Lip filler, masseter Botox, a collagen-boosting facial—these types of minimally invasive cosmetic treatments are more popular than ever, with over 25 million American patients in 2023 alone. Even more invasive cosmetic treatments, like liposuction or breast augmentation, are on the rise, with over 1.5 million patients in 2023, a five percent increase from the year prior. And at the hands of a vetted, board-certified, and well-respected doctor, all of these patients should leave the office or hospital feeling ecstatic over their results. Unfortunately, the aesthetics space, which the American Board of Plastic Surgery oversees, isn’t all seamless hyaluronic acid injections or complication-free tummy tucks.
Botched cosmetic surgery abroad has risen by 44 percent, and basement Brazilian Butt Lifts, "Pillow Face" from filler, or HIV-spreading PRP treatments are unfortunately more common than you may think. But hearing about cosmetic procedure horror stories—be it undesirable outcomes from friends or fear-mongering social media posts that pop up on TikTok FYPs—shouldn't dissuade someone from pursing treatment. Rather, it should fuel a desire to become a better informed patient and to advocate for the highest quality care. That's where an aesthetics concierge can step in to help.
“People are petrified of getting botched,” says Melinda Farina, a dental hygienist turned aesthetic concierge who has completed 64,000 consultations via her multi-national company, Beauty Brokers Inc. Her job? Pair patients with the best aesthetic professional for their skin or body concerns, budget, and timeline.
It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement for both doctor and patient to have people like Farina function as a cosmetic matchmaker. “These doctors have nicknamed me their ‘golden goose’ because I provide production for their patients—like pre-op consults, nutritionists, and skincare products—and I send them cases that fit their expertise and interests,” she says.
She’s not the only one shaking up the aesthetic industry with this increasingly popular service. Consider Persana, a new online platform that acts as an “aesthetics concierge" to allow prospective patients to directly message or video conference peer-recommended dermatologists and plastic surgeons across the country for roughly $300 a call. It's a design that founder and board-certified plastic surgeon Babak Azizzadeh, MD, FAAD, envisions as the Resy equivalent of aesthetics booking. The goal? To give proactive patients a chance to research, connect, and consult with the best brains in the beauty business via a platform that all but eliminates both the waiting room and potential waiting lists for in-demand providers.
And given that plastic surgeons and dermatologists are more visible on TikTok and Instagram—some studies show that over 50 percent of cosmetic treatment patients follow plastic surgeons on social media—navigating whose work actually warrants the follower count has become increasingly difficult. All the more reason to explore whether or not an aesthetics concierge can help provide the level of care, and on-demand service, you deserve from your aesthetics provider.
Finding the Perfect Match
Securing the best doctor is like dating; there’s trial and error, some bad eggs with BDE, and the soulmate you'd be lucky to have all up in your business. Using an aesthetic matchmaker with an encyclopedia-like knowledge of providers (and their reputations) makes finding "the one" a whole lot easier. That guidance is precisely why a cohort of savvy women are willing to pay a premium. “Take rhinoplasties, for example. It is its own society; there are ethnic rhinoplasties, thick skin rhinoplasties, revision rhinoplasties. There are so many different subcategories for one procedure,” says Farina. The same can be said for the vast world of skin tightening: Will a skin resurfacing laser do the trick, or is it time for a lower facelift?
“You open up Instagram, and there are a bazillion things you can do or [doctors] to go to, so to have someone who has studied it, become an expert, and knows exactly where I need to go is really amazing,” says Cornelia Guest, a New York socialite, actress, and animal activist. She notes that Farina has advised her on everything from lasers to physicians and even the best skincare products to buy.
If you’re willing to research physicians and injectors on your own, Persana’s infrastructure allows you to schedule back-to-back virtual consults to your heart's content, saving you endless scheduling conflicts and delivering top-of-line advice in an instant. Even if you live in, let’s say, Minnesota, you can get Los Angeles-based board-certified facial plastic surgeon and Botched reality star Paul Nassif, MD FAAD on a HIPPA-compliant video call within 24 hours. (Call his office, and you’ll be put on a three-to-eight-week waitlist.)
@persana ♬ original sound - Persana
For doctors, middleman services pose two unique benefits: built-in flexibility and access to patients who are serious about booking a service. “Physicians can take these calls from home or when they have downtime,” explains Dr. Azizzadeh. They’re also dealing with a more well-informed, serious-about-getting-surgery patient. “The patients connecting through Persana have usually done their homework, they’re likely a good match for my specialty, and so it’s more likely they’re actually going to schedule a procedure,” he says, noting that a hefty chunk of in-office consultations—be it for a heavy-duty skin laser or facelift—won’t result in an actual booking. “Even the busiest doctors still want great patients that are the right fit [for the surgeon’s practice and specialty].”
An Aesthetics Concierge Comes At a Cost
The call for better, more responsive service from a profoundly overwhelming medical system, one that boasts long wait times, unresponsive patient care, and dangerous procedures in the hands of untrained professionals (you can easily be duped into seeing a non-board-certified physician or seeing a surgeon with high medical malpractice rate), isn’t siloed to the quiet luxury crowd. It’s a demand from all ages and socio-economic levels.
Still, enlisting an aesthetic concierge isn't exactly cheap. You can go the entry-level route—a cool $150 will land you a consult with Farina. With intimate knowledge of the aesthetic space and long-standing relationships with top doctors, she can not only advise on what doctor is best for your concerns but also negotiate a faster appointment time.
A virtual, 30-minute consult on Persana ranges from $100 to $300 depending on the doctor. For comparison, those prices are pretty much equivalent to what you’ll pay for an in-person consultation. An appointment in New York City costs between $250 and $400, while consultations in Los Angeles cost up to $500. (Editor’s note: Some up-and-coming practices will still offer free consultations.)
If you want to invest more into your search for the right doctor or double down on having an active advocate, you absolutely can. For roughly $1,800, you can tap into six different opinions in just three hours on Persana. Or, you can pay $2,500 to have Farina function as an operating room Guardian Angel and keep a watchful eye. “I want a Big Brother throughout the process. I want someone to serve as a BS meter to tell me this is false, this is right, this is a good doctor,” says Angelina Lawton, CEO of Sportsdigita, and a long-time client of Farina’s.
It might all look like a simple solution to a convoluted medical system, but the world of aesthetics middlemen is a double-edged scalpel. “These platforms have the potential to open doors and, at the same time, create barriers,” says board-certified plastic surgeon Ramtin Kassir, MD, FAAD. He adds that for people who can afford these services, they create access to an elite network of experts that might otherwise be hard to reach. But for those who can’t afford them, these platforms can feel exclusionary, reinforcing inequity in healthcare.
Well-respected brokers and tech platforms do their part to level the playing field—Farina has built relationships with physicians that fold in “the power of price negotiation” for patients on a tighter budget, while Persana has onboarded doctors on every level of the price spectrum. (Remember, a $350,000 TikTok-famous surgeon can be just as talented as the under-the-radar physician who charges $25,000 for a procedure). Certain medical practices, like Greenwich Street Aesthetics in New York City, have built-in concierges that offer post-surgery hotel booking, lymphatic massage scheduling, and meal prep services that don’t come at an extra cost to clients. Still, aesthetics consultants tack on yet another fee to a notoriously out-of-pocket industry.
Are Aesthetic Concierges the Future of Cosmetic Treatments?
Using a middleman unlocks a new level of intimacy in the aesthetics process, where an appointment, consult, or answer is just a click or call away. “Being able to get matched with the aesthetic I’m looking for and get really great feedback quickly cuts through the minutia of a plastic surgery world that can be big and scary,” says Lawton. In an era where picking up the phone to call your doctor is no longer the norm (although plenty of doctors do stress that they are always available to patients), a concierge can take the pressure off the search to find an attentive, qualified surgeon who aligns with their patient’s aesthetic vision.
Is it a perfect design? No—there are concierges with pay-to-play systems, feeding patients to doctor friends or estheticians to make a quick buck. But for those looking to foster a more positive surgical experience—an appropriate doctor-patient match, close guidance throughout the process, and easy, efficient communication—the result is a better outcome. Patients walk away with their dream ski-sloped nose, a perfectly reconstructed nipple, or seamless Morpheus8 treatment, confident that they received the best possible care from start to finish. “It’s supposed to be a platform for education and guidance; we’re helping to clear the air and give people peace of mind,” says Farina. If it's up to her, the aesthetic industry will be receiving a much-needed facelift of its own.
