The Glow Brief
Monthly briefings on what’s happening in aesthetic medicine — what’s trending, what it costs, and what it actually means for your appointments.
Spring is the single highest-volume period for aesthetic medicine, and it’s not just a coincidence. Most laser treatments (hair removal, resurfacing, IPL) require sun avoidance afterward — which makes fall and winter the treatment season, and spring the “show the results” season. What’s also true: appointment slots fill up in March and April for anyone trying to look their best by summer. If you’ve been thinking about a first Botox or laser appointment, the next six weeks are when schedules tighten at national chains.
What this means for you: Book consultations now, not in June. The chains that offer free consultations (LaserAway, SEV) fill up faster than you’d expect in April and May.
Morpheus8 — radiofrequency microneedling that tightens skin and remodels fat — has been quietly crossing over from high-end dermatology into mid-tier med spas since late 2025. The technology itself has been around since 2019; what changed is pricing (down from $1,500–$3,000 per session to $800–$1,500 at some chains) and the Instagram conversation normalizing it. It’s generating before-and-afters that look more dramatic than standard Botox or filler, which is driving curiosity among first-timers who want “more than Botox.” Downtime is real: 3–5 days of redness and some swelling. The dramatic recovery photos on TikTok are accurate.
What this means for you: If you’re researching Morpheus8, look for a provider who does at least 10 sessions per week. The treatment has a meaningful learning curve, and under-experienced operators are a real risk. Full protocol coming to The Glow Protocol next month.
The term gets used loosely, but “baby Botox” has a specific meaning in practice: smaller unit doses (typically 30–50% of standard), placed to soften expression lines while preserving natural movement. The clinical argument is that preserving some muscle activity gives results that age better — rather than a hard movement cutoff, you get a gradual fade. It’s also what most providers recommend for first-timers anyway, since it’s easier to add than to wait for over-treatment to wear off. Where it becomes a marketing gimmick: providers charging standard-dose prices for reduced units, or using the term to appeal to younger clients who shouldn’t be getting Botox at all.
What this means for you: If your injector recommends “baby Botox” for your first appointment, that’s a green flag. Ask them to specify how many units and where. If they can’t answer that, it’s a yellow one.
Filler reversal (hyaluronidase dissolving) has been around for years, but the cultural conversation about it shifted in late 2025. More injectors are now publicly discussing over-filled patients and offering reversal as a first step before re-treating — rather than the previous norm of adding more product to “fix” previous filler. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons published updated guidance last year encouraging providers to offer reversal more proactively. This is good news for anyone who got filler a few years ago when the aesthetic standard leaned heavier. If you’ve been living with results you don’t love, dissolving has become less of a last resort and more of a normal first step.
What this means for you: If you’ve had filler and don’t love it, ask about reversal at your next consultation — not as an apology, as a first option. A good injector should offer it without you having to push.
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