How do I choose a safe aesthetic practitioner?
Choosing an experienced & safe aesthetic practitioner is the most important decision you will make when considering anti-ageing treatments. It is arguably more important than choosing the treatment itself.
At the Surrey-based Cosmetic Doctors Company we believe that aesthetic treatments should be treated as medical procedures. These procedures may be a matter of personal choice, but that does not make them trivial.
may be elective, but that does not make them trivial. Injectable treatments require an understanding of anatomy, appropriate patient assessment, careful technique and, importantly, the ability to recognise and manage complications if something goes wrong.
The difficulty for patients is knowing how to distinguish genuine clinical expertise from good marketing.
In the UK, the regulation of aesthetic treatments can be surprisingly complex. The fact that someone offers injectable treatments does not necessarily tell you very much about their medical qualifications, training or experience.
You might be surprised to read how almost anyone can perform aesthetic treatments in the UK.
What qualifications should I check?
Start by finding out exactly who will be treating you.
Are they a doctor, dentist or registered nurse? Can you verify their professional registration? How long have they been practising aesthetic medicine, and how regularly do they perform the treatment you are considering?
Qualifications matter, but experience matters too.
A certificate showing that somebody has attended a training course does not tell you how much clinical experience they have subsequently acquired. Aesthetic medicine involves judgement as well as technical ability; knowing when to treat, how much to treat and, sometimes, when not to treat.
What does “doctor-led” actually mean?
“Doctor-led” has become a common description in aesthetic medicine, but it can be surprisingly difficult to know what it means in practice.
A clinic may be owned or supervised by a doctor while treatments are actually carried out by somebody else.
That is not necessarily inappropriate, but you should know who will assess you, who will perform your treatment and who will take clinical responsibility if you subsequently have a problem.
We discuss this in more detail in What Does Doctor-Led Actually Mean?
Is CQC registration a guarantee that a clinic is safe?
No.
The Care Quality Commission regulates certain healthcare activities in England, and whether a clinic requires CQC registration depends upon the services it provides.
Where CQC registration is applicable, it is a useful indication that the provider is subject to external regulatory standards. But registration on its own cannot tell you how experienced a particular practitioner is or whether their approach to aesthetic treatment is one you will be comfortable with.
It should never replace checking the practitioner themselves.
What should happen during my consultation?
A good consultation should involve considerably more than deciding where to place an injection.
Your practitioner should ask about your medical history, previous treatments, medications and what you hope to achieve. They should examine you properly, discuss suitable options and explain the limitations and risks as well as the potential benefits.
Most importantly, you should not feel under pressure to proceed.
Be cautious if a consultation seems primarily designed to sell you a treatment, particularly if you are encouraged to buy a package or commit to several procedures before you have even experienced the first one.
A responsible practitioner should be perfectly comfortable recommending less treatment than you expected or no treatment at all.
Read Why the Best Aesthetic Practitioners Take Their Time.
Does the clinic itself matter?
Yes.
Aesthetic procedures should be performed in an appropriate clinical environment where infection control, medicines, equipment and emergency procedures are properly considered.
The surroundings also tell you something about how the practitioner regards the procedure.
Injectable aesthetic treatment should not be approached in the same way as a routine beauty treatment. If you are being treated in a setting that does not appear equipped to manage a medical problem, it is reasonable to ask what would happen if one occurred.
How do I know whether they can manage a complication?
This is one of the most important questions to ask.
Serious complications from aesthetic treatment are uncommon, but they can occur even in experienced hands. What matters is whether your practitioner can recognise a problem quickly and knows what to do next.
Ask what arrangements are in place if you develop a problem after leaving the clinic. Who do you contact? Can you reach the practitioner who treated you? What happens outside normal clinic hours?
For hyaluronic-acid dermal fillers in particular, there is one important safety question we believe every patient should ask.
A practitioner who takes safety seriously should be happy to answer these questions.
Should I rely on reviews and social media?
Reviews can be useful, and photographs may give you some idea of a practitioner's aesthetic style. Neither should replace checking their qualifications and clinical experience.
Large numbers of followers do not demonstrate medical competence.
Social media can also create demand for treatments simply because they are fashionable. Your face is not a trend. A good practitioner should recommend treatment according to your anatomy, concerns and objectives rather than what happens to be popular online.
Social media popularity is not a guarantee of aesthetic safety.
What are the warning signs?
Be cautious if:
you cannot easily establish the practitioner's qualifications or professional registration;
you feel rushed or pressured into treatment;
discounts or treatment packages dominate the consultation;
risks and possible complications are barely discussed;
you cannot obtain a clear answer about what happens if something goes wrong;
the treatment environment does not appear appropriate for a medical procedure;
you are encouraged to have more treatment than you originally intended;
social-media trends seem more important than an individual assessment.
None of these automatically proves that a practitioner is unsafe. But they are good reasons to ask more questions and, if the answers do not reassure you, to go elsewhere.
How do I choose a safe aesthetic practitioner? The short answer
Check the practitioner before you check the price.
Confirm their professional qualifications and registration. Ask about their experience with the particular treatment you are considering. Pay attention to the quality of the consultation, the clinical environment, the discussion of risks and the arrangements for complications and aftercare.
And notice whether the practitioner is prepared to say no.
Good aesthetic medicine is not simply about knowing how to perform a treatment. It is also about knowing whether that treatment is appropriate for the individual patient.
Choosing your practitioner carefully is therefore one of the most important decisions you will make.
Your consultation is where good treatment begins
If you are considering aesthetic treatment, an unhurried consultation gives you an opportunity to discuss what concerns you, understand the available options and decide whether treatment is appropriate without pressure to proceed.
At The Cosmetic Doctors Company in Esher, Surrey, every consultation and every treatment is carried out by one of our experienced, medically qualified doctors.
