Griet van Hees | Tweakments & treatments: aging gracefully, or when is it too much?
How far will you go to look better, without losing yourself along the way? In episode 3 of Het Cosmeticacomplot, Dr. Barbara Geusens talks to Griet van Hees, founder of the medical-aesthetic clinic Insight Affair, about treatments, tweakments, and a question that is perhaps asked too rarely in the aesthetic world: when does improvement stop and obsession begin?
“An aesthetic procedure is something that should make you feel better, but you must not become a caricature of yourself.”
Griet knows what she is talking about. She first had Botox at age 23 and has tried various treatments herself over the years. Not always with success. From liposuction she later regretted to a filler treatment that went seriously wrong.
"The left side of my face was paralyzed. If the doctor hadn’t acted in time, I could have been blind or lost my nose."
That is precisely why she warns against blind trust. A white coat is no quality label. Just because you are a plastic surgeon does not mean you are a good aesthetic doctor. Ask about experience, references, and, above all, the motivation behind a treatment. According to Griet, a good doctor must sometimes also simply dare to say no.
She herself is increasingly choosing treatments that do not change the skin, but stimulate it. Biostimulators such as Radiesse and Sculptra trigger the body's own collagen production, while skin boosters, PRP, and certain energy-based treatments also focus on skin quality and regeneration.
But no treatment can compensate for a poor foundation.
“80% of your skin quality is created at home with the right skincare. The rest is about making adjustments where possible.”
SPF 50, a good routine, and your lifestyle remain more important to her than getting injectables every so often. Because what is the point of a wrinkle that no longer moves if the skin itself looks unhealthy?
And notably: within the aesthetic world, too, the pendulum seems to be swinging back. People are having fillers dissolved and are once again choosing a natural result more often.
“How can we, as women, age beautifully in a natural, aesthetically responsible way? That is a trend I support a thousand percent.”
Aesthetics should enhance your face, not replace it.
According to Griet, aging does not need to be fought against. The goal is rather to make a soft landing: keeping your skin quality as good as possible, taking care of yourself, and daring to leave a wrinkle here and there.
