COSMETIC cowboys offering unregulated treatment on-the-cheap has left Scotland named the worst place in EUROPE for dodgy fillers and bad Botox.
In recent months there have been a raft of horror stories about botched treatments and poorly trained practitioners ghosting clients after procedures have gone wrong.
But, in Scotland, there is no legislation covering the industry, which brings around £30 billion into the UK economy each year.
And while the Scottish Government considers what regulation is needed, beauty bigwigs have taken matters into their own well-manicured hands launching TIME — which stands for training, insurance, monitoring and evidence, the four things customers should look for from therapists.
Lesley Blair, who has more than three decades of experience in the industry and is now CEO of the British Association of Beauty Therapists and Cosmetologists, said: “Our campaign is to educate the consumer that we are not a regulated industry. People do not need to be qualified in order to practice beauty therapy.
“I was a working therapist for over 30 years and not once did a client ask me if I was qualified, not once did they ask me for a certificate.
“This is us trying to raise awareness of what to look for and not to be frightened, to equip them to be able to ask the questions.
“Is your therapist qualified? Where did they train? Are they insured? What kind of monitoring do they do and what evidence have they got to show that?”
The more invasive cosmetic treatments — such as Botox and plasma infusions — have become ever more common, with some women popping out in their lunch-breaks for treatments.
And while there are plenty of professional and trusted therapists out there, there are also many dodgy ones.
Last year Kathryn Tumulcha, from Dalkeith, spoke out after a Botox jab left her looking like she’d had a stroke after going to a ‘cheap practitioner’.
While, Renata Wojno, from East Kilbride, blamed herself after being left with lumps on her face from a cosmetic injectable after finding a woman on Facebook who did the jabs from her home.
Scotland was branded the worst place in Europe for dodgy lip fillers and Botox.
It’s not just the injectables that can go wrong — even everyday treatments, such as waxing, can leave customers in agony if not carried out properly.
[boxout headline=”‘LIKE I’D HAD A STROKE'” featured-image=”33788062″ intro=”A MUM-of-two was told to ‘massage her face back to health’ with the back of an electric toothbrush after a botched Botox jab.”]We told last year how Kathryn Tumulcha, 33, wanted the left side of her lips topped up with dermal fillers.
But instead of dermal fillers she was given a Botox injection — in the wrong place.
The hairdresser, of Dalkeith, Midlothian, said: “I had a bad experience because I went to a cheap practitioner rather than a professional one.
“I’d had my lips done, but one side was a lot droopier than the other. I just needed a wee bit topped up.
“Botox was injected into my face but in the wrong muscle.
“One side of my face looked as though I’d had a stroke.
“I then went to a proper clinic and they helped me get my face back to normal.”
Kathryn was told the Botox injection was given because the original practitioner did not have enough filler in the salon.
The registered professional advised her to use an electric toothbrush to massage her face back to life.
She said: “It lasted 12 weeks. As well as massaging my face, I had to drink a lot of water to try to flush the botox out of my system.
“I stayed indoors. I didn’t want to see anyone and my mental health went to pot. It was horrific.”
Lesley said: “It’s important we educate people on the higher level injectables, blood plasma treatments, PDO threads, vitamin infusions and weight loss injections but it’s also really important for those beauty treatments that people are having day in and day out.”
BABTAC survey data shows only 38 per cent of consumers knew there was no regulation on the beauty business.
Only 70 per cent believed their therapists held relevant qualifications and 90 per cent said they wouldn’t feel comfortable asking for proof.
Lesley said: “I always say ‘all the glitters is not gold’.
“Just because there’s a sparkly certificate on the wall, it doesn’t mean they’ve got fit-for-purpose training.
“You’ll get the person that’s opened up, charging £10 for a gel polish, that’s buying their products from overseas with no qualification, they’ve not got insurance, and they’re undercutting all the really credible therapists.
“We want to really empower the professional people that are out there and make them be proud of having these qualifications and are actually working hard to protect the consumer.”
[boxout headline=”‘HARD TO LOOK IN MIRROR'” featured-image=”33788066″ intro=”ONE beauty fan said it was “hard to look in the mirror” after botched Botox left her with huge lumps on her face.”]We previously told how Renata Wojno, from East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, paid £600 for the cosmetic procedure.
She found the beautician on Facebook and had the jabs carried out at the woman’s home. But shortly after, two huge lumps emerged under Renata’s eyes and the skin changed colour.
She told BBC Scotland: “I’ve just lost my confidence.
“It’s hard to look in the mirror because all I can see is just the lumps under my eye, and I know when people look at me they just see the lumps.”
Renata has now been told she faces a choice between permanent damage or private surgery after seeking help at a registered clinic.
Her total bill could top £4,000 if she needs additional surgery or laser treatment to fix the skin discolouration.
She added: “I need to force myself to get the surgery and spend the money. I know it’s my fault.
“I was like, surely this person who’s got lots of treatments advertised must be a qualified person, but I just didn’t check.”
And while the initiative, which was celebrated in the Scottish Parliament this week, Lesley hopes the industry will be properly regulated soon.
She said: “We need a NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) oversight and licensing for our industry that is properly governed.
“That’s really important because it’s no use having this in place and then not giving the correct authorities the enforcement that they actually need.
[boxout headline=”STEPS BEFORE TREATMENT” intro=”THE T.I.M.E initiative, a consumer safety scheme supported by MPs, influential bodies and key industry figures, to ensure consumers get the best possible experience and better protect themselves.”]Their checklist for customers to ask practioners aims to help people know what to be aware of when booking in for treatments:
TRAINING – What qualifications and training, including continual professional development (CPD) do you and all your staff have?
INSURANCE – Are you insured and, if so, who by?
MONITORING – Do you carry out important pre and post appointment processes such as patch tests, consultations and aftercare?
EVIDENCE – Is there certified proof of training, insurance and any client testimonials?
“There also needs to be accountability in our sector. Medics, for example, are accountable, so when they do something wrong they can be struck off and their license can be taken off them.
“It’s not the same with beauty.
“There are always going to be people who try to sit below the radar but if we had some sort of licensing regime in place that was managed effectively, that would be the dream.”