The Aesthetic Jungle - China junk in Pakistani clinics.
Aesthetics once considered premium, luxury and high priced is now seen as a barber shop business model where mushrooming clinics offer low grade chineseequipment treatment brought in by traders who have no regards to safety and efficacy. Doctors have no shame in calling a copy device from China a Morphues, Candela, Ultraformer, Hydrafacial, and Soprano when its not. Welcome to the jungle!
While a good quality laser costs upto $ 100,000, a chinese copy costs $ 5000. Both look the same, in fact it is very difficult to make out whether the device is real or fake by the patient.
It is strange how these 'newbies' clinics charge patients more than a doctor with 30 year experience using quality products and lasers. This particular industry is totally unregulated and patients who reach out to a clinic by looking at an Instagram page end up losing money, time, and at times return with an even worse condition. It is a jungle, with no laws and the most cosmetically pleasing clinic to the eye is usually the worst inside.
How does one know where to go? There are few ways which will help people find a genuine clinic.
1. The doctor's reputation. This has also been compromised where certain doctors take advantage of the patients ignorance and use low quality products while charging full price.
2. Years in business. Usually this is a good test of time and people can rely on referrals based on their treatment outcomes. Word of mouth is generally a good selection criteria.
3. Doctor's degrees: While most certificates on the wall do not mean much, there are a few good degrees to note; FCPS, MSc, MD, FRCS, MCPS.
4. The equipment: The renowned laser brands can be found easily on the internet, and there is a clinic finder on most of the major laser manufacturer's websites. Another very comprehensive website called realself.com has loads of information, reviews, price ideas, and credible doctor's listings.
5. The products: There are so many different qualities of products used at a clinic each with a different price. Just like with restaurants, a clinic can treat a patient with an industry’s leading brand or a chinese unregulated product. A patient should be aware of the renowned brands of fillers, toxins, threads, exosomes, etc.
6. The aftercare: Many at times, there is no aftercare once a treatment is performed. The before & after photos play a very important role in a patient's treatment plan. The results are subtle and achieved over a period of 3 to 6 months at times. Only a photograph taken prior to the treatment will help see the changes on the face and body.
There is an Instagram page called Real_Lasers where anyone can write to find out whether a laser being used at a particular clinic is genuine or fake. While I try to direct patients myself through my personal page @ghazanfarrauf to the right clinics in a particular city which are ethical, transparent, and results driven. It is best to see the product box by a patient before it is used on them. There is usually a sticker label in a filler box which is important to get on your prescription as you might want to add to it or dissolve it later. This will enable the doctor to see what was used earlier on a patient.
The awareness is increasing by the day, but so are ways by which clinics market itself sometimes by getting celebrity endorsements, and sometimes doctors going on TV shows. It is so easy to be featured on television in Pakistan and that is also a red flag. Not everyone who is on TV is trust worthy.
The take home message is to be smart, research the treatment, find out the product or device name beforehand, dont be fooled by reviews as there are companies who provide fake reviews and followers, and trust doctors who are transparent in what they use. The upcoming AestheticLife digital magazine will highlight good doctors that use safe and effective products and devices.
Ghazanfar Rauf