Asian aesthetic and cosmetic professionals recently gathered to share the latest trends and procedural know-how, pointing out that knowing the “patient’s needs” is crucial for aesthetic procedures to produce the best results.

Last Sunday, they agreed at “2023 HELF in Seoul” at Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas in Gangnam-gu. HELF (Hugel Expert Leader’s Forum) is a global academic symposium that Hugel has been organizing since 2013. The event was attended by doctors from many Asian countries, including Japan, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, and the Philippines, aside from host Korea.

Dr. Kim Jong-woo, director of Gangnam ID Clinic, spoke with the title “Therapeutic Approaches for Pre-Aging Skin,” emphasizing the importance of bridging the gap between doctors and patients.

According to Kim, a global survey published in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal last year showed that 70 percent of doctors said patients should seek aesthetic counseling in their 20s and 30s. However, 32 percent of female patients said they should start in their 30s, and 37 percent said in their 40s. The same was valid for male patients.

"We need to educate patients about the importance of early intervention. Instead of waiting until after the skin has sagged, wrinkled, and lost volume, which can be difficult to reverse, we need to let them know that they need to start taking care of their skin in their late 20s,” Kim said. "It's also important to explain things to them in a language they can understand.

In another presentation, “On Trend in the 20s: Aesthetic Procedures vs. Social Media Filter Challenge,” Dr. Cho Jeong-mok, director of Eton Plastic Surgery, said, "What young people want is not to look older. They know that to look beautiful, they need surgery, not fillers. Our role is to eliminate what makes them look older and to do so safely so that nothing dangerous happens."

At the event, healthcare professionals gave rave reviews of Hugel's Byryzn SkinBooster HA launched last year.

In a presentation titled "Evaluation of Efficacy and Safety of Intradermal Injection of Hyaluronic Acid," Professor Lee Young-in of the Dermatology Department at Yonsei University Severance Hospital revealed the results of a prospective exploratory clinical trial of Byryzn conducted at Severance Hospital, explaining the features of Byryzn.

"This past March, there were many global market research reports on skin boosters, and it was predicted that the skin booster market, which was about $940 million in 2021, will grow 9.3 percent annually through 2029. The Asia-Pacific region, in particular, is expected to grow more due to the growing demand for minimally invasive aesthetic procedures.”

In 2022, a survey of healthcare practitioners in 11 Asian countries on the latest skin quality trends also showed that the four most commonly emphasized things were skin texture, skin tone, skin elasticity, and most importantly, skin radiance, Lee explained. Hugel’s SkinBooster treatment is an option that can improve all four of these skin quality dimensions, she added.

"Byryzn has a high hyaluronic acid (HA) content compared to other skin booster products while maintaining the right gap between viscosity and elasticity modulus, making it a good skin booster," she said. "Its use with various injectors is also a good option to speed up the procedure while reducing patient pain."

Dr. Park Hyun-jun, director of Maylin Clinic Cheongdam, presented "Potential Effects of HA Skin Boosters in Anti-Aging Dermatology Treatment: Combination Therapy of PN, PLLA, and EBD for Clinical Application.

"Byryzn is a well-made HA skin booster, and there was no foreign body reaction when it was mixed with PN or PLLA,” he said.

However, Park warned, saying, "You can never say that one substance builds more collagen or stabilizes the dermis better. Each of the three substances has its characteristics so you can use them according to the price."

He also cautioned that it is not necessarily recommended, although the latest trend is to mix and match.