the aesthetic medicine market | France

1.1 Definitions and market overview

The market for aesthetic medicine and surgery in France comprises several very distinct segments [La Roche Posay; Le Figaro Santé] :

• Plastic surgery, body reshaping techniques by means of surgical procedures to correct a morphological anomaly or the external appearance of a patient's body;
• Aesthetic medicine, which represents all the advice, care and non-surgical treatments intended to improve the aesthetic appearance of a patient;
• Cosmeceuticals, products that are halfway between cosmetics and medicine, which contain active ingredients for a specific dermatological treatment (wrinkles, dark circles, etc.).

Aesthetic surgery is therefore exclusively concerned with operations on the patient's body, such as breast surgery, the most popular procedure. Aesthetic medicine, on the other hand, can be performed by general practitioners or specialists. The vast majority of aesthetic medicine procedures involve injections under the skin, for example to reduce wrinkles. Cosmeceuticals are most frequently used to correct skin aging, although their effectiveness has yet to be proven.

The global market for cosmetic surgery and medicine is growing rapidly, driven in particular by the dynamism of the Asian regions, which are currently the main focus of global demand. However, the market remains largely dominated by the United States and Brazil. This growth is partly due to the development of injectable substances, but also to the renewal of equipment and technologies required for operations.

The French market is also growing, in particular due to the increasing popularity of so-called "non-invasive" aesthetic medicine methods, which are halfway located between medical treatment and cosmetic surgery and practiced by beauty salons, to the detriment of surgical procedures in clinics whose popularity has been affected by numerous scandals.

In France, more than one million people have already had recourse to cosmetic surgery, and the legal framework plays a predominant role in the supervision of the market and the authorization of certain practices. It is therefore crucial to understand the major dynamics of the market [France Tv].