Medical aesthetic treatments are performed by beauty therapists with no medical background or training. Recently in the media there has been a huge spotlight on the risks associated with undergoing such treatments.
But how do you know if your practitioner is suitably qualified to perform these procedures and that the establishments where they practice from have the policies & procedures in place to take care of you should you have any complications. The truth is that it is easy to be fooled by advertising swanky websites and social media.
What to look-out for & questions to ask…
Ensure that the practitioner performing the treatment is a registered nurse or doctor with a valid NMC/GMC registration.
Ensure that the facility you are attending is a medical establishment with robust policies and procedures in place to handle any adverse reactions/complications resulting from treatment.
Call the medical establishment and ask questions such as – Is the practitioner a medically qualified nurse or doctor? What happens if I have a reaction or develop an infection, how will you look after me? Are you registered with SAVE FACE – the government approved register of accredited practitioners.
Megan’s Story
‘I felt like I was just left, she just left me, she wasn’t bothered about what had happened, I was sobbing outside the shop and the receptionist seen me, they just didn’t seem bothered at all, they didn’t look after me.’ …Megan
When Megan booked her lip fillers at a beauty salon in Hornchurch, Essex she didn’t think twice about the potential risks of having treatment. It wasn’t until she woke in the night with body aches and pains, a temperature and a very swollen top lip that she realised something was wrong. Megan had lip filler injected into her lips by a beauty therapist three days previous and her lips had not settled.
‘Nobody seen me, they just said she will be in the next day and that I would have to come back and make an appointment to see her then. She didn’t even offer to talk to me over the phone.’
Megan immediately went to A&E where she was told that she needed to go back and find out what substance was used before they could help her. Megan went straight to the salon where she was told that she could not be seen nor helped that day and needed to book an appointment for the next day. Despite Megan’s visible distress and swollen lip the team refused to help her in any way. Megan proceeded to phone FACEMED which is a nearby Medical Centre offering similar treatments to get some advice.
Megan was seen that day by Monica Berrange RGN, INP, who immediately diagnosed the infection and proceeded to dissolve the filler and prescribe anti-virals for cold sores and antibiotic medication for the infection. It was explained to Megan that the beauty therapist that she had treatment with was not medically trained and therefore could not have dealt with her complication which needed medical attention. Unfortunately, this is not an unusual case for Miss Berrange to see. In theory, anybody can inject any substance, however, only a medically qualified practitioner is able to address the complications as prescription medication such as antibiotics, antivirals and/or steroids are required.
At FACEMED we are advocates for safe and best practice, the main elements of this most importantly is the medical background of the treating practitioner and the treatment location being a medical clinic preferably registered with SAVE FACE. Beware of salons and clinics that offer treatments by beauty therapists under the guise of Doctors/Dentists/Independent Nurse Prescribers who prescribe the treatment (and are paid a fee to prescribe) but do not administer the treatments themselves, instead, they prescribe on behalf of a non-medically trained therapist. The remote prescriber will not be responsible nor available when a complication occurs – YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN!
