Beauty industry association warns members away from filler

The British Association of Beauty Therapy and Cosmetology has responded to the worrying increase of untrained “influencers” and reality TV personalities setting themselves up to perform injectable treatments. 

The beauty industry association, which also providers insurance to therapists and salons, is urging its members not to administer injectables unless medically trained, through a consumer-facing message. 

BABTAC wants to circulate an image for its members to pass on to clients; a picture of an injector’s emergency kit, in bid to stop consumers seeing anyone other than appropriately trained medical professionals for toxin and filler treatments. 

BABTAC is asking its members to make clients aware of the potential consequences of being injected by someone who doesn’t have quick access to a fully-stocked emergency kit bag that contains items including an EpiPen, adrenaline, hyaluronidase and chlorphenamine injection – items only available to medical professionals. 

The association also wants to ensure key key facts about injectable safety are spread among its community of beauty professionals and their clients – that toxin is a prescribed drug while dermal filler is dangerously unregulated; and that even some A&E doctors may not know how to deal with an injectable treatment gone wrong.   

Lesley Blair, chair of BABTAC and CIBTAC (Confederation of International Beauty Therapy and Cosmetology), says: “Both as an insurer and as an industry body on a mission to raise standards in the beauty sector, BABTAC does not condone these fast-track courses that are increasingly being taken by influencers in order to administer injectables. 

“Medical grade training is essential to safely carry out these procedures and to ensure the professional is able to act in the event of any complications. If you can’t prescribe an antidote if necessary, you shouldn’t be administering injectables. Anything less than that puts customers at serious risk.”

BABTAC wants consumers to ask the following questions when considering injectables, and is asking its members to pass on the advice: 

• Are you medically trained and what qualifications do you have?
• What do you have in your emergency kit?
• Who are you insured by?
• What aftercare do you provide?

In January, The Sun launched a campaign alongside some aesthetic industry bodies to stop consumers going to unscrupulous providers for filler.