Ban on before and after pictures: Why "Dr. Rick & Dr. Nick" are now allowed to show less

IMAGE SOURCE INSTAGRAM: @dr.rick.aesthetify

Beauty has its price - also legally

Whether on Instagram or the practice website: The two beauty docs "Dr. Rick & Dr. Nick" didn't do things by halves. With before-and-after photos, they impressively showed what hyaluronic acid & co. can supposedly do - plumper, smoother, more beautiful. But the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has now pulled the plug on this type of advertising. The ruling is clear: these images are prohibited.

The NRW consumer advice center had sued - and was proved right. Because what looks like a harmless injection at first glance is, according to the BGH, a surgical procedure. And it is precisely for such aesthetic procedures, which are not medically necessary, that there is a ban on advertising with before-and-after comparisons.

What is actually the problem?

"Dr. Rick & Dr. Nick" - Dominik Bettray and Henrik Heüveldop in real life - run a chain of clinics called Aesthetify with several locations in Germany. Specializing in so-called minimally invasive procedures such as lip injections or nose corrections with hyaluronic acid, their social media presence was a prime example of visible transformations. However, this is precisely what is not permitted under the Therapeutic Products Advertising Act when it comes to purely aesthetic surgery.

The sticking point: The doctors claimed that their treatments were not "surgical" in the classic sense - after all, they did not use a surgical saw, but only a fine cannula.

The BGH took a different view: "Interventions in the body that change the shape or form are surgical plastic surgery measures" - regardless of whether a needle or scalpel is used. This means that injections also fall under the ban on advertising with before and after photos.

Instagram vs. the law - and the law wins

Beauty docs who advertise with quick effects and supposedly gentle methods are a dime a dozen on social media. However, the BGH ruling is a clear signal: marketing must not undermine medical standards - not even in influencer style.

Many people are surprised that the boundaries of advertising are now being tightened for minimally invasive procedures of all things. For laypeople, Botox & Hyaluron look more like cosmetics than surgery. But the judges in Karlsruhe have made it clear: The external effect may be subtle - but legally it is still an intervention in the body.

The decision is not an isolated opinion: the Hamm Higher Regional Court had already assessed the case in this way. The BGH has now confirmed this in the last instance (case no. I ZR 170/24).

Vanity needs no show - the judgment is right!

We say it very clearly: That's a good thing! Even if "Dr. Rick & Dr. Nick" have probably collected a lot of likes with their before-and-after pictures, it's not about click numbers, but about responsibility. Advertising in the medical field - no matter how "aesthetically" packaged - must not raise false expectations.

Because such images are never objective: what looks good depends on the angle, the light - and sometimes the filter. Anyone who decides to have an intervention should do so out of conviction, not because of perfectly staged transformations on Instagram.

Beauty is not a business like any other. Anyone who works with the body must adhere to clear rules. And the internet certainly doesn't need any more "perfect" before-and-after miracles.