An examination before any proposal.
A consultation in aesthetic medicine builds on the classic internal-medicine examination. Its aims are to assess biological age, prevent age-related disorders and improve physical and psychological capacity.
Prevention first, then correction
Aesthetic medicine is concerned with building and restoring each person’s physical and psychological balance. It works to prevent and correct aesthetic problems that may, over time, lead to pathological or psychological disorders.
In the preventive phase the doctor helps patients understand the inherited traits of their body and how to care for them through nutrition, physical activity, mental well-being and skin care.
In the corrective phase the programme relies only on recognised methods and techniques: medical, surgical, kinesiotherapeutic, thermal and cosmetic.
The consultation lasts about an hour and covers an examination of the body and of the face.
Body examination
The diagnostic approach combines classic and targeted methods:
Medical history
A traditional and targeted aesthetic-medicine history.
Clinical examination
A standard physical examination.
Psychological assessment
Short tests woven into the conversation, for an overall picture of psychological well-being.
Body composition
Past and present weight, ideal weight, lean mass and total body water, measured by skinfold assessment and bioimpedance. Nutrition and local treatments are planned on this basis.
Postural assessment
Identifying postural imbalances at rest and in motion, by direct observation and with a podoscope.
Physical capacity
Measuring oxygen uptake, strength and joint flexibility with a goniometer.
Vascular assessment
Examination of the blood vessels with a Doppler probe.
Ultrasound
Ultrasound imaging where needed.
Facial skin examination
Preventing and monitoring skin ageing matters for a person’s psychological and physical well-being at any age. In the 1970s Carlo Alberto Bartoletti (Rome) and Gaston Ramette (Paris) established a method for assessing the skin: understanding its defences and determining its biotype, for example oily, dry or sensitive skin.
The examination begins with a history: lifestyle, skin conditions, medication and how the skin feels. It continues with a visual inspection under cold light and a Wood’s lamp, which reveals comedones, pigmentation invisible to the naked eye and scaling. Palpation assesses smoothness, oiliness, roughness, thickness and elasticity. For pigmented lesions, dermoscopy offers a non-invasive view of the pigment.
The result is personal skin-care advice (cleansing, hydration, sun protection) and, where appropriate, a treatment plan with follow-up measurements.
Skin measurements
In the late 1970s Ramette and Bartoletti wrote the first protocol for an instrumental skin check-up. Today it includes:
pH measurement
An electrode measures the acidity of the skin surface.
Sebumetry
The amount of oil on the skin surface, measured with a sebumeter.
Corneometry
Hydration of the outer skin layer, measured with a corneometer.
Lactic acid test
Ramette’s test to confirm sensitive skin.
Dermographism
An assessment of skin reactivity.
Skin replica
A three-dimensional image of the skin surface.
When a skin check-up is recommended
It is worth having an assessment early, after puberty, to learn about your skin type and its defences in good time. A second key moment is menopause, when hormonal changes reduce oil production and skin care needs adjusting.
Under this method, the check-up is repeated every two years at a younger age and once a year after menopause. Your own doctor always makes the final recommendation.
Before any treatment, read our guide for patients.
Patient guide