The Dr. Esteta podcast, a show featuring guest specialists in aesthetics, has just welcomed Dr. Ana Carolina Puga in its 12th episode. On this occasion, Dr. Ana talked a bit about the regulation process of aesthetic biomedicine, the unity of professions in advancing aesthetic health and the constant fight to secure rights in the field.
Asked by host Phillipe Silva about the regulation process of Aesthetic Biomedicine led by Dr. Ana, she recalled how, in 2006, when she became interested in the field, she noticed that the available treatments were rather rudimentary and lacked scientific grounding.
She then set out to put all her background and experience as a biomedical professional to work for aesthetics, instead of abandoning everything she knew and working only as an aesthetician.
It is worth noting that, today, aestheticians have a much more robust educational foundation and scope of practice. At the time Dr. Ana is talking about, however, the methods used by aestheticians deserved considerable improvement.
In 2006, a barrier was the lack of recognition by the Federal Council of Biomedicine of the field as part of the competencies of the training and the profession. Faced with the challenge of proving its relevance and sparking the interest of other professionals, she also recalls the journey across Brazil, giving talks in different states and presenting aesthetics as an opportunity to work with autonomy and recognition.
And beyond the more formal barriers, there was prejudice toward the new proposal. Dr. Philippe Saldanha himself, also a guest on the podcast, tells how during his undergraduate studies he did not understand why biomedical professionals were being trained to “put cream on people's faces” – he confesses about his then-shallow understanding of the field.
Still during his undergraduate studies, Dr. Philippe says he began to understand the value of aesthetics through his academic research. A biomedical professional, he was in one of the first aesthetics training classes taught by Dr. Ana, and he is also part of Nepuga's history as a faculty member.
Both agree that aesthetics has been growing in stature, supported by all the scientific grounding brought by health professionals.
With regulation, a new responsibility: training good professionals
Once regulation was won, Dr. Ana says she found herself facing the responsibility of training specialists who were not only technical but able to succeed autonomously and consciously.
“A biomedical professional is a professional at the service of health,”recalls the mother of aesthetic biomedicine, making clear that biomedical specialists in aesthetics must always remain professionals who look at the patient's health holistically, not in isolation from the aesthetic demand brought to the office.
But Dr. Ana did not stay only with biomedical professionals; she made a point of actively working to unite health professionals, helping consolidate aesthetic health as a new profession that strengthens itself, teaches and learns from one another.
“Was there ever a moment when you thought about giving up?”
Answering this question, Dr. Ana spoke about how determined she is, but always with a plan B in sight. The question also made her recall the setbacks caused by groups that are constantly trying to interfere with the rights won by health professionals working in aesthetics.
Because of these interventions, the fight is constant, and aesthetic health professionals grow stronger with each new victory, reaffirming their own competencies. One example was a recent lawsuit, in which CREMESP tried to prevent Dr. Ana from practicing and offering courses in the field.
She encourages aesthetic professionals to never stop challenging, but to respond in kind to any questioning and lawsuits, even making herself available to professionals who need support to defend themselves before the law. And she mentions some associations that can help in this fight:
“We have the associations SBBME (Brazilian Society of Aesthetic Biomedicine) and Abrasei (Brazilian Association of Aesthetic and Integrative Health), two associations that I founded with groups of biomedical professionals and other health professionals, where we have a legal team to help and advise on these matters if needed. Because sometimes the lawyer handling the defense in these cases doesn't have the know-how of the field.”
Get to know the Dr. Esteta podcast
The Dr. Esteta podcast is broadcast live from Belo Horizonte, always featuring successful aesthetics professionals who share a bit of their own experience in inspiring conversations. In each episode, new perspectives, valuable experiences and can't-miss insights are shared, inspiring everyone who wants to dive deeper into this promising market.
To see all the details of this episode and the others, check out the YouTube channel where the broadcasts happen live, and follow the Instagram profile to get clips of the best moments of each conversation.
Laís Bianquini
NEPUGA content team — Núcleo de Especializações Ana Carolina Puga.
