In February, at the Professional Beauty show in London, a company called Skintechniques were advertising dermal filler courses for beauty therapists.
The company's website boasts that they offer "the only insured beauty therapist course for injecting dermal filler" and explains that the course is a "one-on-one training day for beauty therapists NVQ level 3 or equivalent with a leading facial aesthetician for hyaluronic injections".
Industry insiders claim the course involves at best half a day of training, with the main focus on how to market your salon or spa.
Moreover, the "leading facial aesthetician" is James McGrath, a former mental health nurse who in 1998 set up Collagenics, a non-surgical beauty clinic, after practising Botox techniques on his wife Stephanie in their kitchen.
The McGraths have since separated and Collagenics is at pains to point out they are not affiliated with nor do they condone the work of Skintech-niques.
McGrath's one-day training costs £2,500 plus VAT, of which £500 goes towards the beautician's annual insurance, which gives them £ 1/2 million worth of medical indemnity insurance.
So, should the girl who does your nails decide she wants a bit of extra cash, there's nothing to stop her signing up for a course on Tuesday and injecting you with a filler on Wednesday.
And because dermal fillers are not considered drugs, they're not even subject to the, albeit rather woolly, legislation that governs Botox.
Essentially what McGrath is doing may be unethical, but it is legal.
It goes without saying that the more responsible side of the aesthetic beauty industry is horrified by this.
In May, the British Association of Cosmetic Doctors (BACD) urged beauty therapists to beware of such courses.
It believes they exploit beauticians who may be unaware of the risks involved in injecting dermal fillers without medical knowledge.
"Dermal fillers are perfectly safe when administered by a qualified doctor with an in-depth understanding of facial anatomy," says BACD chairman, John Curran.
"But it is not adequate to blindly stick a needle in someone's face with scant knowledge of the potential risks that can include facial necrosis or disfigurement.
"If dermal fillers are administered in a spa or hairdressing salon without medical supervision, how is a beauty therapist to deal with complications such as anaphylactic shock [an extreme and life-threatening allergic reaction], without resuscitation equipment?
"We must protect therapists and the public from this alarming development."
Backing his comments are the results of a BACD survey, which found that more than half of their 250-plus members have treated patients who had experienced complications at the hands of inexperienced or incompetent therapists.
Some will argue that as the effects of Botox and fillers are only short-term, however badly they are injected, any problems will be reversed in a few months. Not so, claim experts.
"For a start, however small the risk, you've got to bear in mind that whatever happens, it's on your face," says Rajiv Grover, a Harley Street plastic surgeon, who has had to treat a number of patients who have suffered at the hands of rogue practitioners.
"You can't just put a jumper on and cover it up, so what are you going to do? Not go out for four months?"
Andrew Vallance-Owen, Bupa medical director and chairman of the working group on cosmetic surgery established to implement self-regulation of the clinics, warns there are real dangers.
"With a semi-permanent filler, the results aren't simply going to be reversed in a couple of months.
"Furthermore, if injections are being administered in beauty parlours, there's also the health and safety aspect to consider when it comes to how hygienic and sterile the environment is.
"Though there's a possibility that injecting into the wrong place could damage a nerve, the biggest problems arise from infection.
"If the injected area becomes infected that can lead to abscesses which can result in permanent scarring.
"They might not be life-threatening, but they could be problems for life."
are they in the uk ??? xx
