A 32-year-old woman who performed illegal anti-wrinkle treatments and filler procedures at her beauty salon was jailed for 10 weeks and fined $16,000 last week.
Botox Beautician Sent To Prison
Of course, this did not happen in the U.K. It happened in Singapore where Duong Bang Anh was not authorised to perform non-surgical aesthetics as she's not a medical practitioner. A friend had helped her illegally import the treatment products from Vietnam and she'd messed up a couple of patients' faces.
Had this happened in the UK, the beautician would still be working and the victim would have no recourse.
Don't risk ruining your face, find and choose a medically qualified practitioner who will keep you safe right here.
What's the problem, we're not Singapore?
The question is why aren't we Singapore? In the UK, you do not have to be a licensed medical practitioner to perform wrinkle relaxing treatments. Beauticians, hairdressers, nail technicians can all perform injectables. In fact, you don't even need to work in the beauty industry to be able to sell the toxin. Anyone - literally anyone - can perform injectables.
Is Singapore just over-cautious?
After seeing Duong's Instagram account, the patient booked in for fillers in her cheeks and chin. Duong assured her that the products were "from doctors" and "safe to use". She also told the victim that she provided training to customers who wanted to learn how to perform injectables for a fee of $3,000. The victim experienced pain during the treatment and subsequently experienced severe swelling in her cheeks.
This happens EVERY DAY in this country. Social media is overrun with people claiming to be qualified and well-trained. Products are sold and bought though dodgy-back channels, and women have terrible experiences and potentially life-changing mishaps.
The difference between Singapore - and most other countries - and the UK, is that this is a criminal offence and the beautician will now go to prison and pay a huge fine. It's likely this incident is an exception in Singapore and certainly not the norm. People in Singapore will generally not risk going to prison in order to perform injectables.
Duong Bang Anh, a beautician in Singapore, is sent to Prison for performing Botox.
Why can beauticians perform injectables in the UK?
In 2013, the PIP scandal triggered an independent review of cosmetic procedures in the UK and The Keogh Report outlined four areas that needed to change.
- High quality care should be provided by skilled and responsible practitioners
- Safe and tested products should be used
- The public need to be informed and empowered
- Redress and resolution should be accessible if things go wrong
What progress has been made against the recommendations?
Almost none!
Training is still muddled and fragmented - open to everyone, regulated by no one.
The government didn't see value in insisting on one central register, instead, there are several voluntary registers including BAAPS, JCCP, SAVE FACE, BACN and BCAM. These are doing their level best, with limited budgets, to sort stuff out. They are all, largely, singing from the same hymn sheet and are pushing for medicalisation, standardisation and regulation. But the key problem: the public have almost no idea these even exist, let alone understand the differences between them.
Hundreds of dodgy products are freely available on the web or via the many online ‘pharmacies’ on social media. Toys and makeup are subject to more stringent safety testing.
The industry has tried to educate the public, but due to lack of cash, this has been through horror stories about botched treatments. The problem with this is that is has only achieved one thing…the wide-scale misconception that Botox and fillers are dangerous.
Why does it matter? Anyone can do a lip filler surely?
The problem isn't rooted in who is better at perfecting the perfect lip. There are certainly beauticians who are, artistically, brilliant. However, they're not medically trained in the human body, have limited experience in treating patients and are unable to handle complications as competently and effectively as a medic . The real issue is they're not accountable to anyone. They are not registered with a statutory body like nurses, doctors and dentists are. They are not bound by any guidelines or ethics. And there is absolutely no recourse for patients if things do go wrong!
Had this happened to a woman in the UK (as it does) and she'd seen a beautician, there would be nowhere for her to complain or seek help (aside from her local A&E). She could complain to the beautician, but you only need to read the countless stories in Facebook groups to understand it would likely be disregarded. She could make a civil claim, but that requires time and resources. In Singapore the patient was able to complain to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA), who investigated and clearly took appropriate action. There would be no procedure here, no recourse, no way of the customer receiving any kind of justice.
So what can I do to protect myself?
Simple. Only ever let a medically-qualified practitioner perform injectables on your face. Why risk it? You can find one here and know they've all be verified and checked, and are all either nurses, doctors, dentists or pharmacists. They will all be accountable to their statutory bodies, use high-quality regulated products and they will all have your safety as their first priority. Find someone close to you right here, your face is too important to mess up.
