Botox manufacturers are leaving the market, prices for breast implants are rising, injectable hyaluronic acid stocks are emptying… Russian aesthetic clinics and their clients are in the midst of measures taken by Western countries.
Anastasia Ermakova made her last Botox injection last February. The 37-year-old Russian woman wonders how much longer she will be able to fill in her wrinkles. “My beautician assures us that he still has botox in stock and that imports will continue through third countries. But I think it won’t last long,” he worriedly told AFP.
And for good reason. In March 2022, the American pharmaceutical company Abbvie, which exports Botox, withdrew from the booming Russian market in response to the recent “tragic events” in Ukraine. Or in other words, following the Russian attack on its neighbor since February 24. As a result, stocks are “melting” little by little, “causing anxiety for clinic managers who are used to using this reference product,” emphasizes Yulia Frangulova, co-founder of NAKEM clinics of the Russian National Association of Aesthetic Medicine.
Empty botox supplies
Clients, wanting to preserve their physical aesthetics, immediately rushed to the clinics, the latter were caught up in the events. “In March, we noticed panic among patients, doctors and providers. Demand has exploded, Botox stocks have been depleted,” Oksana Vlasova, director of development at St Petersburg’s Grandmed aesthetic clinic, told AFP. However, in April and May there was no import of botulinum toxins, emphasizes Nikolay Bespalov from the Russian pharmaceutical analysis company RNC Pharma, hoping that the end of the summer will be restored.
Same fate for facial injectables (or “fillersin English), including hyaluronic acid-based lip plumping, a very popular procedure in Russia. “We also have to say goodbye.” fillers American giant Abbvie regrets Oksana Vlasova, who hopes that European manufacturers will be able to take over.
Prices have tripled
In terms of aesthetic surgery, breast implants are lacking due to the lack of Russian manufacturers. Indeed, all prostheses are imported, including 60% from the US and 13% from Germany, countries that all impose sanctions on Russia.
If the funds are not directed at the implants themselves, the logistical and financial chains of international trade have largely been paralyzed by Western funds, making imports difficult, affecting both breast reconstruction and aesthetic operations. As a result, implant prices tripled for the first time in March before stabilizing at a level 20% higher than before the attack against Ukraine, plastic surgeon Yevgeny told AFP.
A rise that worries industry experts, fearing that cheap and potentially dangerous products could end up in clinics. According to Alexander Saversky, the president of the Patient Protection League, these problems are likely to be generalized in the entire healthcare sector. “In a few months, the shortage of medical equipment in Russia, 80% of which is imported from abroad, will be critical,” he told AFP.
Inflation eating away the purchasing power in the country is an additional drag for the profession. Oksana Vlasova has already noticed a decrease in the number of clients in her practice in St. Petersburg. “The incomes of the population have decreased. As a result, people reduce their expenses,” he regrets.
Cosmetic surgery. glamor or kill love?
patriotic chest
Despite this critical context, some do not lose sight of the political issues. Thus, plastic surgeon Yevgeny Dobreykin is going to win new clients by defending the patriotic argument. Since June, the doctor has been working on creating “RosGrud” (“Russian Breast”) breast implants, which instead of being translucent, are the colors of the Russian flag or military fatigues. 28-year-old designer Nastella Sokolova says she wants this implant in her chest “so that Russia will always be [son] heart”. “It’s my way of defending my homeland,” he told AFP.
While he waits to find a supplier abroad who is able and willing to create such implants for him, Dr. Dobreykin warns those who would dare to criticize or ridicule his project: “Maybe those who are against our patriotic implants are also against our country. In that case, perhaps we should be interested in them,” he told AFP with undisguised menace, referring to legal proceedings multiplying in Ukraine against those who detract from the Russian offensive…
Source: Le Figaro
