Earlier this month I was lucky enough to be invited by Allergan, the world’s leading manufacturer of aesthetic products (including the true original Botox), to attend their annual masterclass. Held in a prestigious London hotel, the masterclass was run by Mauricio de Maio (pictured), the world renowned plastic surgeon and aesthetics guru from Brazil. The two day event is, for me, the highlight of the aesthetic calendar as I’m able to learn the latest techniques from the very best in the field, which is always hugely inspiring.

There have been significant developments in recent years in the aesthetics industry, particularly in the use of dermal fillers. This has partly been driven by advancement in the products themselves. Allergan, for example, have produced a new range of volumising fillers known as the Vycross range. With improved “˜cross linkage’ of molecules these products last longer, look and feel more natural, and attract/retain more water (to further enhance the volumising effect). They are also associated with less bruising and swelling.

A second reason for the advancement of non-surgical procedures is the continuing development in our understanding of the anatomy of facial ageing. For example, studies have shown how our facial fat pads thin and drop with age. When combined with loss of skin laxity and bone shrinkage, our ageing face can be likened to a tablecloth getting larger whilst the table gets smaller. We can now address these changes by using dermal fillers to volumise, as an alternative/addition to merely filling the lines and wrinkles themselves. And with these new techniques comes an even greater focus on results that look entirely natural, with patients looking less tired “¦and more like their former selves.

As I mentioned at the beginning, the Masterclass was arranged by Allergan, who were also kind enough to take me to the one and only Botox manufacturing site in the world last year. One of the things I particularly like about Allergan, apart from the outstanding quality of their products of course, is the ethos they share with me in terms of how aesthetics should be used. Their literature doesn’t focus on photo-shopped imagery of unrealistically beautiful twenty year olds, but on real women, each with their own particular back story. This is best seen on this is me, which is a site I particularly like.