Why I think aesthetic medicine should have been added to the Royal Society of Medicine curriculum years ago

This is something I believe is a huge step forward in being able to properly regulate and monitor aestheticians and non-surgical treatments. 

Thanks to social media, the era of the influencer and photo filters I know a lot of people that are searching for the perfect look - myself included. These days you can get ‘tweakments’ done in your lunch break, everything from Botox to Breast Implants. The problem with the beauty industry and aesthetic medicine in particular is at the moment anyone can train to be an aesthetician. 

I have a friend who is a nurse but has worked in social healthcare all her career. Last year she decided to pay for a course and can now inject Botox or filler into clients faces. I did a bit more research into becoming an aesthetician and was shocked with my findings. 

I found a training facility in London that would teach me how to do Botox and Filler injections in one day. Even more shocking was the morning session would be all theory and the afternoon would be injecting each other to practise. That’s it -  half a day if I practice, grab my CPD certificate (Continuing Professional Development) and off I go - how crazy is that! 

I hate having injections done by a doctor but at least I know they’ve had years of experience and know what they are doing. Not an afternoon playing doctor. Many people who take these courses have no medical background and sometimes end up advertising on Facebook and will do special offers or ‘Botox parties’.

This is when the ‘aesthetician’ will come round to your house and give you and all your friends Botox or Filler injections for a discounted price depending on how many pals you can coax into having it done. 

What happened when I got Botox? 

I decided to treat myself on my 30th birthday to some Botox. The idea first came about after I caught myself looking in the rear-view mirror of my car. The deep lines in between my eyebrows known as ‘elevenses’ were enough to make me look into getting an appointment fast. 

A quick Google search of my local area and phone call later I was booked in. I was so excited about getting Botox that all logical thoughts about safety completely went out of my head. It wasn’t until I was sitting on the bed in the clinic with a Doctor about to inject chemicals into my face that I thought ‘I properly should have done a bit more research’. 

Did it stop me from going through with it? No, I would’ve been more embarrassed to walk out of the appointment than suffer the disastrous side effects - which include; headache or flu-like symptoms, droopy eyelids or crooked eyebrows, infections and many many more. 

Thankfully I was one of the lucky ones and this was a trained doctor in aesthetics and  not some random I had found on Facebook. But the fact is more and people are looking for the cheapest deal rather than researching who is the best person to go to and what exactly are they putting into my face. 

We need to crack down on ‘cowboy-aesthetician’s and properly regulate the industry just like we would any other profession for the safety of all patient’s. 

Natalie Dixon is NationalWorld’s Lifestyle reporter. If you liked this article and want to read more about soaps, celebrities and lifestyle you can follow Natalie Dixon on X here. 

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