When folks consider Botox and filler, they consider self-importance. Frozen foreheads. Pouty lips. Girls chasing youth. Injectors chasing money. They don’t see the girl who lastly escaped her husband after 20 years of abuse, coming in not for consideration however for management. They don’t see the mom burying her baby, hoping that trying “regular” on the skin would possibly regular the chaos inside. They don’t see the most cancers survivor observing herself within the mirror with a face hollowed by chemotherapy and unwelcome weight reduction.
However I do.
As an aesthetic nurse practitioner, I’ve discovered that we’re not simply smoothing traces or restoring quantity. We’re holding tales. The quiet ones. The heavy ones. The examination room turns into a confessional—not as a result of it was designed to be, however as a result of folks belief us with their faces, and in doing so, typically belief us with their ache.
At my aesthetic clinic, I’ve seen sufferers cry earlier than we ever contact a syringe. Others communicate in whispers, ashamed that they even care about how they appear—as a result of they’ve been informed it’s shallow, self-absorbed, unworthy of scientific legitimacy. However once we pay attention—actually pay attention—we hear the deeper fact: This isn’t about trying younger. It’s about feeling seen. Reclaiming id. Therapeutic from trauma. Marking survival.
Beauty procedures are sometimes the entry level—not the endpoint—of care. Sufferers are available in for “simply Botox,” however go away feeling heard, human, and complete. That’s not self-importance. That’s drugs.
Aesthetic clinicians are emotional first responders. We meet folks at their most weak, not as a result of they’re bleeding, however as a result of they’ve been invisibly injured by life. We have to cease apologizing for the work we do. We assess symmetry, sure—however we additionally take heed to tales. We make a facial balancing plan whereas we snigger with sufferers, hear about their weekend plans, and assist their long-term desires. We deal with quantity loss—and we validate the loss behind it.
This isn’t to over-inflate what we do or faux {that a} beauty go to is equal to remedy. However it’s to say: The face is deeply tied to the psyche. And once we contact it, we’re typically touching way over pores and skin.
It’s time the remainder of drugs caught as much as this fact. Aesthetic care shouldn’t be fluff. It isn’t frivolous. In the fitting arms, it’s transformative—and never simply within the mirror.
So no, we’re not simply treating the face. We’re treating the girl behind it. The grief beneath it. The braveness inside it.
I’d dare to name it feminist.
Sarah White is a nurse practitioner, small enterprise proprietor, and premedical scholar primarily based in Virginia. With a background in scientific follow and caregiving, she brings a singular perspective to the intersection of medication, household life, and neighborhood service. She volunteers with the Medical Reserve Corps and is making ready to use to medical faculty in 2026.
Sarah can be the founding father of two rising ventures: Wrinkle Relaxer, the place she focuses on aesthetic therapies, and Bardot Boutique Aesthetics, an area for curated magnificence and wellness providers.
