David Mabrie, MD: Shaping the Future of Aesthetics

Shaping the future of aesthetics 

For David Mabrie, success means helping patients and advancing the field through leadership. 

Dr. David Mabrie describes his father, head and neck surgeon Dr. Herman J. Mabrie III, with one word: “cool.” When he was young, he equated the Houston doctor to a senator or a jet pilot—someone who exuded palpable “swagger.” It’s no wonder he wanted to follow in his footsteps. 

Take a glance inside Dr. Mabrie’s aesthetics practice in San Francisco, and you’ll feel that vibe in everything from the hip décor to the leading-edge techniques he employs with each treatment. Like his father, Dr. Mabrie possesses a passion for helping others through medicine. And like his father, Dr. Mabrie is unmistakably cool. 

After graduating from the UCSF School of Medicine in 1995, Dr. Mabrie started on his father’s path—Head and Neck Surgery—but ultimately hung out his shingle as a facial plastic surgeon in San Francisco. He has since set a new standard of care in aesthetic medicine.  

With the mindset of both a surgeon and an artist, he began rethinking the possibilities of injectables (dermal fillers and neurotoxins). He found himself drawn to the possibilities of non surgical treatments and decided to embark on a new approach to aesthetics. Since then, his innovative techniques and ongoing commitment to education have helped thousands of men and women enhance their appearance and boost their confidence, all without going under the knife. 

Education Beyond the Books  

Dr. Mabrie’s experience at UCSF taught him more than anatomy and medical technique. During his years of study, he grew to understand what it meant not only to be a doctor, but also a leader.  

“UCSF influenced me in so many ways throughout my life as an undergrad student, in medical school, and in my professional career,” he says. “The whole UCSF team encouraged a mindset of leadership in your chosen field and self-development, which lead me to Johns Hopkins University, which encouraged innovation and the pioneering spirit.” 

During the school year, having Wednesdays off to focus on discovery and growth outside of medicine sparked a love of learning far beyond the classroom.  

“I appreciate the lesson of incorporating downtime and fun in whatever I’m doing,” he says. “Now, I bring that to my practice with colleagues and patients. We work hard, but also reserve time to have fun.” 

Illuminating Advancements 

For the past 15 years, Dr. Mabrie has focused his San Francisco Bay Area practice primarily on BOTOX® and dermal fillers and other non surgical enhancements. His goal? To “further the limits of what can be done with fillers by developing techniques that can refresh and elevate a patient’s appearance.” 

“While fillers are much more common these days, it was a very bold move back in the day,” Dr. Mabrie says. “Not too long ago, popular consensus was surgery was required for rejuvenation and transformation.” 

Years of experience with fillers and other injectables led Dr. Mabrie to pioneer the Illumination 360° approach. This involves studying the way light interacts with facial features and using injectables to improve facial contours from every angle, in any light. It’s one of the ways Dr. Mabrie brings life to his practice’s mantra: “your face, perfected.” 

The difference isn’t lost on his patients.  

“When you feel beautiful, you simply are!” one patient wrote in a review. “Today I’m feeling happy, confident and ready to allow people to love me since I’m able to love myself because I am feeling comfortable with my own face. I am feeling beautiful!” 

A Lifelong Commitment to Learning 

Dr. Mabrie’s work reminds him every day that he chose the right path, as he’s rewarded with the opportunity to transform the way people look and feel. Now, he focuses on sharing his discoveries with patients and fellow providers through educational videos and informative content about the possibilities within the non surgical field.  

In the future, he plans to expand the education he provides to patients and help fellow practitioners further their knowledge of all that injectables can achieve. 

 “Like UCSF, I want to advance the field and educate ‘students’ to be the very best,” Dr. Mabrie says. 

By helping people put their best faces forward and pushing the limits of what aesthetic medicine can do, Dr. Mabrie is continuing the work his father started so many years ago.  

“From the start of my medical career, my focus was always becoming like him,” Dr. Mabrie says. “He always came home happy with his work and excited about the patients in his care.” 

If you’re interested in facial rejuvenation using dermal fillers in San Francisco, check out Dr. Mabrie’s Dermal Fillers 101 or head to his video gallery for a glimpse into his educational video library.