Overcoming the fear…
Did you know that 77% of people that consider undergoing some sort of cosmetic treatment do not go through with it? Further more, according to Allergan, out of a pool of 146 people in the UK considering treatments, 47% of them had a fear of complications and 24% were worried about the pain impact?
Why are so many of us worried about the thought of it, when those who have gone ahead with treatment - 64% are likely to become repeat customers?
Studies have found that most of the reservations about seeing through a cosmetic injectable treatment plan comes down to fear.
5-10% of the UKs population suffer with trypanophobia - a fear of needles. And it has a noticeable impact on their everyday life. Cosmetic injectables may therefore seem to be a trypanophobe’s worst nightmare, but could it help you over come the negative connotations associated with needles?
Exposure
It has been proven that by increasing exposure to needles, images and situations where injections are being given, you can retrain your brain…
This exposure is also known as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), where by fears of negative experiences are slowly replaced by positive ones.
This does by no means means that one day you will wake up and think that needles and injections are the best thing ever, but more that the idea of them will not prevent you from moving forward with a treatment.
Desensitising yourself to needles, and taking the steps to have a cosmetic treatment, you are able to replace negative associations with positive ones. Most good practitioners will offer you a consultation, where they talk your through the process and prior to treatment you are provided with some sort of numbing cream,. also needles used for cosmetic procedures are a lot smaller than those used in most medical scenarios.
By using a finer needles - I always use the invisible needles for botox - and a decent numbing cream, most treatments are relatively painless, and when you have had a less painful experience like this, with positive results such as an aesthetic treatment on your face that makes you feel happier with your appearance, it enforces the positive associations. After seeing and experiencing injections being used to enhance beauty and to make people feel good about themselves, the negative associations of fear and pain may be reduced.
When thinking of undergoing an aesthetic treatment, a huge factor is finding the right practioner, who will understand you, listen to your concerns, and guide you through the process. I cannot not stress enough that in order to minimalise the chances of a negative experience, you should do your research of practitioners in the area:
Are they medical? This is of massive importance, if they are not a doctor, dentist or nurse they should not be injecting you.
Do they have correct health and safety in place? Be sure to ask your practitioner what their emergency protocol is, you want to insure you are in the best hands possible.
Are you properly informed? If you do not feel comfortable at any point in the process of undergoing a treatment, post or during, you need to feel happy to notify your practitioner about how you’re feeling, you relationship with them is what will shape this experience.
I hope that this blog gives you further guidance on how to best go forward with a cosmetic treatment if you have reservations and feel like you are being held back by fear. Even if you just wanted to take the step to come into the clinic and have a chat, I think you would be pleasantly surprised at how comfortable an experience it can be.
To book an appointment with me, or to have a chat, you can find my social media below, or click the book now link.
Love,
Nina x
