo the procedures voluntarily, and unlike hospitals, aesthetic medicine facilities can attract customers by offering treatments to healthy people, Sung said.
However, demand for aesthetic medicine can be induced, he said.
If a person has small eyes and a flat face there is nothing wrong with them, but by suggesting that “you cannot be beautiful if you do not change it,” people who are insecure about their appearance can be convinced to undergo procedures, he said.
That is why aesthetic medicine employs marketing techniques and often becomes commercialized, he added.
Only a small number of aesthetic medicine practitioners own their clinics, the majority of them are hired, Sung said, adding that the “wealthy owners” make all the decisions relating to management, marketing and procurement, while there is a lot of competition among practitioners for jobs.
In addition, many investors have lost money in clinics that were not well managed and subsequently closed down, he said.
Legal disputes involving aesthetic medicine have increased by up to 15 percent in the past decade, according to Taiwan Healthcare Reform Foundation statistics.
The majority of disputes related to information asymmetry, undue inducement, clients being unaware of potential risks and procedures not meeting their expectations, statistics showed.
As the market for aesthetic medicine grew, the industry became flooded with false advertising and commercial marketing, Kaohsiung Medical Association president and dermatologist Ko Shih-chung (柯適中) said.
Many aesthetic medicine clinics asked counselors and beauticians to use marketing tactics with clients, such as offering discount tryout prices, “buy 10 get one free” treatment courses, or by slashing prices, meaning that the field has become overwhelmed by commercialized marketing, he said.
There was a case in which a client paid NT$150,000 for a course of treatments aimed at removing black spots from her face, but the treatment caused skin pigmentation and the clinic refused to accept responsibility, Ko said.
The patient had to spend more money to solve the problem, he said, adding that there are many unnecessary courses on the market that only cause skin inflammation and skin pigmentation.
If people choose clinics because they offer the cheapest prices, medical risks and legal disputes resulting from unprofessional treatment are likely to increase, which could have a negative impact on consumers’ perceptions of the industry, he said.
Having observed the industry for many years, Sung said there would only be two types of aesthetic medicine clinics left in the future.
The first would be run by doctors with good technical skills and would attract clients by word-of-mouth.
The second would be led by financial groups that manage a brand and train doctors to offer standardized services, resulting in mass-produced facial features such as eyes or noses, he said, adding that this type of scenario is what the market in South Korea looks like, where many pretty faces are created without distinguishing features.
Cosmetic dentistry has also become popular, he said, adding that according to ministry statistics, the number of dental clinics has increased from about 5,550 in 1990 to about 6,630 this year.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
RSS