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Britain has a newfound love with going under the needle.

As recently as five years ago, getting work done involved going under the knife.

But thanks to recent advancements in non-surgical cosmetic treatments, theres been a seismic shift away from surgery. In fact, Botox and fillers nowadays account for nine out of 10 cosmetic procedures, and are worth 2.75 billion in an industry whose total value is 3.6 billion in the UK.

Not only has the launch of super affordable treatments at high street retailers like Superdrug democratised what was once a preserve of those with thousands of pounds to spare, but theres also been a massive cultural shift fuelled in no small part by the hordes of shiny-faced, full-pouted Kardashians and Love Islanders flooding our feeds whereby these tweakments are not only no longer taboo, theyre openly discussed on social platforms, TV shows and at dinner parties.

Whatever your personal opinion is on the subject, there can be no doubt that non-surgical treatments are on the rise.

Superdrug just launched a Botox and fillers service

But Botox and fillers (of which there are several types) are not the only injectables on the market. Recent innovations like Profhilo, Mesotherapy and PRP also promise to give youth and glow via the needle.

With so many of these technical, minimally-invasivetreatmentson offer, the aesthetic tweakments market has become more than a little bit confusing.

In order to get some clarity on the different options, who theyre for, what they generally cost and most importantly how much they hurt, we spoke to oculoplastic surgeon and aesthetic doctor Maryam Zamani.

Zamani regularly administers both surgical and non-surgical treatments at TheCadogan Clinic on Sloane Street in Chelsea and is known in the industry for favouring a natural look and a no-nonsense, professional approach.

So if you're one of many considering your first appointment, read her guide below before you make that call.

What is it?

Botulinum toxin is a neurotoxin produced by a specific bacteria. It prevents the release of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter, and causes temporary paraylsis of the muscle for 3-5 months

Theres a whole array of different types of Biotulin Toxin: Botox, Dysport, Azzalure, Xeomin Botox is just a brand name, like Hoover.

Who's it for?

It is used to treat or paralyze the muscles that cause dynamic rhytides[wrinkles].

You can treat the number 11 lines between the eyebrows, you can treat the crows feet and help elevate the tip of the nose. You can lower the lips to give you less of a gummy smile and you can put it in the chin to help prevent dimpling in that area. You can use it in the neck to treat the Platysmal bands that come out that can cause jowling, you can use them to reduce horizontal neck lines, you can put them in the masters which are the muscles on jawline you develop when you chew to help someone who has a very square face, you can use them in the actual hairline to decrease sweating and thats just the face.

You can use them in for hyperhidrosis, which is to decrease excess sweating in your underarms, on your hands on your feet, in your groin. Ive even had a lot of Asian patients whove come in and want to have it on their calf muscles to give you thinner calf muscles. So there are a lot of reasons you can have biotulin toxin.

Downtime:

None.

Pain out of 10:

1 or 2.

Cost at maryam's Clinic:

Starts at 195.

What is it?

There are different types of filler. I recommend most people to use hyaluronic acid because firstly its reversible, and secondly it has a high safety profile.

If you use something permanent or semi-permanent you really dont have any recourse if you dont like it but to wait it out, or in some instances youre stuck with it forever.

Sometimes you see that in people who hadlip fillers a long time ago and they have lumpy bumpy silicone injected lips and other than having surgery to try and remove them you cant do anything which is unfortunate. Whereas if you have hyaluronic acid injected into your lips then it goes away over time, and if it doesnt go away you can always inject it with an enzyme to break it down pretty much immediately. Its really nice to have that option.

Who's it for?

Filler is for volume loss. Any time there is a volume loss filler can help boost the deficit.

Hyaluronic acid filler can be used for all sorts of tweaks. You can reshape the nose, you can fill in the number 11 lines that have been there for a long time, you can improve scarring on the face, you can contour the jawline which is really big right now. You can give yourself bigger cheekbones, you can lift the eyebrows, you can lift hollowing temples, you can treat deflated earlobes theres a lot you can do.

Downtime:

Generally none but there can be bruising or swelling.

Pain out of 10:

Relative but generally low,1 or 2.

Cost atMaryam'sclinic:

Starts from 500

Maryam Zamani

What is it?

Profhilo is one of a few new biostimulatory types of hyaluronic acid that stimulates collagen production and is more like a hydrator that can be used on the face, neck and dcolletage. I love it. It just makes you look like youre always having a good day.

Its a series of injections of long and short chain hyaluronic acid injected into five boluses around the face. Unlike the hyaluronic acid used for filler, Profilho is not a volumising hyaluronic acid - it disappears.

It's two treatments, designed to be administered one month apart from each other. For younger patients who dont need as much, I often break it up and do one and then another 4-6 months later. Thats what I do for myself; I dont do it back-to-back within the month.

Who's it for?

Anybody, of any age, who wants to have a glow to their skin, and just feel like they have an internal hydration.

Profhilo is for skin texture; its a skin booster. Its not going to volumise your skin, but its going to make it appear healthier as youre stimulating more collagen.

Pain out of 10:

8/10

It's injected with no numbing agent, so it's actually a little uncomfortable because most fillers are mixed with a little anaesthetic and this ones not. It hurts, but only for a few seconds. Its worth it.

I think a normal injection hurts more - the needle used with Profhilo is smaller. But it just burns when it goes in, its a slightly different feeling.

Downtime:

Generally none.

Cost atMaryam'sclinic:

800 for each treatment.

What is it?

Microneedling is when you use an instrument, either a roller or a pen and you create tiny little holes in the skin - a little bit of injury at a certain depth, which helps then start the cascade of healing in the body, and that helpsto stimulate collagen production and fibroblast production. You can also use some topical creams on top of that to help improve penetration - obviously if you have little tiny microcolumns of injury your penetration of topical creams is going to be a little bit more.

Skincare specialist Maryam Zamani on her daily beauty routine

Not to be confused with Microdermabrasion, which is totally different - not an injectable but a form of exfoliation. Its when you use blast the skin (with crystal or diamond) to exfoliate the top layers of the skin. Its not a chemical exfoliation, like a peel, but a physical one.

Who's it for?

Anyone can have microneedling but it canparticularlybe good for fine lines and wrinkles and anyone with scarring, particularly acne scars.

Downtime:

Dependent on depth of penetration. Anywhere between 1-5 days.

Pain out of 10:

There is topical anaesthetic so hopefully none.

Cost atMaryam'sclinic:

From 350

What is it?

Mesotherapy is usually when you have a gun/ an instrument/ a needle, which contains a cocktail of different vitamins and minerals, sometimes hyaluronic acid, sometimes biotin, sometimes vitamin E you can use lots of different ingredients.

With this you are creating the injury as with microneedling (which stimulates collagen production) but youre also delivering a cocktail of vitamins and minerals to the skin. The difference between the two is that microneedling doesnt tend to have the cocktail of add-on serums. Mesotherapy is essentially microneedling with benefits.

Both treatments can be strong or gentle, cause redness or no redness, depending on how deep you administer the needles.

Who's it for?

For anybody who wants to have a little boost to their skin. You can do it at any age and have it tailored on your age, by adjustingthe depth and the solution.

It's great for sprucing up the skin and giving it a dewy look, without actually putting any filler products in your face, just minerals and vitamins.

Downtime:

You might have a few hours of bumps on your face, sometimes longer depending where it is.

Pain out of 10:

Generally none.

Cost atMaryam'sclinic

Starts from 400.

What is it?

This is when you take blood from your body and you spin it around and re-inject the Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) into the skin to help stimulate collagen production. It can also be used for hair growth.

We dont know definitively what it does, because we dont have all the studies. But we do know for instance that when you inject people that have had sports injuries during surgery, they have a faster healing rate. We assume it does the same thing in the face but there are no really strong clinical trials for that.

I recommend having one done three times every month, and then a fourth one at six months and the fifth one at one year.

You can inject it deep, like filler, and also alongside microneedling. I tend to do both so it gets to all layers.

Pain out of 10:

3/10. Most people dont have much pain with it.

Downtime:

Generally none unless combined with microneedling.

Cost atMaryam'sclinic

800 if you add it with the microneedling (so a 450 add-on).

I love combining Profilho, PRP and laser in a treatment I call 'Glow'.

drmaryamzamani.com

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From Botox and fillers to PRP and microneedling: an expert guide to non-invasive cosmetic procedures - Evening Standard