The Importance of Regulations in the Cosmetic Industry

As cosmetic treatments become more available, people are becoming more aware of the myriad of options available to them. This has led to a boom in people looking for cosmetic and beauty services for improving the health of their skin. While this is a positive step in the right direction, this has also led to a boom in cheap machines and inexperienced operators flooding the market. The unfortunate reality is that a lot of cosmetic and beauty services and clinics are not regulated, and there is no current government regulating body to ensure that a high standard of service is provided. This means that there have been a lot of operators offering cheap treatments, without the appropriate training, and as such, the inability to recognise side effects, let alone treat them. 

If you are looking for a cosmetic treatment, there are a number of very important factors to consider.

Who is doing the consult and the treatments? If they are nurses and doctors, are they AHPRA registered with no restrictions to their scope of practice? Are they registered with an Australian medical college? What training does your dermal therapist have? How long have they been doing this? The results you get are very operator dependant, and someone inexperienced would not be able to understand the nuances of different skin types, skin colours, and what they are treating. We have seen a number of melanomas being attempted to be removed by technicians. ALWAYS have a skin check before you have any pigmented and non pigmented lesions treated.

Check if your doctor and nurse are registered here: https://www.ahpra.gov.au/

Is the clinic providing appropriate consent and discussions around your expectations and the potential side effects? ALL treatments have potential side effects, and you must be the given the chance to ask questions and be consented properly for all the potential side effects. We have a phenomenal number of clients present for treatments they have previously had elsewhere, but are not aware of the potential side effects of said treatments. 

Does your clinic have the ability to treat those side effects? Do they work closely with a doctor/nurse, or have a doctor close by they can refer you to in case of things like a burn from the machine, scarring or an arterial occlusion from fillers? Do they have someone who can prescribe medications necessary to treat side effects? 

What machines are they using? Are they TGA registered? 

“The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is part of the Australian Government Department of Health, and is responsible for regulating therapeutic goods including prescription medicines, vaccines, sunscreens, vitamins and minerals, medical devices, blood and blood products.”

Almost any product for which therapeutic claims are made must be entered in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) before it can be supplied in Australia.”  https://www.tga.gov.au/tga-basics

Check if the machines you’re using is TGA registered here: https://www.tga.gov.au/

It is EXTREMELY important that the machines that are used on your skin is TGA registered. Cheaper machines that are flooding the market are mostly not TGA registered. This is translated into cheaper treatments, and thus, higher risk of side effects especially with more invasive treatments like IPL, needling, radio frequency, plasma pen and laser. For example, a Radio frequency Micro needling device starts from $80,000, a Plasma Pen from $15,000 and a BBL from $135,000. Cheap machines do not have the appropriate inbuilt safety settings, and settings are usually not customisable to your skin type and concerns.

In essence, the price you pay for your consult and your treatment, is the price you pay for your health of your skin. You pay for our experience, knowledge, training, insurance, and most of all, for your safety.