(Chinese Version)

　　Many might have always wondered if spending tens of thousands of RMB on plastic surgeries and suffering the pain and risks of the surgeries are really worth it.

　　From R’s view, it is.

　　R is an Internet celebrity broker with over 2,000 clients. Since November last year, she started to undergo her transition. Within two short months, she went through aesthetic medicine that covered her waist, belly, thighs, and face. She had been in the operation room with general anesthesia for three times and it had already cost her over ￥120,000.

　　In fact, R only wanted a liposuction job on her belly in the beginning. “But as my body became slimmer after the liposuction, I have to do my face right? Then I wanted my forehead to look sharper so I did a facial filling,” R told TMTPost, explaining from experience that she wanted her face to look dashing and match her body. “But then, the eyes and nose don’t match the face.”

　　There are many people that share the same thoughts and experience with R. This rigid demand makes this market popular.

　　The financing status of the aesthetic medicine in 2016 provided us with a window to see the market potential of this industry. In that year, many aesthetic medicine related apps, including YueMei, MeiLiMei, SoYoung, MDL, and Gmei etc., all announced to have completed a new round of financing, with every one of the financing cases exceeding ten million dollars. This emerging industry has a scale of 850 billion and more investors are flocking in.

　　The aesthetic medicine draws in investors and consumers’ cash and mass produces beauties that for some, look the same.

　　This is also shown by the surging live show industry. Live show apps emerged in 2015 and 2016, such as INKE, YIZHIBO, and ME etc., are considered as the plastic concentration.

　　“It’s hard to say whether the live show sector has in fact contributed to the growth of aesthetic medicine sector. But speaking from my knowledge, most people born in the 90s tend to consider aesthetic medicine a fixed expense after they have gained a regular income,” a live show platform executive told TMTPost.

　　Live show platforms believe that they can help young people find a career as a live show broadcaster.

　　R didn’t tell TMTPost how she makes money exactly. But according to R, her look is deeply linked to her income. “You can pretty much tell if a person is from our inner circle judging from the face. Every cent I invested in aesthetic medicine can be earned back through my changed appearance,” she said.

　　Profit

　　For beauty seekers, the pool of aesthetic medicine platforms makes plastic surgery programs like items on Taobao, easy for consumers to reach. “Now when users open the app and see discount activities for hyaluronic acid and mésothérapie etc., they will start to shop like crazy. Celebrities are even crazier. They tend to have over ten injections for one time. So no matter how many items they buy, they will use them up eventually.”

　　It’s estimated that the average repurchase rate on aesthetic medicine platforms is around 70% and the average expense of each order is ￥5000-6000.

　　According to statistics from YUEMEI, the most popular item is hyaluronic acid injection, which accounts for 60% of the total order. Injections and skin-related surgeries are the power drive of the aesthetic medicine industry.

　　For plastic surgeons, especially for world class masters, aesthetic medicine platforms also bring forth improvements. They need resources to build up their personal image. The operation outcome, the products used in the operation, and the operation environment, and the beauty seeker’s own physical conditions are all crucial factors. And they can find these resources via the aesthetic medicine platforms.

　　“For example, hyaluronic acid products of different molecular sizes are fitted for different spots. But in public hospitals, we only have domestic ones that are priced at ￥1200 per shot. Products that are priced at over ￥2000, such as Rayland, can’t be found in public hospitals because they are considered as luxury items. We are have embedded wires. Different wires can have completely different outcomes. But some hospitals don’t have the money to get imported ones while only aesthetic medicine platforms have them. So the surgeons naturally turn to these Internet platforms for operation purposes,” R explained.

　　Some public hospitals also have a good business flow in the aesthetic medicine sector. However, most of the clients are old people looking for ways to slow down their aging progress. “Nowadays, surgeons prefer clients aged between 23 and 25 since they would have great changes even though they might only have a small operation. And you can find these people on the aesthetic medicine platforms.”