Portrait: DR.Adriana Radu

There are clinics you walk into with a wish and walk out with exactly what you asked for. At Dr. Adriana Radu’s, things work a little differently: you walk in with a wish and walk out, most of the time, with a better plan than the one you came with because before the scalpel, there’s always the conversation about what truly suits you, not just what you asked for.

It’s a distinction few surgeons state out loud. Beauty, she says, isn’t something you order at a counter, and a scalpel remains a scalpel even when its purpose is aesthetic rather than vital. So the conversation about anatomy, about risks, about what’s actually possible and what only looks possible on social media, always comes before the decision.

With numerous advanced training programs in aesthetic surgery for facial and body remodeling, in countries such as Turkey rhinoplasty, in Istanbul, Italy facial surgery, in Rome, Sweden and Spain breast surgery, in Stockholm and Madrid, or France body-lift procedures, in Lyon, Dr. Radu carries the kind of rigor that doesn’t show up in “before/after” photos. You’ll find it in her publications in the Annals of Plastic Surgery and Reconstructive Microsurgery not for show, but because her profession lives at the border between medical precision and the very human wish to feel good in your own skin.

She has recently also begun collaborating with Băneasa Hospital, but her minimally invasive procedures carry the Sphera Clinic signature the space where she treats the less invasive side of beauty: facial rejuvenation with the Fotona laser, in 3D and 4D versions, designed for skin that looks rested, not changed.

What remains, beyond technique, is a kind of honesty rarely found in an industry built on absolute promises: not everything is possible, and not everything should be done. And sometimes the most beautiful thing a surgeon can tell you is “think about it a little longer.”

COMING UP ON TOUCH

The next chapter of this story is being filmed. Touch is launching, together with Dr. Adriana Radu and Sphera Clinic, a video series dedicated to injectables what’s trending now, what you should never do, where the line sits between trend and mistake. A visual, straightforward guide, with no Instagram filters, for anyone who wants to understand before they choose.

16 Questions About Beauty, Restraint, and Honesty
Dr. Adriana Radu, in conversation with Touch

01. What drew you toward minimally and non-invasive procedures, instead of classic aesthetic surgery?

I wouldn’t say I chose minimally invasive procedures instead of surgery. Classic aesthetic surgery remains an important part of what I do, and I put a lot of passion into it. I do believe, however, that over time I’ve learned that not every aesthetic problem needs a scalpel.
Today I really enjoy being able to intervene discreetly, to prevent certain changes and preserve the naturalness and beauty of the face. Sometimes a few well-thought-out interventions, done at the right time, can delay a surgical procedure or make it much more harmonious.

02. In 20 years of practice, what’s the biggest change you’ve seen in the patients who come to you?

Patients are much more informed than they were 20 years ago. But they’re also much more exposed to trends.
Today, before she even reaches a doctor, a woman has already seen hundreds of perfect faces on Instagram, has watched procedures, transformations, before-and-after photos, and sometimes comes to believe that beauty has a single formula.
At the same time, I’m noticing a shift I really like: women are starting to appreciate naturalness and want it to no longer show that they’ve had various aesthetic procedures. They want to look good, rested, and to remain themselves. And this evolution, from the desire to change your face to the desire to preserve your identity, seems extraordinary to me.

03. What’s the most common myth about minimally invasive aesthetic procedures that you’d like to debunk?

The myth that, being minimally invasive, they’re automatically trivial and risk-free.
They’re not. They are delicate, precise procedures. The face is an extremely complex anatomical area, and a seemingly simple injection requires knowledge of anatomy, proportions, products and, very importantly, of possible complications.
And there’s another myth I encounter very often: that more means better. In reality, in facial aesthetics, restraint is one of the most important forms of beauty.

04. What do you think of the “baby Botox” trend among girls aged 22–25?

I have nothing against a small dose of Botox when there’s an actual indication for it. What I do have a problem with is the idea of turning Botox into a mandatory ritual of youth, just because “that’s what’s trending.”
At 22–25, I wouldn’t treat age, but a real need. If there are dynamic wrinkles that justify treatment, we can discuss a discreet intervention.

05. Can you always tell that someone has had an aesthetic procedure? What does a successful result actually look like?

Most of the time, it shouldn’t show. And for me, that’s exactly what success in an aesthetic procedure means.
A good result preserves a person’s expressiveness, proportions and naturalness. A specific procedure shouldn’t be obvious what should show is a woman who looks more rested, more radiant, more confident.

06. What are 3 clear signs that an aesthetic doctor is NOT right for a patient?

First: they promise you perfection, or a result identical to another person’s photo.
Second: they recommend procedures before listening to you and examining you.
Third: they don’t talk about risks and complications. A doctor who only tells you what you’ll gain, but not what risks exist, isn’t giving you an honest picture of the path ahead.

07. What questions should a patient always ask at the first consultation?

“What procedure is being recommended for me?”
“What alternatives are there?”
“What risks and complications are possible?”
“How long does the effect last, and what happens if I don’t like the result?”
And, very importantly: “What product are you injecting me with, and why did you choose it for me?”
A good consultation shouldn’t be a price negotiation or a checklist of procedures. It should be a discussion about what’s right for that particular person.
But I think the doctor should also ask questions. Because any intervention is a decision that the doctor and the patient should make together.

08. How often do you turn down a procedure for a patient, and what are the most common reasons?

More often than people imagine.
I say no when there’s no real indication, when expectations are unrealistic, when the patient wants to copy someone else’s face, or when I feel the procedure wouldn’t bring her a real benefit. Other times I turn down a particular non-invasive procedure that I feel is unsuitable, and I recommend surgery instead.
Sometimes I also say no when I believe the patient has already had too many procedures and actually needs a break.
I think it’s an important part of my job: knowing not just how to perform a procedure, but also when to say “no.”

09. How does your approach differ for a 25-year-old woman versus a 50-year-old one?

At 25, I think more about prevention, about maintaining tissue quality and preserving natural proportions. Sometimes discreet interventions are needed to harmonize different anatomical elements of the face, in order to give the patient an extra boost of confidence in herself.
At 50, the approach becomes more complex. We’re no longer talking just about skin, but about volume loss, changes in the deeper structures, laxity, and shifting facial proportions.
But the principle remains the same: there’s no universal formula. Every woman should be treated according to her anatomy, biological age and individual particularities, not just her chronological age.

10. What doesn’t show on Instagram from the real process after a minimally invasive procedure?

What you don’t see is that the result doesn’t always appear immediately.
You don’t see the swelling, the small bruises, the days when you need a bit of patience, nor the fact that sometimes the final result has to be assessed after the tissues have settled.
And perhaps what’s least visible is the most important thing: the procedure is only part of the process. What follows is monitoring, possible aftercare and touch-ups, but above all, accepting that medicine isn’t an Instagram filter.

11. How long does it actually take to see the final result of a non-invasive procedure?

It depends a great deal on the procedure.
Some results are visible immediately, others take shape over days or weeks, and treatments that stimulate biological processes for example, collagen production need more time.
The patient needs to know from the start what the realistic timeline for the result is. Otherwise, she may interpret a normal stage of the process as a failure.

12. What is the limit up to which a minimally invasive procedure can offer results comparable to surgery?

I think it’s very important to be honest and acknowledge that non-surgical procedures offer excellent improvements, but most of the time discreet ones, or ones with a preventive role, while surgery can achieve more dramatic changes to the area being operated on.
Minimally invasive procedures can greatly improve skin quality, volume, certain proportions and some signs of aging. But they can’t reproduce the result of a surgical intervention when the problem involves significant laxity or structural change.
A filler can’t achieve a significant lift of the tissues. And we shouldn’t try to achieve a lift with ever-increasing amounts of filler, either.
When a procedure can no longer solve the problem, we need the professional maturity to choose the one that is actually indicated.

13. Have you ever turned down a patient for an unrealistic or unhealthy request?

Yes.
There have been patients who wanted to resemble a certain person, to radically change a feature, or who wanted to add volume to an area that was already over-corrected.
I believe a doctor also has an ethical responsibility. Just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should.

14. How do you handle a patient who keeps coming back, dissatisfied, asking for more and more procedures?

I have to admit I don’t have patients like that. Maybe because, before recommending a particular procedure, I try to understand which feature is bothering her and what her expectations are.
If there’s no real problem we can correct, then every intervention will generate a new dissatisfaction, and it’s better for us to talk it through and for me not to perform that procedure.
I don’t think a doctor’s role is to endlessly respond to dissatisfaction with yet another procedure.
Sometimes we need to acknowledge that the problem is no longer an aesthetic one, and that one more procedure won’t solve it.

15. What was the most emotional transformation you’ve seen in a patient?

I can’t pick just one, because the most emotional ones aren’t necessarily the most dramatic from an aesthetic point of view.
The most emotional ones are the transformations where the procedure doesn’t just change a physical detail, but changes the way a woman sees herself.
I’ve seen patients who, after a procedure, started smiling again, taking photos of themselves, going out more, feeling feminine again.
For me, that’s actually the deeper meaning of aesthetic medicine: how a person feels in their own skin.

16. What would you say to a woman considering her first aesthetic procedure, but who is afraid?

I’d tell her to start with a consultation.
To choose a doctor she trusts, to ask questions, to understand what’s being proposed to her, and not to be swayed by any offer, fashion or trend. And, above all, not to request a procedure to fulfill someone else’s wishes.
Fear is natural when you’re doing something for the first time. But I believe a good doctor will never tell you “there’s nothing to be afraid of.” They will explain why, how much, how, and what the risks are. And the final decision is yours.