The top 8 tweakment trends for 2024

What will be the most wanted and most intriguing tweakments this year? The ones that we will be seeing more of, and, if you’re anything like me, wanting to try out? Here’s my shortlist. 

Tweaks using your own fat and blood

‘Regenerative’ treatments are massively popular. What’s a regenerative tweakment?  The kind of procedures that use stuff from your own body – like PRP taken from your blood and reinjected into your skin, to prompt the growth of newer stronger skin. Another option is fat taken from wherever you have plenty of it, and reinjected like a filler in areas where you need it. Or it can be made into a broth of stem cells and needled into the skin to revive it.

The new skin-revivers: polynucleotides

You’ll have heard me and many practitioners, talking about the popularity of polynucleotides – fragments of fish DNA – for regenerating and strengthening the skin. They’re injected into the skin and seem to be particularly effective at reducing dark circles. A blow-up trend in 2023, stand by to hear even more about them this year. (And yes they’re fine for people who are allergic to fish, I know I said otherwise last year, but I now know I was misinformed and stand corrected).

Holistic wellness to support tweakments

You might not expect lifestyle medicine and a holistic approach to health to become part of your aesthetics programme, but it’s absolutely on the cards. Forward-looking clinics have realised that there is so much more they can do for their patients than just tweaking their faces, so be prepared to be offered advice on exercise, nutrition, stress management – and perhaps a session in a hyperbaric oxygen tent.

Microtoxin for super-smooth skin

You want glass skin? Dolphin skin? If you’re baffled as to why you’d want to look like a dolphin, it’s a term used for the glossily perfect sort of skin you see on social media.  And how do you get it, aside from diligent use of appropriate skincare, a healthy diet and all the rest? Well, microtoxin might move your complexion in the right direction. That means using many tiny injections of toxin not into the face muscles, but just into the skin, to reduce oiliness and pore size and inflammation and give the face a refined, airbrushed look. I still haven’t tried this but it’s on my list. Some clinics offer microtoxin as a standalone tweak; others include it as part of treatment like the Wow Fusion facial.

Skin stimulation – for collagen-boosting

Physical stimulation of the skin, which encourages it to generate more collagen, has never gained much traction in the tweakments world, but that’s changing. Skin stimulation is a key – and proven – part of facial treatments like LPG endermologie. There’s even a new home-use device called celf with minature silicone bristles that attaches itself to the top of a (top of the range) electric toothbrush. It stimulates and exfoliates the skin as you move it in tiny circles to work a serum into the skin, and it has clinical studies that show good results. I find the normal head too uncomfortable (I’ve been trying it instead of microneedling to work Calecim serum into my hairline, a sensitive area) but am getting on much better with the new sensitive skin tip which is about to be launched.

Lasers are back

Not that they ever really went away but 10 years ago, no one was raving about lasers in the way they are now. Why? There are so many developments in laser technology. Like what? Like the Cutera Aviclear, which can clear acne – long term – in just three sessions by shrinking the oil glands in the skin, or like the UltraClear laser which can safely treat all skin types and can also tighten skin with a process called ‘microcoring’ which cores out tiny fragments of skin…

Tweaking your body as well as your face

Many tweakments you could have for your face can be done on your body. Yes, really. If you hadn’t known that you can smooth wrinkly knees with ultrasound or RF needling, or firm up bingo wings (at least, the muscles below your bingo wings) with muscle-stimulating tech… well, you can! And very soon you’ll be able to read about all the tweaks you can try for various body concerns right here on the website.

A host of ways to regrow your hair

You’ve seen me trying the Calecim system and the improvement it has made for my hairline; that’s a serum with stem cells and growth factors but there are so many other hair regeneration treatments on offer, from LED light-helmets to stimulate hair growth, to banking your hair follicles: the Farjo Clinic, which is renowned for its work with hair transplants, can now extract hair follicles (it takes less than an hour) which will be cryogenically for up to 20 years. It’s insurance for the future when it will surely be possible to clone those cells and ‘re-plant’ them where they’re needed.