Women’s Wellness Day: How to discuss quality of life concerns with your female patients

World Women’s Wellness Day is an annual event that raises awareness of the well-being challenges that women face in their daily lives. This year it falls on the April 28, and aesthetic practitioners are taking the opportunity to examine how the industry can improve discussions around female mental and physical health. 

“Statistics show that 85% of women never talk about their quality of life and levels of wellness,” reveals the advanced nurse practitioner and founder of Amanda Azzopardi Aesthetics, Amanda Azzopardi. That’s despite women struggling with a host of common concerns that can affect their sense of well-being, especially as they age. Many of those concerns are relevant to the goals that women present to practitioners in-clinic too.

"Women can suffer with dry and dull skin, adult acne, vaginal dryness, loss of confidence regarding femininity, sexual embarrassment, discomfort while enjoying outdoor activities and many more issues that affect their quality of life,” says Azzopardi. “Other concerns include facial volume loss, sagging features and patients reporting they look tired all the time. Learning from each other in terms of declining hormones, increasing inflammation and reducing energy levels is so important. The pressure for women to perform is at an all-time high right now; driven by societal demands with increasing work, social and family commitments.”

Luckily, inspired by World Women’s Wellness Day and beyond, practitioners can play a dual role in helping their female clients discuss and improve their holistic health, as well as their overall appearance.  

First and foremost, practitioners can be a source of support and non-judgemental discussion: "World Women's Wellness Day is a great opportunity to raise awareness of some of the issues women experience,” says Azzopardi. “It's super important to create open, welcoming spaces for women to be able to discuss gut health, skin health and intimate health - and we need to ensure that we take time for rest, recover and maintain our health."

"The taboo surrounding women seeking aesthetic treatments is often focused towards 'vanity' and retaining youthful features," continues Azzopardi. "Husbands fear the worst based on broad misconceptions of poor outcomes - and media hype of misplaced dermal filler. Most women seek my assistance for subtle enhancements that simply refresh their confidence. The more we can collectively educate, the more we can normalise and celebrate ageing well."

Then, once those conversations have been had, the aesthetic industry also has another string to its bow – the increasingly wide range of female health-centric treatments to recommend in-clinic. In particular, the treatments which focus on improving health and function, not just general appearance:

"Women's wellness…should consider all the physical, emotional and social aspects that alter a woman's quality of life - such as physical and hormonal issues, bone health, gastrointestinal stressors, urinary incontinence and sexual health," explains Azzopardi.

“Here at Amanda Azzopardi Aesthetics we offer treatments to tighten and lift the face, sculpt and shape the body, regain energy, boost stamina and revitalise women's vitality; creating true confidence from within, empowering every woman's femininity. One of my favourite women's wellness treatments is intimate radiofrequency rejuvenation to improve urinary incontinence, improve sexual function, to restore any loss of femininity and confidence.”

Eventually, like many aesthetic practitioners Azzopardi hopes the industry will be “able to talk openly about the issues [women] experience, and about optimising our wellness journeys,” she concludes. “I encourage all my patients to prioritise their health and improve their level of health awareness."