1.1 Definition and presentation

The market of aesthetic medicine and surgery includes two different segments:

Aesthetic medicine: a less invasive branch that does not use surgery to correct imperfections or defects of the patient. Aesthetic medicine treatments are characterized by non-invasive treatments and usually short and painless convalescence times.
Aesthetic Surgery: a branch of plastic surgery that allows to improve the patient's appearance or to eliminate definitively, totally or partially, his physical defects through surgery. Cosmetic surgery procedures are quite invasive, in most cases producing permanent results, and provide longer and more painful convalescence times.
This market study focuses primarily on the first segment.

The global market for surgery and cosmetic medicine is growing rapidly, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.7% until 2026. The aesthetic medicine market remains predominantly dominated by the United States, where a record 2.4 million non-surgical procedures were performed in 2018.

The Italian market is also growing, thanks in particular to the growing popularity of the so-called "non-invasive" methods of aesthetic medicine, placed on the borderline between medical care and simple aesthetic procedures. Italy is in fact the country in the world with the highest number of aesthetic medicine procedures in proportion to the population. In 2018, non-surgical procedures accounted for an impressive 9% of the national population.

The Italian market is still predominantly driven by women, with 87.4% of procedures, but interest from men has grown in recent years. It is estimated, in fact, that the demand for non-surgical treatment by men has increased by 25.4% since 2008.

Italians resort to aesthetic medicine from an increasingly lower age, as they prefer to prevent the signs of age, instead of treating them, in the best possible way and with optimal results. There is also growing demand from the older population, which according to the Italian Society of Aesthetic Medicine is the fastest growing segment of the market.

In Italy, the injectable segment dominates the aesthetic medicine market, with 80.7% of all procedures. In fact, hyaluronic acid and botulinum toxin fillers are the most popular non-surgical procedures in Italy.

The aesthetic medicine market requires high entry costs and advanced technology and most manufacturers are specialized in production. The market is in constant renewal, and in recent years there have been great technological advances that have allowed the spread of less invasive and more effective procedures, such as CoolSculpting and Rinofiller.

1.2 Global market

The larger global aesthetic medicine and surgery market is composed of two segments:

aesthetic medicine (***) aesthetic surgery (***)

The global aesthetic medicine and surgery market was valued at USD **.** billion in **** and is expected to experience a *.*% CAGR until ****, reaching a value of USD **.** billion at the end of the forecasted ...

1.3 National market

According to the ISAPS, the Italian market represents *.**% of the global aesthetic medicine and surgery market, which gives us an italian market size of €***.* million (***).

In Italy, the aesthetic medicine segment is one of the most developed in the world, and it represents **.*% of the total market. We can then estimate ...

1.4 The rise of medical tourism

Medical tourism refers to the phenomenon of people traveling abroad to undergo medical treatments. In the past, this usually referred to those who traveled from less-developed countries to major medical centers in highly developed countries for treatment unavailable at home. However, in recent years is started to refer also to those ...

2.1 2. Demand driven by a small proportion of the population

The demographics of demand

In Italy, the demand for the aesthetics medicine market has been growing steadily for several decades through various socio-demographic factors such as the ageing population, the growing importance of physical appearance, the growing acceptance of aesthetic treatments, and the expansion of the market to include men.

Especially ...

2.2 The motivations to resort to aesthetic medicine

The main reason for which men and women decide to undergo an easthetic medicine procedure is the need to feel good about themselves: almost * out of ** patients (***) declared so. An interesting figure that reflects the change in our society in recent years is the one concerning the image on social networks: ...

2.3 Demand trends

The needs and requests of Italians have changed deeply in recent years, redefining the existent dynamics within the broader aesthetic medicine and surgery world.

There are two main demand trends: the use of aesthetic medicine by an increasing younger and older target and the growing implementation of non-surgical procedures to correct ...

2.4 The impact of Covid-19

The lockdown caused by the Covid-** pandemic has generated a renewed interest among italians for taking care of themselves. After months of high-carbohydrates diets, lack of exposure to the sun and the open air, accumulated stress and the effect of the blue light of the screens, italians have started to see ...

3.1 A market structured around equipment manufacturers and practitioners

The aesthetic medicine value chain includes several steps. First, raw materials are supplied to the equipment manufacturers, which transform them to produce the medical equipment. The latter is then bought by doctor facilities, hospitals and aesthetic medicine centers and it is finally used to perform a non-surgical procedure on the end ...

3.2 Production of aesthetic medicine equipment

The production of aesthetic equipment includes the manufacture of injectables, equipment and cosmeceuticals. The aesthetics market requires high entry costs and advanced technology. Most manufacturers are specialized in the production of one of these segments.

The main actors of the market being international companies , the majority of production sites are located ...

4.1 Offer overview

The offer in the aesthetic medicine market can be segmented as follows:

*. Injectables

Botulinum toxin: The botulinum toxin acts by inhibiting the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine: blocking its release in the muscles, it reduces excessive facial mimicry and thus blocks skin sagging, the primary cause of wrinkles and stretch ...

4.2 The injectables segment lead the market

In Italy, the segment of injectables dominates the aesthetic medicine market, reprenting **.*% of all procedures. On the other hand, facial rejuvenation and other procedures represent only a marginal share of the market, **.*% and *.*%, respectively.

Distribution of the aesthetic medicine market by macrosegment Italy, ****, in % Source: ****

Analysing the distribution of injectables procedures, ...

4.3 Procedures' features and prices

The following table resumes the features of the non-surgical aesthetic procedures available on the market:

Source: ****

It is important to highlight that the prices vary greatly depending on the medical facility, doctor or region.

4.4 Offer trends

The aesthetic medicine market has undergone deep changes in recent years that have been brought about by changing customer demand. The offer has adapted to these changing trends developing new advanced techniques or machines. Thanks to the continuous technological research carried out by the players of the market, the procedures are ...

5.1 Regulations

Title necessary to carry out aesthetic medicine treatments

The aesthetic doctor has a degree in Medicine and Surgery but it is not essential that he has another type of specialization. There is not yet a University School of Specialization in accordance with EEC regulations for aesthetic medicine, and therefore there is ...

5.2 Off-label prescription

Every pharmaceutical company that introduces a new drug on the market, must have the approval of its Ministry of competence. The drug is authorized for the particular clinical indication required, defining it as "on label". The physician who uses a drug outside the usual use, uses it off indication or "off ...