The 2016 Aesthetic Medicine Whitepaper Report from GMei shows that the consumer base of aesthetic medicine tends to be younger in age, with consumers less than 25 account for 24% of the total user base, a year-on-year growth of 5%.

　　Chaos

　　A market with immense business potential is also easy to nurture chaos.

　　“First we have injections. They are easy to conduct. And many institutions let unqualified nurses do the injections. Apart from that, some institutions also trick the consumers about the volume. It’s not uncommon for institutions to use botox volume for one on two consumers. Furthermore, there is no guarantee for the operation environment. There are plenty of studios and private clinics that fail to meet the sanitary condition requirements.”

　　Secondly, even though some platforms now provide scan tool for users to determine the authenticity of the products, most of the time users still have to rely on themselves to tell if they are real products or not. Aesthetic medicine platforms are in some way an outlet for illegal drugs to flourish and get into circulation.

　　Zhong Xianlei, vice president of Plastic Surgery Hospital Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, makes it clear that he dislikes aesthetic medicine platforms. He believes that these platforms are only aiming for the money. Up till now the Plastic Surgery Hospital Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences doesn’t allow its medical staff to register on different third-party platforms.

　　Due to the lack of supervision and regulation, accidents are frequent in the aesthetic medicine sector. Many beauty seekers pay lots of money to become beautiful, risking their health and even their lives. Little do people know that for the lucky ones who have successfully changed their look the main cost is spent on maintaining their mental conditions.

　　These beauty seekers usually suffer from the great pressure from their friends and relatives, as well as society. “Aesthetic medicine’s biggest cost doesn’t lie in the expense. It’s expensive. But when you finish all the procedures you become a completely different person. No matter how small the operation is, your friends and relatives are naturally against it.”

　　“Therefore, I think the biggest cost for aesthetic medicine is that when you have finished the process, you have to change a boyfriend or even a husband. Your whole social network will shuffle again.”

　　Even so, the aesthetic medicine industry is still rising at a rocket speed in the past few years. It’s estimated by ABAOGAO the aesthetic medicine industry in China will continue to grow by 25% in the next five years and that in 2017 the market scale will reach one hundred billion.

　　From the perspective of market share, major traditional aesthetic medicine institutions have more say in the market as they possess the doctors and reputation. But to cater to young people, aesthetic medicine, commercialization, and Internet live show have forged a combination, bringing new blood and expectations to the industry.

　　R, as a beauty seeker, believes that adequate aesthetic medicine programs do bring changes to your life quality.

　　Consumption is a method, a channel. That’s probably the purpose of aesthetic medicine Internet platforms.

　　R spent around ￥120,000 on the first phase program. “The upcoming program costs ￥80,000, which I have already paid. I am waiting for my body to recover so I can continue the process,” R said. “I don’t care for the money, because I spent 200 grand but I can make 400 grand next year.”

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　　[The article is published and edited with authorization from the author @CaiDi, please note source and hyperlink when reproduce.]

　　Translated by Garrett Lee (Senior Translator at PAGE TO PAGE), working for TMTpost.