Tips to find a botox therapist

Posted on 3 September 2015

If you’re keen to address your cosmetic confidence issues by indulging in some Botox treatments or by getting fillers, here are five top tips to bear in mind when choosing the therapist who’ll administer the treatment – especially if they’re not a medical doctor.

With injectable beauty treatments gaining popularity in the last few years, there is an amount of considered caution that goes into selecting the therapist who will administer your Botox or fillers. The decision to get these treatments should also not be taken lightly, as there is a risk that things could go wrong, especially if the person administering the treatment isn’t a medical professional.

So how do you know you’re being treated by the best possible person for the job? Pay heed to the below five-point checklist by Sally Taber, who manages the Standards and Training principles for the UK-based organisation Treatments You Can Trust, found here.

1. Qualifications: Check the qualifications of the practitioner. Only regulated doctors, dentists, pharmacists and nurses are appropriately qualified to give injectable cosmetic treatment.
2. Title: Don’t be taken in by unusual or unrecognisable titles, such as ‘Advanced Aesthetic Practitioner/Therapist’. When you check qualifications, make sure that the title of doctor, dentist or nurse actually applies to the person who is holding the needle.
3. Training: Practitioners need training in a variety of areas to give injectable cosmetic treatments. These include how to deal with a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) and other adverse reactions to treatment.
4. Location: Treatments such as Botox and dermal fillers should only be carried out in a clean, safe and appropriate clinical environment to avoid infection and permanent physical damage. Treatments should not be carried out in a home setting or, for example, in a nail bar, hairdresser, or tattoo parlour, but in a clinical facility.
5. Substance: While Botox is a prescription-only medicine, dermal fillers are not currently treated as such in the UK (or in South Africa) and can be bought in various outlets, as well as online. While this is legal, Treatments You Can Trust advises people to be extremely careful when dealing with any cosmetic injectables. Some dermal fillers are permanent and can be dangerous in the wrong hands. Treatments You Can Trust recommends that you do not buy cosmetic injectables from the internet.

The South African Association of Cosmetic Doctors has also previously warned consumers to be wary of beauticians offering Botox injections, saying they are not suitably qualified. Botox contains a neurotoxin called onabotulinumtoxin A, and is classed as a prescription-only medicine in South Africa.

Source: http://www.bdlive.co.za/national/health/2013/02/18/noninvasive-cosmetic-procedures-take-off-in-south-africa

The information provided in this article was correct at the time of publishing. At Mediclinic we endeavour to provide our patients and readers with accurate and reliable information, which is why we continually review and update our content. However, due to the dynamic nature of clinical information and medicine, some information may from time to time become outdated prior to revision.