April 25, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] With the standards of beauty varying greatly from one culture to another, so do the cosmetic procedures that need to be performed on patients from different ethnicities.

Starting from this idea, Kyle K. Seo, a South Korean dermatologist, has published the English version of the book “Botulinum Toxin for Asians” in a bid to share his experience and knowledge on the injectable aesthetic treatments more suitable for facial features in Asian and their pursuit for beauty.

Kyle K. Seo of Modelo Dermatology Clinic (left) and his book “Botulinum Toxin for Asians”

“This book is aimed at providing practical guidance not only for Asian doctors but also for Western doctors in treating patients of Asian ethnicity,” Seo said.

“Botulinum Toxin for Asians” was published by Springer Nature, a scientific publishing company, on Jan. 1 this year.

Seo at Modelo Dermatology Clinic in Seoul has 20 years experience as a dermatologist specializing in cosmetic botulinum toxin A, or BTA.

He first experienced BTA treatment of hyperhidrosis when he worked as a fellow at Seoul National University Hospital in 1998. Since then, he has become the first Korean doctor to achieve more than 10,000 cases of botulinum toxin procedures using BOTOX® in 2008, which was endorsed by Allergan Korea.

“Although the botulinum toxin procedures are simple, the results vary depending on the physician’s technique.” Seo said.

The practical guide to botulinum toxin procedures features the differences in BTA treatment for Asians and Caucasians with respect to applicable dose, injection methods and anatomic significance.

The book explains how the optimal dose and injection sites for the treatment of wrinkles differ from the guidelines advocated in North America and Europe.

“He is especially an expert in the differences between Korean and Asian patients’ ideals of beauty and those of Caucasian patients,” Alastair Carruthers who first discovered the cosmetic use of botulinum toxin, wrote in a foreword of the book.

Detailed consideration is given to the rapidly expanding role that BTA treatment plays in facial and body contouring based on leveraging the mechanism of disuse muscle atrophy.

Examples that are particularly relevant in Asians include treatment of hypertrophy of the masseter and temporalis muscles and calf muscle reduction.

According to Seo, Asian faces tend to be wider and flatter compared to Caucasian faces, thus square jaw reduction procedures with botulinum toxin are very popular among Asians who wish to reduce the size of their wide faces.

“On the other hand, Caucasians favor triangle of beauty with prominent zygoma and sunken cheek, which looks more masculine from the Asians’ view point,” he said.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)