The aesthetic medicine sector in Spain recovers pre-pandemic figures and closes 2021 with a turnover of 3,585 million euros. Forecasts for 2022 expect growth of between 8 and 10%. The evolution trend in billing remained progressive from 2014 until the arrival of the pandemic.
The year 2020 marked a break in terms of progressive evolution that caused the average annual turnover for each of the 6,305 authorized centers in national territory to drop by 4.8% compared to 2019 , reaching 568,733 euros.
Facial treatments represent 69% of total turnover , so experts explain that this branch will be the one that represents a higher percentage of growth in the coming years and its turnover is expected to grow around 26%.
The Spanish population evolves with higher life expectancies, which means that self-care and the culture of health have an impact on the growth of the aesthetic medicine market. 40% of the general Spanish population has used aesthetic medicine services on some occasion . By gender, women go to consultation much more than men (71.8% compared to 28.2%).
The number of centers authorized by the Ministry of Health to practice aesthetic medicine has also experienced a growth of 20.2% compared to 2019. The average price spent by a patient who undergoes aesthetic medicine treatment is 1,027 euros per year .
However, those that are performed on an occasional basis cost an average of 581 euros for women and 798 euros for men . The reason for this price differential is given because the treatments that men undergo are usually more expensive than those of women.
During the past year, a total of 871,525 medical-aesthetic treatments were carried out in Spain . If analyzed by branches, 626,778 correspond to facial (72%), 191,515 to body (22%) and 53,232 to other categories, such as hair removal (6%). Among the facial treatments most demanded by users after the Covid-19 pandemic are botulinum toxin (42%), hyaluronic acid (32%) and treatments to improve skin quality (20%).
More and more young people under the age of 30 are becoming interested in aesthetic medicine . A few years ago the average age of entering aesthetic medicine was 35 years, but now the situation has changed. “The use of social networks, the possibility of using filters and the appearance of applications that allow changing the shape of the face have contributed to generating new needs in young patients,” explains Sergio Fernández, second vice president of the Spanish Society of Aesthetic Medicine ( SEME).
Challenges of aesthetic medicine
The ‘Dimensioning study and socioeconomic impact of Aesthetic Medicine in Spain’ presented by the SEME shows a positive balance of the sector in Spain . However, there are still some fronts to fight. The impersonation of functions, VAT and the little support provided by the Ministry of Health to the sector stand out as the main obstacles to aesthetic medicine in Spain.
The impersonation of functions in aesthetic medicine continues to be something common and Madrid and Barcelona are the cities where the most acts of intrusion are committed . The U.48 health license is the one that identifies the clinic as an authorized health center and is granted by the Ministry of Health of each Autonomous Community. The sector has not finished finding support from the Ministry of Health either . “At the national level we have little support from the Ministry. We have much more support from the Autonomous Communities than at the central level,” concludes Dr. Petra María Vega, treasurer of SEME.
15% of the patients who attend the consultations of aesthetic doctors associated with SEME have suffered the consequences of intrusion. “Hence our insistence that patients always ask for their medical license number or medical degree from the professional who is treating them. That way they can check whether or not they are committing a crime before putting their health in the hands of an intruder” , affirms Enrique Fernández Romero, member of SEME.
Another of the handicaps is the Value Added Tax (VAT). For a few years, 21% of the tax has been applied to aesthetic medicine , which has caused many users to decide not to access treatments. 60% of non-users acknowledge that they would consider carrying out a treatment if it did not carry VAT and in the surveys carried out, 7 out of 10 patients consider that a VAT reduction in treatments would increase the number of new patients, as well as the frequency of treatments in current users.
Mark Phil is a former market analyst and consultant. Mark in his 9-year career as an analyst, worked with top market players like Prodge LLS, Westat Inc. and Precision Opinion Inc. He moved towards writing in the year 2013. In the past, he undertook several freelance projects to begin his writing profession. Mark completed his economics degree from Columbia University. Along with performing sub-editorial duties, he is also writing a book on Market analysis.
