The Future of Beauty: “How to close the wealth disparity in skincare results” With Dr. Farhan Taghizadeh
The main drawback to the technology is related more to the societal impact of skincare, which the Huffington Post and others have covered. The technology is so effective now for improving skin that it really creates a world where the class divide is visible inside the cost and availability of these procedures. The same disparity in wealth is now seen in the skincare industry and results, and many of our current projects like the AVRA initiative is to create a process where everyone can have great skin in the future.
As a part of our series about how technology will be changing the beauty industry over the next five years, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Farhan Taghizadeh, M.D.
Dr. Farhan Taghizadeh, M.D. is the owner of Arizona Facial Plastics, a leading plastic surgery practice and innovative med spa in Phoenix. Dr. Taghizadeh has more than 15 years of experience working in aesthetic medicine and is a highly experienced surgeon specializing in facial plastic surgery. In addition, Dr. Taghizadeh is the innovator behind many aesthetic products and treatments used internationally. Over the years, he has created numerous other non-invasive procedures to help patients achieve the best results thanks to technology. Dr. Taghizadeh and his team are always at the forefront with technology at Arizona Facial Plastics.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I’ve always been very interested in technology, especially lasers, and the impact it has on facial plastics. About twenty years ago, I began to see the trend of people wanting less invasive opportunities for facial aesthetic improvement and my career really focused on working to finding ways to integrate technology into our surgical repertoire of procedures.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
In the Fall of 2008, I was in a Facial Plastics Meeting and the meeting took place as the stock market collapsed. In fact, two of the three days we were at this meeting were two of the largest drops on the Dow in history. Physicians were on their new phones, some weeping as the news came in. I had written a business plan to integrate a new laser into facial cosmetic practices and I thought my idea was lost. While I sat in the meeting, a contact of mine who had read the business plan pulled me to a bagel shop next door to the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago to get away from the sadness of the meeting and told me he thought the plan would work. We implemented what at the time was the second-largest laser integration in a vertical practice spanning over 90 clinics, saving that company from being impacted by the recession that hit the following year. To this day I think of lasers every time I eat a bagel.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Are there takeaways or lessons that others can learn from that?
The tipping point really came around 2012 when it became clear that non-surgical aesthetic revenue would eventually exceed surgical revenue. This happened in 2019. The lessons from the change are that patients, as consumers, always look for achieving the most with the least pain and discomfort. We recognized this years before but to see the curves cross was very fulfilling.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Gordon Quick was the CEO who pulled me into that bagel store and changed my life forever. In the middle of a horrific recession, he took a risk on me, and to this day it has been the single most impactful moment of my career.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. The beauty industry today has access to technology that was inconceivable only a short time ago. Can you tell us about the “cutting edge” (pardon the pun) technologies that you are working with or introducing? How do you think that will help people?
I am working on two main technologies currently. One is our AVRA project at UCF to create robotic aesthetic devices using cutting edge technology. The goal of this technology is to reduce the cost and increase the availability of procedures for the masses. The second project is the use of new laser frequencies and lenses to improve the quality of treatments while reducing the risks.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
The main drawback to the technology is related more to the societal impact of skincare, which the Huffington Post and others have covered. The technology is so effective now for improving skin that it really creates a world where the class divide is visible inside the cost and availability of these procedures. The same disparity in wealth is now seen in the skincare industry and results, and many of our current projects like the AVRA initiative is to create a process where everyone can have great skin in the future.
Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the “beauty-tech” industry?
- Its growth worldwide.
- The improvement in technology and the reduced risk of devices.
- Robotics preparing for the mass availability of these procedures.
Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?
- Regulatory. I feel there are ways that we can improve the regulatory processes that relate to the aesthetics industry, especially as it relates to Bioceuticals. I feel there should be more categories and processes for these devices.
- Globalization: I feel that while this has provided more technologies at a lesser cost to more clinics and patients, the process of distribution of these devices has remained challenged, with large companies taking advantage of independent representatives. More can be done industrywide to protect small business owners who have the potential to reach more physicians and clinics and ultimately make devices affordable to more markets.
- Incubators: There need to be more federal regulations around incubators that purport to support the aesthetics industry but end up cheating physicians and entrepreneurs in this space. This industry can be a great job creator, but there have been many instances of economic development dollars being offered but not properly delivered to our industry, and this needs to change.
You are an expert about beauty. Can you share 5 ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”? (Please share a story or example for each.)
- Take care of your skin. How you live globally impacts the skin, and better you take care of your body, the better your skin will look. A good story here is how not wearing sunscreen can quickly age the skin.
- Get your skin analyzed. The technology exists today using polarized light to have the skin analyzed to show the current condition and help you understand what treatments are best. A good story is to show images off the VISIA.
- Don’t be fooled by expensive skincare products. Sometimes the simplest products will yield the best results. Share the story of Romans using basic mud and polyfulmates to improve the skin.
- Has skincare performed prior to having photos taken? Skincare devices can really help create a good shine to the skin, reducing your need for photoshop. Good skin always looks better on film or camera. Good story here is how much 4K TV mandates good skin as every complexion issue will be seen.
- Have people around you who support your skin looking great. Inside every social network is the need for supporting your choices. Story: the hidden benefit of Botox parties, where skincare is done socially.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I am a big proponent for supporting everyone getting good skincare. It is very important for health AND it is a great way to keep people’s emotions and sense of confidence up.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“If plan A doesn’t work, the alphabet has 25 more letters — 204 if you are in Japan”
In the end, you must keep trying no matter what.
How can our readers follow you online?
www.arizonafacialplastics.com and on social media.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
The Future of Beauty: “How to close the wealth disparity in skincare results” With Dr. was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.