Fears continue to grow around aesthetics sector
Despite a recent Government inquiry and subsequent recommendations into “cleaning up” the cosmetic surgery arena, new research has revealed that fears continue to grow around this largely unregulated sector.
Three separate surveys were carried out by CCR Expo to pinpoint the views of aesthetic practitioners, medics who do not practise in the field such as GPs and dentists and women, who represent 90% of the patients who undergo these types of treatments.
One of the studies conducted by independent survey company OnePoll on 500 women uncovered that whilst 38% have considered cosmetic surgery procedures such as facial injectables or liposuction, only half of them actually ever go through with it. Outside of cost, the top reason cited was fear stemming from horror stories about botched treatment in the media, followed by wariness of the results looking “unnatural”, and not knowing which practitioners are qualified to perform the procedures.
A separate survey of over 70 cosmetic practitioners showed that over a third (34%) felt the biggest problem was “newbies” lacking specialist expertise – such as high level training in facial anatomy; followed by 23% stating the biggest problem was providers unable to diagnose or cope with complications. When asked if this was endangering the public, 87% said yes.
When non-cosmetic practitioners such as GPs and dentists were polled, 90% stated they had at one time or another considered offering aesthetic treatments, yet cited lack of specialised training, concerns about lax regulation and horror stories and not understanding legal frameworks or the marketing involved for not moving forward.
