Most of us hope to live a long life. But how many of us ask: How long will I continue to feel comfortable in my body?

Looking beyond lifespan

For a long time, we measured ageing in years. How long do we live? How can we extend life expectancy?

A recent report by the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute (GDI) suggests that this way of thinking is changing. Rather than focusing only on lifespan, the report introduces three complementary concepts: Healthspan, Wellness-span and Beautyspan.

Healthspan describes the years in which we remain healthy and active. Wellnessspan focuses on our physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Beautyspan, meanwhile, refers to the period during which we feel comfortable in our body, are satisfied with our appearance and actively practise self-care.

This shift moves the conversation away from simply asking how long we live towards asking how well we live.

More than looking younger

The term that caught my attention most was Beautyspan.

At first glance, it sounds like another buzzword from the beauty industry. But that is not how the GDI defines it. The report explicitly links Beautyspan not only with appearance, but also with self-esteem and psychological wellbeing.

This resonates with me because it reflects what I see in my practice.

Beautyspan is not about looking young forever. Nor is it about eliminating every wrinkle or pretending that time has stood still.

Rather, it invites a different question:

How long do we continue to feel comfortable with our appearance?

That, I believe, is a far more interesting goal than trying to look younger at any cost.

Nutrition, health, and beauty

The GDI’s Feelgood Revolution suggests that people increasingly see nutrition, health, and beauty as interconnected rather than separate. Based on a representative survey of more than 3,000 people in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland, the report suggests that looking good is increasingly being viewed as part of a broader understanding of feeling well.

From Brotox to Beautyspan

In my previous blog post, I wrote about the growing number of Swiss men choosing Botox. That trend is often presented as evidence that aesthetic medicine is becoming more mainstream.

It reflects a much broader shift, however.

According to the GDI report, nutrition, health, and beauty are increasingly part of the same conversation. Rather than treating them as separate areas of life, many people now see them as interconnected aspects of their overall wellbeing.

Perhaps this also helps explain why treatments that were once viewed purely as cosmetic are increasingly discussed alongside healthy ageing, prevention and self-care.

Not because everyone suddenly wants aesthetic treatments.
But because more people are asking themselves how they want to age – and how they want to feel while doing so.

Where aesthetic medicine fits in

This does not mean that ageing should become another optimisation project.

Nor does it mean that everyone should seek aesthetic treatment.

, aesthetic medicine has a much more modest, and perhaps more valuable, role.

Some people happily embrace every visible sign of ageing. Others simply want their appearance to reflect how they feel. Neither approach is right or wrong.

Looking good starts with feeling comfortable in your own skin

Looking good starts with feeling comfortable in your own skin

For me, the important question is not whether someone chooses a treatment.

It is why.

If a treatment helps a person feel more comfortable with an aspect of their appearance, while preserving their individuality and looking natural, that can be a perfectly reasonable choice. But aesthetic medicine should never be about trying to stop time or chasing an impossible ideal.

There is no single way to age well

Ageing is inevitable.

Feeling comfortable with the way we age is something we can actively shape.

One message I took away from the GDI report is this:

Some people enjoy taking an active approach to their health, skincare and appearance. Others care much less about how they look and focus instead on feeling fit and healthy.

Most of us probably fall somewhere in between.

The way we relate to our appearance is deeply personal.

In my next blog post, I will look more closely at this idea. The GDI study suggests that people tend to approach nutrition, health, and beauty in four distinct ways. These different perspectives may be the key to understanding why there is no single definition of ageing well.

Perhaps you will recognise yourself in one of them.

If these reflections resonate with you, and you would like to explore how aesthetic medicine might fit into your own approach to ageing well, I would be happy to meet you for a consultation.

Dr. med. Borut Banič

Board-certified Specialist in Plastic, Reconstructive, and Aesthetic Surgery (FMH)

Fellow of The European Board of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery (FEBOPRAS)

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