Who Should You Trust To Do Your Botox?

Anna Kremerov
Checked By Anna Kremerov

There are plenty of places offering cosmetic injections and medical treatments these days so it can be difficult to know who to trust. There's also a significant lack of regulation governing who can offer treatments.

To help you make safe decisions, we outline our top tips of things to consider before booking Botox with a trained medical professional...

Botox is a brand name for botulinum toxin. Other brands available in the UK include Bocouture, Azzalure, Letybo and Nuceiva

Who Can Prescribe Botox?

Although Botox is a non-surgical treatment generally used for cosmetic concerns, it is a prescription-only medicine. This means you will only be able to undergo treatment if a qualified medical prescriber has reviewed your aesthetic concerns and prescribed the botulinum toxin to you in person.

Doctors and dentists are prescribers, while nurses, pharmacists and some other healthcare professionals can undergo additional training to become qualified prescribers. Of course, it is also essential that they have had training specifically in the use of botulinum toxin.

Remote prescribing is illegal; this means prescriptions can only be provided if the prescriber has reviewed the patient in a face-to-face consultation. They should not prescribe Botox after a phone or video consultation.

What Qualifications Are Needed to Inject Botox?

In the UK, there are no specific qualification requirements needed to administer botulinum toxin treatments. This means, as long as it is prescribed by a qualified prescriber who will be held accountable for the treatment, anyone can perform injectable treatment.

In some circumstances, this is fine; for example, a qualified prescriber such as an experienced doctor, dentist, or nurse prescriber could prescribe the toxin to a patient, who is then treated by a medical practitioner in the same clinic. The prescriber will have physically reviewed the patient and is nearby to help out if necessary.

As mentioned above, it's not okay for someone to carry out the treatment if their patient has not been reviewed in person by a prescriber.

Can non-medics inject Botox?

Can Non-medics Inject Botox?

Unfortunately, there is currently no law stopping non-medics from carrying out treatment if the patient has been prescribed Botox, Bocouture, Azzalure or another brand of botulinum toxin by a qualified prescriber.

However, medical professionals will have had detailed anatomy training so will know exactly where it is safe to inject the product.

They should also know how to handle a complication and prescribe relevant emergency medications in case of serious complications.

Professionals We Recommend for Botox Treatments

We highly recommend that you only undergo injectable treatment (Botox or dermal fillers) with a medically-qualified trained professional, who will have undergone training in facial anatomy and physiology, as well as being accountable to a regulatory body such as the General Medical Council (GMC), Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) or General Dental Council (GDC).

They should also be able to advise you of the risks of injectable treatment and be confident in handling serious complications if they arise.

Things to Consider

When selecting a medical practitioner to inject your botulinum toxin, it's important to keep these things in mind:

  • Does your injector have a medical background?

  • Does your injector offer face-to-face consultations where you can discuss your medical history and treatment plan?

  • Is the practitioner properly trained in cosmetic procedures; specifically botulinum toxin injections?

  • Are they an experienced injector? (Experience counts with injectables!)

  • Do they have experience in complication management?

  • Does the injector belong to an organisation that has strict guidelines and standards of care for its members?

  • Have they got good recommendations for their aesthetic treatments?

How to Tell if Your Practitioner Is Properly Trained

  • Ask to see their medical accreditations

  • Ask to see their training certificate(s) and proof of continuing education credits

  • Ask what type of training they have received, specifically in botulinum toxin procedures. If they say that they trained at the local beauty school or from a friend, this is not sufficient; proper training involves an accredited programme with extensive instruction and supervised clinical experience under an experienced medical injector.

Any experienced and appropriately qualified injector will be happy to show you relevant documents at your face-to-face consultation.

How to tell if your practitioner is properly trained

Checking the Qualifications of a Practitioner

All doctors, dentists and registered nurses should be able to provide you with a copy of their:

  • Qualifications

  • Insurance

  • License

  • Certificate of registration with the relevant government authority (i.e., the NMC, GDC or the GMC)

Don’t shop for Botox by price alone

Don’t Shop for Botox by Price Alone

If you’re looking to save money on botulinum toxin, the best way to do it is by not shopping based on price alone. Often the cheapest treatment will actually be less effective than a more expensive one.

A lot of things go into determining how much a certain dose of botulinum toxin costs: what kind of product you have, where it comes from and how much time it takes for them to use it all up.

But, bear in mind, just because someone has a lower price than another practitioner, it doesn’t mean they aren’t using high-quality products. Price can often be dependent on the location you are seeking treatment in.

Don’t Shop for Botox by Price Alone

Here are some signs that should raise questions about whether or not you should trust a medical injector to administer botulinum toxin:

  • If they are not willing to answer any questions and/or cannot provide answers in an informed, professional manner

  • If they do not have a license to practice medicine in your country

  • If they are using a remote-prescribing service instead of ensuring the prescriber sees you in real life

  • If they do not explain the risk associated with the procedure

  • If online reviews are negative, especially if someone reports having complications after treatment with this practitioner (complications such as drooping eyelids)

Book Your Botox Consultation Today.

As you will have learnt, botulinum toxin (Botox, Bocouture, Azzalure, Letybo and Nuceiva) is a great tool to help you look younger and fresher. It’s important that you get treated by an experienced, medically trained, and qualified practitioner who will inject you safely.

As always, if you have any questions you can use our Botox Q&A where you can ask for more advice direct from a trusted, experienced medical practitioner.

Not sure Botox treatment is right for you? We have lots of Botox FAQs, Botox videos, Botox reviews, and Botox before and after images for you to do more research if you are not ready to speak to a medically trained Botox injector yet.
 
If you want to look for your nearest accredited and verified Botox clinic, your local Botox clinics are listed below. 

The Diane Nivern Clinic Ltd

5 out of 5

From 8 Review(s)

Multi award winning clinic of advanced facial skincare treatments & medical aesthetics with an holistic approach for healthy, radiant skin. Treatments by experienced medical aesthetic practitioners...[READ MORE]


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406 Bury New Road, Whitefield, Manchester, M45 7SX

A Little Enhancement

5 out of 5

From 9 Review(s)

We are an official Allergan aesthetics clinic situated in a discrete location in Exmouth. We offer a wide range of anti ageing and skin treatments. We are nurse led and all Injectables are p...[READ MORE]


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14 High Street, Exmouth, EX8 1NP

NW1 Aesthetics

NW1 aesthetics specialises in advanced aesthetic treatments and skin rejuvenation. Led by independent nurse prescribers with over 30 years nursing experience, they pride themselves in offering bes...[READ MORE]


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1 Harley Street, London, W1G 8QH

The Cosmetic Clinic Kings Lynn

5 out of 5

From 2 Review(s)

Specialists in non-surgical aesthetic procedures ,wrinkle relaxing injections, dermal fillers, threadlifts, laser hair removal, thread veins, acne treatment, aqualyx, sculptra, microdermabrasion, ch...[READ MORE]


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Unit 8, North Lynn Business Village, Bergen Way, North Lynn Industrial Estate, Kings Lynn, PE30 2JG

Premier Laser & Skin Notting Hill

There is a Premier Laser clinic specialising in the latest solutions of laser hair removal in Notting Hill. Our West London location sees many happy customers come in for a wide range of skin treatmen...[READ MORE]


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2 Wellington Terrace, Notting Hill, London, W2 4LW

Wellface Esher

5 out of 5

From 53 Review(s)

Wellface Esher is a facial aesthetics clinic run by Dr Yasmin Tayeb, specialising in anti-wrinkle treatments, lip fillers, Profhilo, PRP, Secret RF fat dissolving and more. Based in Esher, Surrey.[READ MORE]


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Health Village Esher, 13 – 17 Church Street, Esher, KT10 8QS

Dr K’s Clinic

5 out of 5

From 4 Review(s)

Dr Maeve Kenningham is an experienced medical doctor who provides advanced aesthetic treatments ranging from medical strength peels to her popular Dr K’s Lift (a liquid and thread non-surgical...[READ MORE]


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Kinross, Rosemary Lane, Burton, Rossett, LL12 0LA

Ash Labib Aesthetics

Facial Aesthetics with a delicate touch. We believe small changes from the outside can make a big difference to the inside.[READ MORE]


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102 Tettenhall Road, Wolverhampton, WV6 0BW

The Facial Aesthetic Skin Clinic

5 out of 5

From 1 Review(s)

The Face offers a professional and friendly service to help you feel fabulous. Lead by IAAFA award winning Christina Cope, a member of GDC & Save Face. Offering facial aesthetic treatments from a...[READ MORE]


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15 Radford Way, Billericay, CM12 0AA