MONACO, March 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Merz Aesthetics released data today at the Anti-Aging Medicine World Congress and MediSpa (AMWC) showing that only 24% of women polled in Merz' "Face Value" Beauty Survey believe youth is what makes women beautiful. Women were far more likely to say that "healthy skin," "a charming personality," "confidence," "sex appeal," and, perhaps surprisingly, "intelligence" and a "sense of humor" are what make a woman beautiful.

Encouragingly, most of the women surveyed believe that a woman is beautiful at every age. Nevertheless, a majority of women would want to improve theirs looks as they get older and more than 45% of women expressed that aesthetic procedures are a necessity not a luxury.

"While most women (70%) report becoming more confident as they age, more than half (59%) say they will have aesthetic procedures to look the best they can," said Jérôme Augustin, Senior Vice President Merz Aesthetics Europe. "The Merz Aesthetics Full Facial approach, including products such as Radiesse(R) and Belotero(R) offer women a range of products to achieve the radiant and well-rested look they desire."

Overall, a majority of women surveyed (87%) believe it is possible to stay attractive and beautiful despite fading of youth. This is confirmed by the fact that more than half of women (56%) surveyed have already experienced at least one aesthetic procedure. In fact, women were most likely to have had a facial injectable as their first aesthetic procedure.

"As a dermatologist, I treat many women who hold similar beliefs to those surveyed," said Sabine Zenker, MD, Munich, Germany. "They seek out facial injectables, like dermal fillers from Merz Aesthetics because they want to take control of how they look without dramatically changing their appearance."