TWEAKMENT
A what? A vital glossary of key terms and phrases in medical aesthetics, to help you understand what is going on.
A
Ablative (And Non-Ablative) Laser
The two main types of laser. Ablative lasers work by removing the thin outer layer of skin and heating the underlying skin. Non-ablative lasers, on the other hand, create heat without injuring the surface of the skin. Both aim to stimulate collagen production for skin firming and tightening benefits.
Advanced Facials
These are facials with added extras, which sit somewhere in between old-style pampering salon facials and actual tweakments. They might involve deep-cleansing using a mechanised device, or add some lightweight laser, microneedling or LED light to the treatment, to give your skin greater benefit. You can read more about advanced facials on this page.
Adverse Reaction / Event
An undesired reaction to a cosmetic procedure. These can range from the very mild, such as bruising, to the extreme, including disfigurement and even death.
Aesthetics
An inclusive term for medical specialities that focus on improving cosmetic appearance.
Aesthetic medicine
The technical term for the non-surgical procedures that we call tweakments. A useful reminder that these are actually medical procedures
Alpha hydroxy acid (AHAs)
A type of chemical compound found in skincare that loosens the ‘glue’ between skin cells allowing the dead skin cells to shed revealing a smoother skin. Popular in both skin peels in clinic and for home use. Key AHAs include glycolic and lactic acid, which can treat concerns such as discolouration and fine lines. You can discover our favourite products that use AHAs here.
B
BBL – Brazilian Butt Lift
What most people think when they hear the term BBL is of a bum-enhancing procedure where fat is injected into the backside to make it more curvy. It sounds colloquial, almost casual, but it’s an operation that should only be done by plastic surgeons as it has a high complication rate – and a death rate of one in 3,000 (that’s around 30 times higher than for any other cosmetic procedure).
or
BBL Broadband Light
Broadband light is described as a superior version of Intense Pulsed Light (for more information on that, look under the letter I).
Beautification
Using dermal fillers not to counteract the signs of ageing, but to deliberately enhance your beauty by improving your existing looks (think Kardashians, think Love Island).
Blink impact
Aka the ‘wow factor’. We make up our minds about how people look in the blink of an eye as we register their faces. Improving the contours of a face with tweakments enhances that ‘blink impact’ in a more fundamental way than make-up.
Biostimulator
A dermal filler that works to not only immediately correct wrinkles but also stimulates the body’s own natural collagen to have a long-lasting, natural-looking result. Unlike most fillers which are made from hyaluronic acid, biostimulating fillers are made with substances such as polycaprolactone (a bioabsorbable material that is also used in sutures for surgical stitches) or poly-l-lactic acid, which slowly gets absorbed by the body but in the meantime works to stimulate collagen growth.
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)
A condition where people become obsessed with a minor physical flaw – or something they think is a flaw, which no one else can see. There’s more of it than is healthy in the tweakments world.
Bone resorption
As we age, the structure of our bones begins to wear away – a process known as resorption. In the face, this results in a softer jawline, larger eye sockets and the impression that the mouth is collapsing inwards.
C
Cannula
A blunt needle used to administer injectables such as dermal fillers. Sometimes preferred to needles, as a cannula is longer and more flexible, allowing for a smoother delivery.
Ceramides
These are some of the essential components of the natural fats or lipids that are found in the skin (the others are essential fatty acids and cholesterol). As a cosmetic ingredient, they help improve moisture levels and reinforce the skin’s natural barrier.
Chemical peel
A procedure that smooths and improves the texture of the skin by removing the outermost layers. It is achieved by applying a chemical solution to induce a controlled injury to the skin. Popularly used on the face and hands, although can be used all over the body, they are also called skin peels. Find out more about skin peels here.
Collagen Banking
Collagen is the structural protein (the most abundant protein in the body) that gives our skin its strength. Our skin-collagen levels start dropping from our mid-twenties onwards, so collagen ‘banking’ involves building up our collagen supplies, either with skincare or with tweakments, to future-proof our skin.
Consultation
The name for the very important initial meeting with your aesthetic practitioner. This meeting allows you to discuss your concerns and wants, while also giving you the expert opinion and advice you need to make informed tweakment decisions. You should always have a consultation before having an aesthetic procedure.
Cooling-Off Period
Recommended by the General Medical Council and the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, this is a method of ensuring you don’t get ‘overexcited’ or come to regret your tweakment decision. It is a period of at least two weeks post-consultation, where you are invited to reflect on your decisions before going through with a tweak.
Cosmeceutical
The word cosmeceutical is a combination of ‘cosmetic’ and ‘pharmaceutical’ and it denotes a cosmetic product with bioactive ingredients that have medical benefits. That all sounds really impressive, and many cosmeceuticals give great results in the skin. However, it’s not a term that is recognised in law, nor are manufacturers of cosmeceuticals required by law to prove that their products perform as they claim… which means that, yes, plenty of so-called cosmeceuticals won’t actually benefit your skin all that much.
Cosmetic Doctor
A qualified doctor who performs non-invasive or minimally invasive procedures to alter or enhance the physical appearance.
Cosmetic Nurse
A qualified medical nurse who has completed additional training and has qualified to assess and treat the skin cosmetically. Many aesthetic nurses are also nurse-prescribers, which means that they are qualified to prescribe prescription-only products such as toxins.
Cosmetic surgeon
A surgeon who has undertaken further training and is qualified to perform operations or invasive medical procedures to change the physical appearance for cosmetic rather than medical reasons.
Crosslinking
Important to consider when discussing hyaluronic acid fillers. Crosslinked hyaluronic acid is a process that makes HA more stable, meaning it lasts longer once injected to prolong the effectiveness of your results.
Cryolipolysis
Aka fat freezing. A non-invasive body contouring system that freezes fat cells to reduce their volume and is used for the reduction of localised fat deposits.
D
Deoxycholic acid
A substance that helps to absorb fat and works by destroying fat cells where it is injected into the body for localised fat reduction. See ‘Fat-Dissolving Injections’, below.
Dermaplaning
An exfoliating treatment carried out by a doctor or aesthetician where a surgical scalpel is used to gently scrape off any dead skin cells on the surface of the skin along with the vellus hair (ie peach fuzz).
Dermatologist
A consultant dermatologist is a doctor who has completed additional specific training and has gained specialised qualifications to treat skin diseases. There aren’t that many consultant dermatologists in the UK. Cosmetic dermatologists have a greater focus on treating the skin for cosmetic improvement, than simply on managing skin diseases. If you’re considering seeing someone who calls themselves a dermatologist, bear in mind that ‘dermatologist’ is not a protected term, meaning that people can call themselves a ‘dermatologist’, or even a ‘celebrity dermatologist’ without any specialist qualification. Fully qualified dermatologists will be recognised on the Specialist Register of the General Medical Council – you can check on this link to the GMC.
Dermatology-grade facial
A facial involving thorough examination and treatment of the skin, which is less pampering and more rigorous than most beauty-salon facials. Expect painstaking extractions, a light chemical peel and possibly red light therapy.
Downtime
The time after an aesthetic procedure when the skin is healing and you may not be able to carry out your normal activities. Sometimes referred to as ‘social downtime’, i.e. time when you may not want to show your face to your colleagues or your nearest and dearest.
E
Ecchymosis
The official term for bruising – aka discolouration as a consequence of bleeding beneath the skin.
Energy-based devices
The collective term for any technology that utilise different types of energy, such as light and heat, to target specific skin concerns. Lasers, IPL and radiofrequency devices are all examples of energy-based devices.
F
Fat-dissolving injections
Small injections of a chemical called deoxycholate into fatty tissue dissolve everything around it. You can read more about fat-dissolving injections here.
Fat freezing
The less technical name for Cryolipolysis. A non-invasive body contouring system that freezes fat cells to reduce their volume and is used to reduce localised fat deposits. You can read more about fat-freezing here.
Fat transfer
A surgical fat transfer is a cosmetic treatment to collect fat cells from one part of the body and inject them into another. The aim is to collect from an area with plenty of fat (stomach, thighs) and use it to smooth out or increase the size of another area. You can read more about fat transfer here.
Fillers (dermal fillers)
A gel which is injected through the skin (the dermis) to add volume or structure to the area where it is injected. It can also help smooth the skin and sculpt the face. Most dermal fillers are made from hyaluronic acid gel; others are made from substances such as poly-l-lactic acid which stimulate the growth of collagen, to replace lost volume in the face or body. You can read more about dermal fillers here. Much to the despair of reputable aesthetic practitioners, in the UK, dermal fillers are still not categorized as medicines, so anyone can legally obtain them and inject them into anyone else. Be warned. And read our Staying Safe page.
Focussed Ultrasound
Usually described as High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU), this treatment involves concentrated ultrasound energy delivered below the surface of the skin by a handheld device to stimulate skin rejuvenation, collagen production and to lift and tighten the skin.
G
G-prime
The technical term for the stiffness quotient of a filler. I.e. for a firmer filler to resculpt the jaw, you want one with a high g-prime. Just so you know.
Granuloma
Red marks, bumps or scarring of the skin cause when injected dermal fillers cause an immune response, so that the foreign substance (aka the filler) becomes surrounded by immune cells.
H
HIFU
High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU), this treatment involves concentrated ultrasound energy delivered below the surface of the skin by a handheld device to stimulate skin rejuvenation, collagen production, and to lift and tighten the skin.
HA pens
HA stands for hyaluronic acid, the substance that dermal filler gels are made from. These HA pens are devices, often sold online, which blast tiny blobs of hyaluronic acid gel (like filler) into the skin, wherever you choose to use it. Not as safe as they’re billed. If that gel gets shot into a tiny blood vessel and blocks it, you’re in trouble.
Hyperhidrosis
A medical condition characterised by extreme sweating. Toxin injections can be used to help, especially for sweaty armpits.
I
Injectables
The collective term for the aesthetic substances around the face, normally to restore volume and reduce facial wrinkles. This includes toxin injections, injectable moisturisers (below) and biostimulators.
Injectable moisturiser
Imagine placing a long-lasting hydrating serum just beneath the surface of the skin… Injectable moisturisers (brands include Profhilo, Volite, Skinboosters and Sunekos) are hugely popular because the injected runny gel places small amounts of hyaluronic acid into the skin, where it not only hydrates, but encourages the skin to remodel itself from within, so you get fresh, glowing, firmer skin without any added volume. You can read more about injectable moisturisers here.
Intense Pulsed Light (IPL)
A type of light therapy used to treat age spots and to reduce unwanted hair growth on the face and body. Not the same as laser – laser light is more powerful, and strikes to a very precise depth in the skin. IPL has a more ‘scattergun’ effect with its wavelengths. You can read more about IPL here.
J
Jowls
Sagging skin specifically on the neck and around the jawline. A particularly common skin concern.
L
Laser
A powerful narrow beam of concentrated light that strikes at a specific depth in the skin, depending on its wavelength. Can be used lightly to brighten the skin, or heavily to strip away pigmentation and everything else in between. ‘Laser’ stands for Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation (always a good one to have up your sleeve for a pub quiz).
Laser facial
A facial that will involve the use of a laser to treat the skin to reduce facial wrinkles and skin irregularities such as blemishes or acne scars.
LED Light Therapy
LED Light Therapy uses different wavelengths of light of different colours to help solve different skin concerns. Blue light can greatly reduce active acne as the light denatures the p.acnes bacteria that provoke acne, and red light penetrates the skin and is absorbed by the cells to stimulate the growth of more collagen, for improvements in wrinkles. Near-infrared light is also a great skin booster. It offers the collagen-boosting effects of red light, but travels more deeply into the body. It can lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol and has a positive effect on the body’s feel-good hormones. There are also at-home LED masks. These popular devices are designed to boost skin radiance, calm inflammation and stimulate collagen production. Much lower powered than salon light treatments but yes, they work, if you use them often enough.
Licensed practitioner
A term used to refer to someone that has the proper training and authorisation to perform certain treatments. This authorisation usually involves meeting certain qualifications, such as education (a medical, dentistry, nursing degree for example), as well as specific aesthetics training and examinations. These practitioners may also be formally registered to a specialised certification board such as BCAM to prove their qualifications and expertise.
Lidocaine
A popular local anaesthetic that is used to decrease pain during procedures.
Lip filler
Lip filler is probably the most popular use of dermal fillers. Dermal filler is used to increase the volume of the lips and it is also known as lip plumping.
Lip Flip
A procedure to make the upper border of the upper lip kick out a bit and be more prominent. It is done by injecting a tiny bit of toxin into the muscles around the lip.
Lip threading
A procedure where a fine filament of a substance that stimulates the growth of collagen is threaded – with a needle – through the outline of the lip. Yes, urgh. It’s similar to the old lip implants of 15 years ago that were dropped for being problematic. Don’t go there.
M
Mesotherapy
A minimally invasive procedure where a series of superfine injections of vitamins, minerals and amino acids are delivered into the skin to nourish and rejuvenate while also stimulating the production of collagen and elastin. You can read more about mesotherapy here.
Microdosing (of toxins. Aka ‘Baby Botox’, or filler)
Using tiny amounts of product. Good for nervous newbies terrified of looking frozen or hamster-cheeked, though the results will be minimal and won’t last long.
Microneedling
A minimally invasive treatment in which tiny punctures in the skin are made using micro-fine needles to trigger the body’s wound healing process, stimulating collagen and elastin production. You can read more about microneedling here.
Migration
The process of filler spreading from the intended injection point to elsewhere in your face (or body). Not something you want to happen.
Muscle-stimulating facial
A microcurrent facial delivers safe, painless, low-level electrical impulses to strategic locations under the skin to firm and tone the facial muscles.
N
Non-invasive and invasive procedures
An invasive procedure refers to any treatment that requires an incision through the skin (including cosmetic surgery), whereas non-invasive tweakments do not require puncturing the skin surface, aka laser resurfacing. You may also hear minimally invasive procedures spoken about. These tend to refer to injections and those treatments that deliberately limit the size of incisions through the skin.
Non-surgical nose job
Injecting fillers into strategic points of the nose, to straighten its profile and improve proportions. Works like magic in the right hands. Seek out a nose surgeon who also does non-surgical work for this. It’s not as simple as the experts make it look.
Neocollagenesis
The process that creates new collagen within the skin. Many tweakments – including laser, ultrasound, radiofrequency and needling — aim to kick-start neocollagenesis.
Nurse prescriber
A nurse with qualifications to prescribe medicine. Cosmetic nurses with the ability to prescribe can prescribe toxins as well as administer them.
O
Oedema
The official term for swelling. This is the build-up of fluid in the body.
Off-label
Refers to the use of a medicine or device in a way that is not medically certified. Some practitioners like to do this to push boundaries and supercharge results. However, approach with caution.
P
Paradoxical Adipose Hyperplasia (PAH)
A rare adverse event of cryoliposis, where a hardened area of localised fat forms after treatment. Difficult to retify, it hit the headlines in 2016 when Linda Evangelista revealed she had suffered from it post-fat freezing.
Perception drift
As first described by Dr Sabrina Fabi, this is the concept that the longer you spend looking at extreme or improved images, say, filtered faces, or enhanced lips – the more it warps your perception. It’s not just psychological; this actually makes a temporary physiological change in the brain, like being drunk, skews your perception and makes you less happy with your own image.
Phi and ‘golden proportion’
This mathematical ratio of 1:1.6 determines what we see as beautiful. It holds true in art, architecture, and also in many aspects of the human face. The width of the face compared to the length; the height of the top lip compared to the lower lip, and so on. Expert practitioners aim to move our facial proportions towards these ideals. Who’s the nearest example of perfection? Bella Hadid, closely followed by Beyonce.
Plasma Skin Tightening
Tiny blasts of ‘plasma energy’, like miniature lightning bolts, are used to vaporise tiny holes in the skin, causing it to burn, contract and then heal itself by producing fresh collagen. You may also hear about ‘plasma showers’ – a treatment offered by non-medical specialists, which zaps the skin with tiny burns to tighten it as it heals. However, this is of dubious value. To read more about the type of plasma skin-tightening you do want to investigate, click here.
Plastic surgeon
A qualified surgeon who has taken further qualifications in a surgical speciality involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body and face.
Polynucleotides
An increasingly popular type of biostimulating injectable, which means they work at a cellular level to kick-start your skin to rejuvenate itself. Also called the ‘salmon sperm facial’ (although it involves a series of injections rather than anything like a traditional facial treatment), polynucleotides are made of fragrance of fish DNA, and the anti-inflammatory and collagen and hyaluronic-acid boosting treatment is particularly good for treating dark circles around the eyes.
Prejuvenation
The concept is that if you start early with toxins and skin-tightening treatments, the wrinkles won’t get a chance to settle in, so you’ll age more slowly. True, but it also tends to make people overly anxious about the (perfectly normal) onset of any signs of ageing.
Procedure
The proper term for a tweakment. Or rather a tweakment is a non-surgical cosmetic medical procedure.
Ptosis
The offical term for eye dropping of the upper eyelid. It can be both a cosmetic and medical concern as it can affect your eyesight.
R
Radiofrequency
A skin tightening aesthetic technique that uses radiofrequency energy to heat tissue and stimulate collagen production in the skin to improve the appearance of fine lines and loose skin. Sometimes described as a technology that ‘shrink-wraps’ the skin. You can read more about radiofrequency here.
Radiofrequency facial
As above, but the treatment uses lower levels of radiofrequency energy to firm and tone the skin on the face. The best-known brand of radiofrequency facial is the Venus Freeze.
S
Selfie dysmorphia
When you start worrying that you don’t look as good IRL as you do in your (filtered, online) selfies. And you go to a doctor asking ‘Why don’t I look like this?’ and show them a filtered selfie, and they have to point out that you never actually looked like that…
Side Effect
Any effect that happens, often undesirably, alongside the main effect you and your practitioner were aiming for.
Skin conditioning injections
Pinprick injections of a fluid form of dermal filler made from hyaluronic acid. Provides deep hydration within the skin. Perhaps more popularly known as injectable moisturisers. Brands include Profhilo, Volite and Skinboosters.
Skin peeling facial
Facial that involves a not-too-challenging facial peel, to exfoliate and brighten the skin.
SMAS
Stands for the superficial musculoaponeurotic system. The area between the skin and the deeper fatty layers of the face. It is targeted during a face lift and increasingly a focus for some tweakment devices.
‘Snatched’ jaw or the Texas Jaw
A procedure where filler is injected along the edge of the jaw and under its corners to give a clean, sharp, youthful-looking jawline. Needs to be done with care – you want to end up looking like Angelina Jolie, not Desperate Dan.
T
Tear trough
The grooves that sit between the lower eyelid and the cheeks. They create a hollow at the junction between the lower eyelid and cheek, which can give the impression of dark circles.
Thread lift
A minimally invasive, rejuvenating treatment that uses specialised dissolvable surgical threads to physically lift sagging skin on the face and body. The threads are inserted into the face (most commonly across the cheeks), then pulled tight to lift the tissues. There are cones along the length of the threads which hold the tightened skin tissue in its new position. The threads take three months to dissolve, during which time they stimulate the growth of new collagen around them. You can read more about thread lifts here.
Thread veins
Tiny blood vessels that are visible through the surface of the skin and look like fine, red wiggly lines. Also known as spider veins or broken veins they are caused by a backup of blood and are purely a cosmetic problem. Easy to treat with Intense Pulsed Light or laser.
Triangle of Youth
If you drew a triangle on the key points of a young face, you have the wider points across the cheeks, tapering down to the chin. In an older face, that triangle is reversed, with the apex at the nose, and the two lower points on the corners of the jowls, as the face loses volume and everything drifts south. Most tweakments are working to try to return things to the original, youthful, triangle.
Tweakment
A colloquial word for a non-surgical cosmetic medical procedure designed to enhance the appearance. Non surgical cosmetic procedures such as toxins, fillers, lasers, thread-lifts, and skin peels
Tyndall effect
When dermal filler is injected too close to the surface of the skin, a bulge of filler can be seen through the skin and looks blue-ish when the light hits it. That’s the Tyndall effect.