Should Beauty Therapists Be Allowed to Inject Botox?

There are also heated debates going on amongst nurses as to whether non-nurse prescribers should be involved in injectable cosmetics, with the NMC certainly not being supportive of non-independent nurse prescribers using prescription cosmetic injectables.

However, in recent years the debate has, in my opinion, entered an entirely different level with some beauty therapists now trying to validate their claims to the use of prescription medicine (botulinum toxin) and dermal fillers for cosmetic rejuvenation.

Where training courses have been offered to beauty therapists and other non-medically qualified people, and although NOT ONE of the major suppliers and manufacturers of these products support the use of their products by non-medically qualified practitioners, it appears that they are either powerless in stopping the supply of their brands to these people (available through various routes), or they just don’t care where their product ends up, as long as someone pays for it!; (which I hope isn’t true!)

So, you may wonder, if NOT ONE of the manufacturers, suppliers or distributors in the UK PUBLICLY SUPPORT the use of their products by ANY non-medically qualified person, why are beauty therapists so vociferous in persisting with their case for use of these products?

Hence, an inspectorate body has also been set up known as the Cosmetic Dermal Botulinum & Fillers Inspectorate (cdBAFI). They state on their website that; “we do not feel that if you are a dentist, doctor or nurse that automatically enables you to perform this type of non-surgical cosmetic treatment at the exclusion of the cosmetic industry professionals practising in this area.  We want ALL practitioners inspected to enable the consumer a choice.”

Stuart Naisbett, Director of Inspection at cdBAFI also said recently; “We created the Inspectorate on behalf of the consumer...not the medical profession or the Cosmetic Industry. We are an independent Inspectorate that wants to assure the consumer that the injectables practitioner that they choose to perform their treatment has been inspected to the same industry standard.”

cdBAFI is working with the CTIA to introduce new training standards for cosmetic injectables and also claims that they would be happy to also work with IHAS to introduce a generic standard for all. They intend to evaluate both the people and the organisations involved in the provision of cosmetic injectables.

To further highlight their cause, CTIA along with the British Association of Beauty Therapy & Cosmetology (BABTAC) and cdBAFI, formed a delegation to visit the Department of Health and meet with the current Health Minister, Simon Burns regarding the regulation of cosmetic injectable treatments.

In particular, they wanted to discuss the implied exclusion of beauty therapists and other cosmetic industry participants from practising within this marketplace due to their exclusion from the IHAS shared regulation scheme, which was granted funds from the previous government for the development and promotion of the public of a register of accredited cosmetic injectable providers.

The delegation is said to have highlighted its concerns to the Minister about what they believe is an unlevel playing field in the area of non-surgical injectable beauty treatments and outlined the fact that the public should be made aware that they are training up dentists, nurses and doctors on the NHS to work in the private health care sector offering non-surgical beauty treatments.

A cynical argument indeed.