Bear with me, but in the early 2000s, the fashion house Burberry experienced something known as “prole-drift”, that is, when products of a society become associated with subcultures, or here, what was deemed as working-class “chavs”. The brand, designed to cater to the British elite, went mass-market; affordable fakes ran rampant, and it took years for designer Christopher Bailey to restore its luxury sheen. Something similar is happening in the field of aesthetics. What were once considered status symbols, like Botox and filler, have gone mainstream, and so, those who can afford it are seeking a different look. The change may be almost imperceptible, depending on your social circle, but not being able to put your finger on it is exactly the point.
Korean skincare and aesthetics doctor, Dr Christine Hall, has been tracking this shift away from the “snatched” era of “Instagram Face” in her Knightsbridge clinic, Taktouk. “Treatments like polynucleotide injections, customised regenerative therapies, non-ablative laser treatments for rejuvenation and advanced skin boosters such as exosomes are increasingly seen as luxury choices,” she says, adding that they are often selected for their anonymity—it’s the kind of work that is hard to define, but impossible to miss. “They aren’t overdone or obvious; they’re discreet, sophisticated, and biologically advanced. They are seen as preventative, but are great because they do not change the way that the face moves or its volume.”
It’s not that Botox and filler are no longer popular; they most definitely are—however, they are increasingly classed as an entryway into aesthetics, and no longer carry a status element, Dr Jen Owens, founder of Ireland’s award-winning Glow Clinic, tells me. Plus, an uptick of negative press and the rapid spread of unlicensed cosmetic injections—which have resulted in 41 confirmed cases of iatrogenic botulism in the UK this year alone—isn’t helping matters.
As a result, people are becoming increasingly selective. Dr Owens compares recent attitudes as being akin to curating a wardrobe: “It’s all about what you want to communicate. Much like clothing, your aesthetic choices say something about the image you want to project, and right now, that’s for treatments that enhance skin health and radiance in a way that feels subtle and elevated. From a facial perspective, glowing, healthy, natural-looking skin is becoming its own status symbol, just like the ‘rich girl hair’ trend—it suggests time, knowledge, and access to high-quality care.”
It’s fitting in an era where “stealth wealth” and “quiet luxury” are prized. Certainly, while the prices of fillers and Botox have become democratised in recent years, regenerative-focused treatments are far more exclusionary. A full course of polynucleotides costs between £1000-£4000, and if you want topical microneedling with a side of exosomes, you’re looking at £500 for a single session at a reputable clinic. And curated treatment journeys are becoming increasingly popular, where clients invest in layered, bespoke plans. “Clients want to project the kind of self-possession that says, ‘I have access to the best’ without needing to shout it,” Dr Hall notes. “In this way, certain beauty treatments now mirror the codes of quiet luxury: expensive, rarefied, and requiring an insider’s knowledge to fully decode. The real luxury is not just the treatment, but the practitioner behind it and the philosophy they follow.”
But this is not just about signalling wealth in just a financial sense—it’s also about looking well, which is priceless amidst a global cost of living crisis that has seen quality of life fall globally.
Given that such treatments don’t necessarily “add” something to the skin, they’re generally not considered in the same vein as cosmetic work—in fact, there’s a certain level of pride around the fact that these tweakments can work with the body to stimulate elastin and collagen, for example. Dr Hall continues: “There’s a sense of emotional investment. They feel they are doing something good for their future selves by choosing science-backed wellness over superficial fixes.” Accordingly, she’s had more clients gravitate towards “healthy privilege”, that is, skin that suggests a life well lived, well nourished, and well cared for. “So while the cost of a treatment matters, what really communicates status is the result: a face that looks well-rested, subtly sculpted, and biologically optimised.”
As such, the intersection between beauty and the wellness and longevity sectors is becoming narrower, and you can see it in the semantics. At every turn, tweakments are being described as “scientifically-backed”, “technologically advanced”, and “regenerative”—it’s almost like practitioners have taken a page out of online tech-bros like Bryan Johnson—who incidentally is doing everything he can to “live forever”, including controversial medical experiments like receiving a plasma transfusion from his teenage son. Generally, though, terms like this spark excitement, comments Dr Hall. “Discerning consumers want to be on the cutting edge, and they see beauty not just as an aesthetic concern, but as an extension of health, longevity and lifestyle. There’s also a huge push for prevention versus a cure, so treatment that will delay signs of ageing rather than treat them once they have occurred. In other words, wealth is written into the skin, if you know how to read it.”