MAJOR AESTHETIC PROCEDURES MAY BE DOWN, BUT BOTOX HOLDS RELATIVELY STABLE IN 2009

April 6, 2009
The wrinkled look of safari-wear may be all the rage for Ralph Lauren in his Spring 2009 line, but women (and men) aren’t buying into the fact that economic down-sizing must mean that they have to suffer wrinkles on their face.

Jeffrey Raval, MD, FACS, facial plastic surgeon practicing in Denver, CO, reports that BOTOX is holding strong as opposed to all other cosmetic treatments especially invasive cosmetic treatments.

According to the International Herald Tribune, Americans spend a reported $12 billion-a-year on cosmetic medical treatments. Allergan, the maker of BOTOX among other cosmetic medical products, had net sales of $4.3 billion for 2008, an increase of about 12 percent compared to 2007. For 2009, the company forecast net sales of $4.1 billion to $4.3 billion and earnings of $2.69 to $2.75 a share.

Even though 2008 Q4 reports showed that Botox sales fell 3 percent to $329 million compared to 2007 Q4 numbers, that’s significantly less than other cosmetic treatments including dermal fillers like Juvéderm and breast implants, both products made by Allergan. The company’s dermal filler (skin-plumping injections) numbers fell 8.8 percent, to about $56 million in the quarter, compared with the year-earlier period. And its sales of breast implants were about $71 million in Q4 2008, down 12 percent compared with the same period in 2007.

Analysts consider Botox, the most widely used cosmetic product in the country, the bellwether of the cosmetic medical market or the “Botox index.”

“Obviously in this economy there’s a correlation between beauty and bucks,” says Dr. Raval, an American Board Certified facial plastic surgeon and owner of Rocky Mountain Laser Aesthetics, a laser skin care clinic offering non-invasive cosmetic treatments like laser hair and tattoo removal, microdermabrasion and facials. “Patients are willing to put the more costly procedures on hold for now and instead opt for more minimally invasive and thus less expensive treatments like Botox as a stopgap.”

But that doesn’t mean that beauty-enhancing procedures and science will go to the back burner.

“We expect that the continued refinement and development of cosmetic products and procedures will do what market cycles have always done: introduce options that are less invasive and thus less costly,” says Dr. Raval. “Think back, 30 years ago a hand-held calculator was as expensive as a plane ticket to Europe; now you can pick one up for $25. Our objective in my practice is to provide affordable cosmetic solutions and remedies to patients. Our interest is in sharing our depth of knowledge as it relates to a lifetime continuum of effective and appropriate skin healthcare and advancements.”