What is Aesthetics, Unfiltered?
Aesthetics, Unfiltered (AU) offers the latest news from the aesthetics industry, without any of the spin or brainwashing that usually accompany it.
My goal is to reality-check the hyperbolic buzz that you see elsewhere and to deliver credible, candid, balanced reporting — which is trickier than it sounds.
Aesthetic medicine is a controversial field (part of its charm, really) with certain endemic foibles. A famous one that complicates my work is this: Pharmaceutical companies commonly form alliances with the healthcare providers who use their injectables and devices, paying (or otherwise incentivizing) them to promote their products and accompanying claims. Thus, expert opinions are often at least semi-skewed if not profoundly biased.
(Medicine and marketing make strange bedfellows, no?)
Happily, there are also doctors who actively resist industry entanglements and pride themselves on being say-anything free agents. I like these doctors.
In any case, it can be challenging to report the whole truth about medical procedures — all of which come with risks and drawbacks — when industry leaders, with conflicts of interest or personal agendas, are filtering facts.
But that’s not the only hurdle facing aesthetics reporters. See, typically, before doctors even enter the editorial picture, writers must first convince editors that the story they hope to tell is suitable for publication. And some ideas are harder sells than others. Frequently, the stories that feel most urgent to me are rather prickly and risky to run.
Why risky? Because the same pharmaceutical giants that are paying physicians to be “consultants” or “speakers” or “trainers” are also funneling advertising and sponsorship dollars into beauty magazines and digital outlets. Which means your go-to news source likely has skin in the game — and, consequently, must choose their words carefully when reporting on a particular brand’s offerings. Sometimes it’s just easier for them to avoid delicate topics altogether.
That’s where AU comes in. I’m not beholden to advertisers, editors, or publishers. I can be appropriately critical and transparent. I can tell you everything you need to know about the cosmetic procedures you may be considering. I can share all of it, unfiltered — including the warnings and caveats that doctors often whisper to me, off the record, anonymity guaranteed.
Above all, I want Aesthetics, Unfiltered to be a place where we can exchange ideas, spitball theories, ask questions, share recommendations/referrals, and keep each other safe and informed. So, please, engage in the comments! Introduce me to new people and procedures! Tell me if you've had a bad experience with a specific provider, product, or treatment! Ask me if Daxxify is worth the extra hundred or if Sculptra will sabotage your future facelift! Odds are, I’m wondering the same. And I’ll always answer honestly and completely, with an assist from a trusted MD or two.
Why subscribe?
If that sounds appealing, I do hope you’ll subscribe to AU. While select posts will be free for all, others will be exclusively for paying subscribers. In the spirit of unfiltered expression, let me explain why.
After a year of providing content free of charge, I recently turned on paid subscriptions, because a) I believe my time, connections, and content are worth a few bucks a month and b) journalism is dying a slow and painful death (yes, still). With each new year comes a fresh wave of budget cuts and layoffs. Even the gigs we manage to hold onto are paying less and less. In 2024, I’m feeling this, personally. It’s wild to think that 20 years ago — as an utterly inexperienced writer without a clear POV, strong voice, or ounce of skepticism — I was earning twice what I am now. But that’s the reality and I hope you understand my position.
A little about me
I’m a veteran journalist covering the aesthetics space — plastic surgery and cosmetic dermatology: the people, the procedures, the politics.
I started in magazines — the words-on-paper kind — in 1999, serving as a beauty editor for Redbook, Lifetime, Oprah, and Allure. I’ve been freelancing for the past 18+ years, writing for print and digital outlets and holding various contrib posts along the way. I’m currently a contributing writer for Allure and editor at large for Air Mail Look.
When I’m not reporting and writing, I’m at home in Rhode Island, hanging with my husband and kids.
