Abstract Background The lion´s share of the research on facial aesthetic procedures focuses on visual results and patient satisfaction. Objectives To characterize treated and untreated potential patients and the identification of determinants that influence the decision making as well as the impact of such treatments on patients’ self-perception. Methods A cross-sectional propensity-score-matched study on minimally invasive aesthetic procedures was performed through a survey comprising elements regarding demographics, conduct towards minimally invasive facial plastic interventions as well as psychological well-being and social self-esteem domains of the validated Face-Q module. Results Complete data was collected from 598 participants. Among those, 88% (n=529) were female and 12% (n=69) were male. Forty-six percent (n=277) of the participants were below the age of 30, and 39% (n=233) percent were between 30 and 45 years of age. Of the 598 participants, 22% (n=134) participants had undergone a minimally invasive aesthetic procedure of botulinum toxin and/or hyaluronic acid injection and 78% (n=464) participants had never received any aesthetical treatment. Female gender, 30-45 years of age, self-employment and an income over 75000€ were significant predictors of undergoing minimally invasive aesthetic procedures. Among treated participants, the overall Face-Q score as well as the scores for the social-esteem and the psychological well-being domains improved significantly with the aesthetic treatment. Conclusions This study highlights the major role of healthcare providers in better informing patients and the positive impact of facial aesthetic treatments on patients’ appearance as well as on psychological wellbeing and self-esteem.
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