Yesterday the Government published their first rough guidelines on the new licensing for the Aesthetics Industry and it's fair to say that it wasn't as bad as what everyone thought. I am going to start by saying that there are a lot of non medic practitioners who are carrying out treatments safely, correctly, in accordance with Health, Safety and Occupational National Standards; you should be really proud of yourselves for keeping your standards high in the industry.
However, there are also some cowboy fast track training schools who do not teach, even the basics or advise learners regarding insurance or complications. This is not just non medics, there have been plenty of times that myself, at my clinic, have had to correct a medics work or re train medics who trained with other medics.
Although the new licensing scheme can look quite scary; here at IBA we welcome the scheme and we want you to not worry at all. There is no need to worry.
It's looking at 2026 before this legislation comes out and the way at we have interpreted the paper released yesterday is that the government are NOT looking to ban non medics from carrying out aesthetic treatments; we believe that their goal is to tighten it up which is needed. They are looking to ensure that clients are safe when having treatments and that medics and non medics are held accountable should a treatment go wrong.
In 2022 alone, 2,824 people complained about an aesthetics treatment that went wrong and 80% of the practitioners that carried out the treatment didn't have insurance!!! If you look at IBA's terms and conditions and our goals in the industry to keep the standards high; one of our first requirements is to see your insurance policies and to verify that you have aesthetics on the policy along with teaching; only then will we accredit you (along with other documentation). Therefore we feel the new licensing regarding this can not come quick enough.
Another reason that non medics will NOT be banned is the amount of tax contributions made by the aesthetics industry each year; 24.5 billion in 2022 alone and a further 6.8 billion into the treasury. These are huge numbers and the majority of those contributions will be from non medic aesthetics practitioners. The HMRC will never want to lose revenues like this and as the industry keeps growing, so will the tax bill.
As you know, when you set up in a salon or clinic, you have to apply for a license for skin piercing or tattooing with your local council where a member of their establishment will come out and inspect your premises and qualifications. Once they have done this, they issue you with a certificate and a rating for your premises. This is going to be rolled out as a separate Aesthetics License and you will have to abide by the licensing scheme in order to carry out aesthetics treatments.
The Government are looking at brining in a traffic light scheme three tier system as follows:
Green: procedures with the lowest risk of complications
All practitioners are eligible to perform licensed procedures where they meet agreed standards.
We propose this includes, but is not limited to, the following procedures:
microneedling
mesotherapy
intense pulsed light (IPL) and light emitting diode (LED) therapies
chemical peels that involve destruction only into viable epidermis (the outermost layer of the skin)
‘no-needle’ fillers including pneumatic devices that use intense pressure to pass substances through the epidermis
micropigmentation (semi-permanent make up), including microblading and nanoblading
non-ablative laser hair removal
photo rejuvenation (the use of a laser to treat skin conditions including wrinkles, acne scarring, sun damage)
Amber: procedures with medium risk of complications
Licensed aesthetic practitioners must have relevant oversight by a named regulated healthcare professional (who has gained an accredited qualification to prescribe, administer and supervise aesthetic procedures). Qualified and regulated healthcare professionals are eligible to perform these procedures without oversight where they meet agreed standards.
We propose this includes, but is not limited to, the following procedures:
botulinum toxin injections
semi-permanent dermal fillers injected into the face only
biorevitalization injections and/or any injection of hyaluronic acid
vitamin and mineral injection procedures
platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy for cosmetic purposes and Biofiller
injection microsclerotherapy (spider vein treatment)
weight loss injections
carboxytherapy and/or the infusion of gases under the skin
cellulite subcision
injection lipolysis with a POM
cryolipolysis
high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), including intimate use
radiofrequency treatments
plasma ablation or plasma fibroblast
non-ablative lasers (excluding photo rejuvenation and laser hair removal)
medium depth peels that involve full thickness destruction of entire epidermis into upper dermis (the inner layer of the 2 main layers of the skin)
POM treatments applied topically for cosmetic purposes, such as prescription strength vitamin A and hydroquinone for the treatment of pigmentation problems or for skin whitening
electrocautery
the combination of 2 or more technologies to create a hybrid device. For example, the combination of radiofrequency and microneedling to treat lines, wrinkles, sagging skin, acne scars and stretch marks
cryotherapy and/or any cryocautery procedure that freezes the skin in order to remove skin lesions such as skin tags, age spots and warts.
Red: procedures with the highest risk of complications
Can only be carried out by qualified and regulated healthcare professionals working out of CQC registered premises. Such procedures would not be included within the local authority licensing scheme.
We propose this includes, but is not limited to, the following procedures:
all thread lifting procedures, including PDO thread and cog lifts
hair restoration surgery
procedures aimed at augmenting any part of the body, in particular the breast, buttocks and genitals, typically using autologous fat or dermal fillers
dermal micro-coring
hay fever injections for reducing redness or blotches on the skin
the combination of ultrasound and large bore cannula for the purposes of liposuction
deeper chemical peels such as phenol peels
lasers which target the deeper layers of the dermis. For example, CO2 lasers, where used for extensive fully ablative resurfacing
the provision of any green or amber procedure where the circumstances of the provision meet the criteria for the procedure to be classed as the CQC regulated activity of treatment of disease, disorder or injury (TDDI)
all intravenous injectables and infusions.
As a non medic, you will not be able to carry out anything in red.
What can you do while waiting for these new laws to come out?
Carry on keeping your standards to the highest they can be, work closely with your prescriber, buy from a reputable pharmacy and as an excellent Aesthetics Practitioner and you can have your say by completing the survey below:
Keep positive!
Holly & the IBA Team