The Role of Social Media in Aesthetic Medicine Education ‐ A Global Analysis of Publication Habits and Scientific Impact

Background Aesthetic medicine is rapidly expanding, yet lack of standardized educational pathways led many healthcare providers (HCPs) to rely on social media influencers for education. The scientific validity of the information shared, however, remains uncertain. Objective: To investigate a correlation between social media popularity and academic profile among professionals active in the field of aesthetic medicine. Methods HCPs with a presence on social media were identified randomly from the international aesthetic medical field to allow for a wide range of community‐based representation of aesthetic HCPs. For everyone, publicly available data on follower count, publication number, and H‐index were collected and analyzed. Results Among professionals (901), 73.1% ( n = 659) had zero publications but an average following of 56 898 (228489) followers on Instagram, whereas 63.4% ( n = 267) had zero publications but an average of 79 580 (377423) followers on TikTok. No significant correlation between social media following and scientific output (Instagram: rp = 0.013, p = 0.695; TikTok: r p = 0.009, p = 0.849) was found. Conclusions A high number of followers on social media does not reflect a greater academic profile. Educational content shared by influencers may not be evidence‐based, highlighting the urgent need for structured, regulated guidelines in aesthetic medicine education.