Latest blogs on cosmetic surgery, beauty, non-surgical and medical aesthetic treatments.

Botox Training For Non-Medics Surely Not in the UK?!

Hot on the heels of our recent government’s decision that it was okay for anyone in England* who wants to have a go at burning your face off with a CO2 Laser or IPL machine to do so with impunity, along comes cosmetic injectables in the hands of non-medics.

(*Ironically this decision also implies that lasers and IPL are more dangerous in the hands of the Welsh where regulation remains!)

The former and current government’s failure to properly regulate the cosmetic injectable market means that coming to a High Street near you soon could be the local barmaid offering “Botox with a Beer” or perhaps your postie, (he has just had his pension cut after all) could also give you a quick injection along with your letters to boost their incomes. Or maybe this could be the new occupation for all those civil servants the government are about to lay off!

How, you may ask, could this be possible?

Cutting the Red Tape: Laser/IPL suppliers targeting sales using de-regulation; Right or wrong?

I recently saw an advert from an Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) manufacturer (who will remain nameless) which was targeted through an industry publication aimed at beauty professionals. It highlighted that clinics and salons can now offer “[Brand Name] IPL hair removal without the red tape of regulation”.

The advert sent to Professional Beauty’s email mailing list used the opener;

“From 1st October 2010 the regulation of IPL technology by the Care Quality Commission will change.  Beauty salons and other cosmetic establishments will NOT have to be registered under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 for use of IPL technology for hair removal.”

Chinese Botox - at $20 a vial, no wonder some doctors are tempted!

Have you been emailed with an offer to buy cheap botulinum toxin type A direct from China? Well you’re not alone.

We look at the growing market targeting Western Europe for sales of generic cosmetic injectable products at a fraction of the mainstream prices.

We’re used to seeing ‘Made in China’ on many of the products we now buy on our high streets. This economically emerging, communist country has long since been supplying the West with cheap commodity items produced for a fraction of the cost, from toys to electrical goods, kitchen wares to clothes, the list is endless, but would you ever consider buying medicines and medical devices from China?!

Celebrity Cosmetic Disasters

What concerns me is the distorted aesthetic imbalances that I see and resultant ridicule that these people in the public eye have had to suffer because of an inability of the proceduralist to perform basic cosmetic tasks.

Cash For Gold... now there's Botox For Gold!

One U.S. clinic, in California (where else!), has tapped into the global phenomenon of selling off unwanted gold for cash by offering a unique service to its patients whereby they can trade their unwanted or broken gold, silver or platinum jewellery in exchange for cash towards beauty treatments, including the wrinkle busting drug Botox®.

DermFx whose clinics are based in Sunset and Redondo Beach, Los Angeles is offering this deal for 2 days only at the end of August.