How Dr. Tom van Eijk Invented The Fern Pattern Technique 

Catch Dr. Tom van Eijk at Modern Beauty Con, May 6, 2023 at his presentation, Advanced Hyaluronic Injections; the Fern Pattern Technique, Why and How?

Dr. Tom van Eijk is one of Holland’s most famed cosmetic doctors and an internationally known authority on injectable fillers. Tom started out in cardio-thoracic and plastic surgery but eventually decided to concentrate on cosmetic injectables. 

He began teaching in The Netherlands in 2004 and established workshops at the Tom van Eijk Academy. The academy provides an unbiased platform for teaching advanced facial assessment and injection techniques.

Tom is also a sculptor and was selected to have one of his bronze sculptures on display at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. We tracked him down in Amsterdam for a preview of his presentation about the “Fern Pattern Technique” at Modern Beauty Con and what he sees for the future of aesthetics. 

Does your interest in sculpting intersect with your aesthetics?

Dr. Tom van Eijk: Whether you shape in bronze or in flesh, it must be the same brain cells doing that, and you do learn from both. You learn about anatomy, aging, shadows, etc. Sculpting thoroughly changes the way you look at faces and bodies, just as working in aesthetics does.

What’s your day-to-day life like? 

Dr. Tom van Eijk: I like to intertwine my clinical work with training. My office [in Amsterdam] is a two-minute walk from my home. Some of the patients have been with me for two decades. A working day is always very calm and structured to ensure maximum attention for the injections. Hyperfocused on every mm. The contrast with traveling around the world training and speaking in front of hundreds of people keeps me balanced.

You are speaking about Advance Hyaluronic Injections and specifically the Fern Pattern Technique at Modern Beauty Con, which you invented. What prompted you to create it? 

Dr. Tom van Eijk: The Fern Pattern Technique is something I came up with 20 years ago, after being dissatisfied with my own nasolabial fold treatment. Until then, everybody was filling nasolabial folds, making them bulky, but not really erasing them. I could see in my own face that some days after the treatment the filler migrated to the side of the fold, making it worse. 

Clearly, this was not the solution for this problem. I realized I needed to identify the problem on a physical, biological and mechanical level first before coming up with a solution. It sounds logical and straightforward, but in this industry, we tend to offer treatments without taking the time and effort to examine the diagnosis. With the Fern Pattern Technique, Hyaluronic Acid is used to strengthen the skin in a strategic way without adding unnecessary volume. 

Speaking of the industry, what are the biggest issues facing the aesthetics industry? 

Dr. Tom van Eijk: Like in all industries, patients’ well-being is not always top priority, unfortunately. Compare it with the food industry, one gets richer selling processed food than plain apples. Incentives like money might lure practitioners to inject more than what is best for the patient’s face or try to favor fast procedures over tedious treatments that take more effort and make less money. Most of us get paid by the syringe which makes it difficult not to feel some level of bias there. 

Crystal ball time. What will the industry look like in 5 years?

Dr. Tom van Eijk: I think the overall quality of what we do will get better as the ‘audience,’ the patients will get more educated on the impossibilities of the treatments and the trend toward a more natural result will dominate the patient’s wish. But I could be wrong, I never saw the exaggerated butt lift coming!

What are you looking forward to at Modern Beauty Con?

Dr. Tom van Eijk: People, mostly! Through the years I have met some of the best and the nicest in this industry and it is always great to catch up with them and meet new colleagues. After Covid, we realize that gatherings like these are not to be taken for granted.

Come learn about The Fern Pattern Technique from the inventor himself at Modern Beauty Con, May 6, 2023, at 1:00 pm at Dr. Tom van Eijk’s presentation, Advanced Hyaluronic Injections; the Fern Pattern Technique, Why and How?