The Last Word: Manoeuvring the Metaverse in Aesthetics

The Last Word

Dr Matthew Jarvie-Thomas debates how the metaverse may affect the future of aesthetic medicine

The aesthetics industry has been rapidly growing for several decades now, and during that time we have seen many trends come and go. We have experienced the impact of social media and filtered images, the dramatic changes resulting from a global pandemic and the rise of body treatments offering a new frontier to the modern aesthetic practitioner. Aesthetics has embraced and manoeuvred through these trends year on year. Founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg would have us believe that the metaverse is the next significant trend that will cause seismic changes to every industry including aesthetics. Many large retail companies are already rushing to buy virtual real-estate in the metaverse to get ahead of the competition.1,2 Whether we buy into this idea or not, the technologies associated with a metaverse (such as virtual reality) will undoubtedly open new and exciting opportunities in aesthetics.

A background on the metaverse How the metaverse may change aesthetics

Although a fully-fledged metaverse is likely a long time away, the aesthetics industry is already embracing some aspects of this new digital era.4 Many consultations became remote due to the pandemic, allowing patients to access clinical expertise and solutions from qualified medical professionals in the comfort of their own homes. Many clinics (including my own) saw an increase in appointments post-lockdown as patients spent more time working on video platforms like Zoom. The well-documented phenomenon of ‘Zoom face’ was the culprit, with many people noticing features of

The metaverse is a collective virtual space, created through the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality

According to technological research and consulting firm Gartner, the metaverse is a collective virtual space created through the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality.3 The metaverse is neither device-dependent nor owned by a single vendor. Instead, it has numerous contributing trends including virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI).3 According to venture capitalist Matthew Ball, who has written a nine-part primer on the topic, a full adoption of the metaverse is likely decades away.4 Despite this, there have been some developments in VR, AR and immersive games which enable people to get a feel for virtual worlds with headsets and simulations. The concept of a metaverse can be traced back as early as 1838 when Sir Charles Wheatstone coined ‘binocular vision’, combining two images to make a single 3D image which led to the development of stereoscopes. This is the same concept used in VR headsets today.5 Many of these ideas are not as new or extreme as they sound, but have in fact been around for centuries. The key concepts of a metaverse include the emergence of VR, an increasing focus on how we portray ourselves online and seeking to socialise/work in a virtual setting. These are already prominent in our society today. This is why companies such as Meta (previously Facebook) are so keen to get ahead of the curve and seek out opportunities in this new space. The implications of the emergence of the metaverse were highlighted in Allergan Aesthetics’ recent Trends Report.6 For more general information on the metaverse, please see references.5-8

The metaverse could potentially be destructive to how we build relationships and learn as an industry

their appearance on long video calls that bothered them. In my own practice, I do frequent video consultations and reviews for patients who travel (often internationally) to see us in clinic. In the future, patients are likely to expect virtual consultations to be the norm in the format of virtual clinics. These ‘meta-clinics’ could provide new ways for practitioners to interact with their patients, while also providing valuable education on potential treatments.6 This will offer clinics opportunities to dramatically widen their pool of potential clients. The shift toward virtual presence will also allow practitioners to attend virtual conferences and events, facilitating conversations and connections with colleagues and enabling virtual delegates to observe live demonstrations closely.6 This would allow practitioners to attend numerous events from around the world, without concern about travel and costs. It would also be contributing towards sustainability through reducing the amount of air travel. Perhaps the most exciting opportunity with these technologies is the potential to provide virtual training for aesthetic practitioners. Instead of the age-old format of ‘see one, do one, teach one’, future practitioners will hone their skills in VR and practise procedures in the comfort of their own home. This application is already being put to good use in other medical specialties, with the University of Oxford using VR to train laparoscopic surgery and Imperial College providing VR headsets for medical students to practise managing emergency situations such as cardiac arrests.9,10 The negative impact on patients and practitioners

Despite the many opportunities that these technologies are likely to present, there are clearly some possible drawbacks. Many of these we have already seen with the growth of social media such as unrealistic aspirations and beauty ideals, as well as the associated rise of mental health disorders such as body dysmorphic disorder. Practitioners must be mindful of these changes as they happen in coming years. Having the opportunity to visit global conferences and events virtually could be seen as reducing networking opportunities and changing the dynamic of how practitioners interact. With some practitioners working alone, this could be detrimental to building connections and could make the industry a lonelier profession to work in. As the pandemic highlighted, people enjoy meeting others face-to-face, and events are ideal opportunities to talk, catch up and exchange ideas and thoughts with fellow peers. The metaverse could potentially be destructive to how we build relationships and learn as an industry. Today there is an abundance of information for patients to access regarding aesthetic treatments. Although this information may be easily accessible in the metaverse, this does carry the risk of misinformation being propagated and shared. The aesthetics industry is already in dire need of regulation, and hopefully laws within the industry will be brought in on how advertising and information sharing is verified and moderated online. Embracing the future

Once the elements of the metaverse have been established, it will undoubtably have a huge impact on our industry. However, what this will look like in terms of the day-to-day impact is unclear. The ways people interact are constantly changing, and this transformation will only accelerate under the metaverse. Aesthetic practitioners must therefore stay abreast of these developments and be ready to incorporate them into their practice. While the full metaverse is still distantly on the horizon, the shift toward virtual presence and embracing the digital era is a change that is happening now. Clinics and practitioners who are ahead of the game and embrace these changes will be best placed to reap the rewards.

Dr Matthew Jarvie-Thomas

studied medicine at the University of Oxford and was awarded a first-class MA in medical sciences. He is a published author in the fields of plastic surgery and oncology as well as specialising in advanced non-surgical aesthetics at The Cosmetic Skin Clinic. Dr Jarvie-Thomas combines a variety of treatment modalities for both facial rejuvenation and body contouring with a focus on natural results. Qual: MA (OXON), BM, BCh

REFERENCES

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Gartner, 2022, <https://www.gartner.com/en/articles/what-is-ametaverse> 4. Ball M, ‘The Metaverse: And How it Will Revolutionize

Everything’, 2022. 5. Allergan Aesthetics, ‘The Future of Aesthetics’, 2022, <https:// media.allergan.com/allerganaesthetics/futures-of-aesthetics/

UK%20Futures%20of%20Aesthetics%20Report%202022.pdf> 6. Virtuzone, ‘8 Metaverse Business Opportunities: Making Money in the Virtual World’, 2022, <https://www.vz.ae/metaversebusiness-opportunities/> 7. BBC, ‘Apparently, it’s the next big thing. What is the metaverse?’, 2021, <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-58749529> 8. Moreland K, ‘Your Guide to the Metaverse’, Ledger Academy, 2022, <https://www.ledger.com/academy/your-guide-to-themetaverse> 9. University of Oxford, ‘Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Lab’, <https://www.ctl.ox.ac.uk/virtual-reality-and-augmented-realitylab> 10. Keane D, ‘London university becomes first to use virtual reality to train doctors in emergency situations’, Evening Standard, 2022, <https://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/other/londonuniversity-becomes-first-to-use-virtual-reality-to-train-doctors-inemergency-situations/ar-AA13CrE5> 11. Drapkin A, ‘Metaverse Companies: Who’s Involved and Who’s

Investing in 2022’, tech.co, 2022, <https://tech.co/news/ metaverse-companies-whos-involved-whos-investing> 12. Kovach S, ‘Next for the Metaverse: convincing you it’s not just for kids’, CNBC, 2021, <https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/22/here-are-the-companiesbuilding-the-metaverse-meta-roblox-epic.html>