Stephanie Manson Brown, MBBS: A Mission for Equity in Aesthetic Medicine

The recent Aesthetics Diversity Summit served as a platform to promote inclusivity in clinical trials and mentor new investigators, preparing them to work with diverse populations and fostering a more comprehensive understanding of skin health.

In an interview with The Educated Patient,Stephanie Manson Brown, MBBS, MRCS, MFPM, head of Clinical Development at Allergan Aesthetics, highlights the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in aesthetics, underscoring her team’s commitment to empowering confidence across all patient demographics, healthcare providers and employees.

Manson Brown emphasizes the significance of broadening diversity within clinical trials to ensure treatments cater to varying skin types and tones, gender considerations and age groups, which historically lacked representation in aesthetic research.

She also notes a surge in aesthetic interest among patients of Asian, Hispanic and African descent, highlighting the importance of recognizing differences in skin biology and response to treatment. For example, she explains, skin of color ages differently than lighter skin tones, requiring tailored aesthetic approaches.

Additionally, Allergan Aesthetics’s report, Forces of Beauty, aims to offer a more representative view of diverse beauty by showcasing various skin tones, body shapes and sizes, underscoring that there is no singular ideal of beauty. Manson Brown explains that the phrase "one of us is not the face of all of us" resonates within this mission, aiming to move away from a one-size-fits-all aesthetic and empowering patients to embrace their unique features.

“It’s really important for us to continue to fill that gap, to expand our knowledge and to be able to better represent optimal outcomes in a more diverse patient population,” she says.

Through this inclusive framework, initiatives aim to generate reliable efficacy and safety data for all skin types, while also educating practitioners on diverse treatment needs. Allergan Aesthetics’s dedication to mentorship, diverse representation in trials and supporting the individuality of each patient marks a transformative approach in the aesthetic field, reflecting a commitment to authenticity and confidence for all.