“Trust me… I’m a doctor/complete stranger/chancer/unqualified person”
If looks could kill…
The beauty and aesthetics trade exhibition season starts now and is chock-a-block full of companies and individuals showcasing their latest treatments and must-have products that will make you look and feel 21 again (for me that was back in the 90’s and I looked terrible!)
With the beauty industry I have become accustomed to being proposed the next miracle treatment by an overenthusiastic salesperson who is blinded by the sales “training” they’ve just been on. As a pharmacist and quite a bit of a science geek, I am able to see past the biased and influenced clinical trials and the inaccurate scientific blurb. Usually these treatments serve as a vehicle to empty your wallet for hardly any results.
It worries me that there is a growing trend for some beauty schools offering courses to beauticians for quite advanced treatments like botox and fillers. In fact I was offered a 2 day course in such which would have relieved me of £3000 and given me a lovely certificate with my name on it. I politely refused.
This concerned me. This concerned me a lot. Who are these people? Who has allowed them to teach complex procedures? Who have paid to learn to perform these treatments and where are they getting prescriptions from? Do they know what to do if something goes wrong? Google isn’t short of images of Botox and fillers gone wrong.
The promise of a quick buck is alluring when you could make in a couple of days what you used to earn in a month. This then leads to an inability to say no to treating someone inappropriately. You wouldn’t ask for knee replacement surgery for a grazed knee.
I have a doctor at my practice who is excellent at these medical treatments and also teaches these procedures to other doctors, so I am comfortable about the safety of my guests to my business.
It seems I am not the only one troubled by rogue beauticians and beauty schools. Certainly Antonia Mariconda the founder of Safety In Beauty has started a movement to increase awareness.
Beauty treatments correctly administered by a trained and qualified person will do wonders for your looks and self-confidence. It might cost you a few extra pennies but it’s worth it for the reassurance that you get what you’ve paid for. Ask lots of questions and take time to think about what procedure you are having. Your skin will thank you.
Our Health Blogger, Bhavash Padhiar is the founder of Amara Spa, a day spa and leading skincare centre in Fulham, London.
Visit: amaraspa.co.uk
Follow: @AmaraSpa
