What can we do for you?
As legislation stands at the moment in the UK, it may surprise you to know that there are no legal requirements before becoming an injector. This looks set to change in the near future, as regulation of the aesthetic industry is definitely on the government’s agenda. As there are no legal requirements for aesthetic injectors, both medical and non-medical practitioners are able to inject, but what’s the difference?
Medically trained
Being medically trained means that you have studied an accepted professional training programme for example, medicine, dentistry, or nursing at degree level or above at university for many years. Trained medical professionals will be entered on to a professional register after graduating (GMC, GDC, HCPC or NMC). The registers are open to the public; therefore, anyone can search them to check a medics credentials. Professional bodies exist to protect the public and for that reason, medics are answerable to their professional bodies at all times, regardless of which branch of medicine they are in (including aesthetic practice). They have a professional duty of care to their patients. They also have to maintain their competencies regularly in order to remain registered. To become an aesthetic injector, they would then take additional training with an accredited medical aesthetic training provider before they can become insured.
Non medics
As we have already mentioned, there are no legal requirements for performing aesthetics procedures, therefore the industry is currently open for anyone to practice. Non medics i.e., beauty therapists, hair stylists, nail technicians etc are all entitled to offer aesthetic services. The vast majority will have completed aesthetic training. This training is usually robust, detailed, covering health and safety and infection control as well as anatomy. Having this training will allow a non-medic to gain liability insurance.
There are 2 parts to aesthetic work which we will try to simplify for you.
Dermal Fillers
There are no legal controls on who can purchase and administer them. This is alarming given that dermal fillers in untrained hands, are extremely dangerous. Without in depth knowledge of facial anatomy, there are risks of infection, poor aesthetic outcomes, nerve damage and vascular occlusion (blocking a blood vessel). Vascular occlusion if left untreated can lead to tissue death and permanent scarring.
Botulinum Toxin (BT)
Often know as Botox, BT is a prescription only medication so does have a level of control around it (in theory). This means that you are required to have a face-to-face consultation with a registered prescriber before administration. Although the person who is prescribing BT doesn’t have to be the person who administers it, the prescriber needs to be a trained aesthetic practitioner and will be responsible for your care jointly with the person who is injecting you. Only registered professionals are able to prescribe if they have completed extra training at university which is usually at Master’s degree level.
As you can see, being an aesthetic injector comes with huge responsibly. Watch this space to see how changes in regulations will affect the industry in the future.
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