Cosmetic medicine is one of the most rapid-growing industries in Taiwan. This trend began from 10 to 15 years ago with new imported cosmetics. Then came the chemical peels, including glycolic peels, citric acid peels, and mandelic acid peels. Sonophoresis was also a popular choice during that time. Later on, the lasers became the dominant procedures. Since then, various devices led the trends, such as intense pulsed light (IPL), the ablative or non-ablative fractional lasers, the radiofrequency (RF) device, the high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), etc. The newest trend is the picosecond lasers. In this article, we will try to describe current situations about these various cosmetic medical treatments as well as minimal invasive procedures, like fillers and neurotoxins. The future of cosmetic medicine in Taiwan will also be discussed.

 

Cosmetics

Each Taiwan woman averages spending about one thousand US dollars on cosmetics yearly.The current market value of the Taiwan cosmetics market is estimated to be about 3 billion US dollars. In the past, people in Taiwan did not have many choices regarding cosmetics. The most popular one in the 50s or 60s was “Ming Sing Floral Water” (明星花露水), which was a kind of perfume with floral fragrance. Shiseido, a Japanese cosmetic company, was then set up in Taiwan in 1957, making facial cream and lipstick. Foreign cosmetic products were imported since the 70s. In 2002, after entering the WTO, the government has lowered tariffs for cosmetic imported to Taiwan, which made the sales of foreign cosmetics to soar.

 

The main importing countries for cosmetic products are Japan, EU, United States, China, South Korea and other countries. Out of the more than 20 imported brands, Lancome, Elizabeth Arden, Christian Dior, Estee Lauder and Clinique lead the way. Together they account for a more than 70 percent share of the total cosmetics market in Taiwan. In recent years as the Korean drama continued to be popular in Asia, the number of people that travel to Korea and buy Korean cosmetics increased. Medicated cosmetics containing medicine or potent medicinal ingredients as well as specialty skin care products, like brands developed by doctors, or brands like Vichy and La Roche‐Posay, were sold mostly in drug stores or clinics.

 

HELIOSⅡ/LOTUSⅡ/HYPERION – Manufacturer: LASEROPTEK(www.laseroptek.com)

 

Chemical Peels and Sonophoresis

Chemical peels and sonophoresis were very popular during the 90s. It was the time when cosmetic medicine got started. People found out that the regular cosmetics could not meet the strong demands for correction of facial spots and wrinkles. Therefore, chemical peels and sonophoresis became the leading procedures during that time. The solutions being used are phenol, trichloro-acetic acid (TCA) and alpha-hydroxil acids (AHA), etc.

 

Because of the irritation and potential to post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, the TCA and phenol are seldom used in Taiwan. The medium and deep depth chemical peels, such as Jessner’s peel or Baker-Gordon peel are also less performed. AHAs, including glycolic acid, citric acid, or mandelic acid, are mostly used here. Although glycolic acid is still the gold standard of AHA peels, the mandelic acid peel is gaining popularity due to its low irritancy and whitening effect. 

 

-To be continued