I love being a skin care expert – to me it’s so much more than beauty, it’s about maximising the health of your skin too. This is one of the reasons I’m part of the Save Face initiative – it gives my clients reassurance that I’m properly trained and qualified to carry out all of the treatments that I love. Save Face is a Professional Standards Authority accredited register that’s recognised by the Government, The Department of Health and NHS England – so it’s pretty formal! Being part of Save Face means that I’m regularly assessed against a stringent set of standards at my skin clinic in Needham Market. They also keep track of any feedback about my work, just to make sure that I always carry out my treatments to their very strict criteria. Why choose a Save Face practitioner? It’s important because it can go wrong. You might have seen recent news reports about cosmetic procedures that have gone badly wrong; one example is Botox. Save Face ambassador Marcelle King was treated with what she thought was Botox – but it turned out to be beef gelatine that gave her anaphylactic shock and landed her in A&E. The ‘doctor’, Ozan Melin, turned out to be unregistered with the GMC and not qualified to carry out the procedure. More of us are dipping our toes into non-invasive cosmetic procedures such as dermal fillers and Botox – often they are led by social media and reality stars. For example, when the news hit that Kylie Jenner had been getting lip fillers one London practice reported a 70% rise in enquiries in 24 hours! Deciding to have a treatment like this shouldn’t be a spur of the moment thing though – that’s why I’m proud to say I always carry out a detailed consultation with my clients before every treatment, from a simple facial to a chemical peel or IPL. Ashton Collins from Save Face told Closer Magazine this week that while in the UK we spend £2.75 billion on non-surgical cosmetic treatments, the sector is still almost completely unregulated. Legally, non-surgical treatments such as fillers can be provided by anyone – and there’s little wonder that the number of complaints about things like unsightly lumps, swelling and infection have increased in the last year. Teeth whitening came out in a recent study of 2000 people as the most popular non-invasive cosmetic treatment, with 27% saying they would be interested in trying it. Permanent hair removal and skin treatments were on the potential beauty menu for 11% of people surveyed. It would be a real shame for these people, who are so excited about their new looks, to fall prey to unregistered or untrained practitioners when a simple look at the Save Face (or GDC) website can reassure them all is well. I'm proud to be a registered nurse with many years of working within a medical background. I also pride myself on running a spotless clinic; I’m a clean-freak obsessed with hygiene and cleanliness. I’m properly insured to carry out every treatment on my menu and of course, qualified too (not to forget being friendly and professional…) My advice is to always look for someone who is fully accredited, trained and insured, and trust the Save Face practitioner checker to find you someone in your area who is properly qualified to carry out the beauty treatments you want. You should never trust the state of your face to just anybody… Dr Christian Jenssen agrees – he’s just become an ambassador too. He says; “For many years now, the aesthetics industry has needed some form of rigorous and reliable regulation to reassure, safeguard and improve service provision for patients. I’m delighted that Save Face has taken the initiative to offer such regulation, and I am inspired by its thorough approach and conscientious desire to improve satisfaction and outcomes for both patients and practitioners alike. “I hope that checking for Save Face accreditation will become standard when patients are choosing a reliable aesthetic practitioner.” If you would like to talk about the treatments I offer and have a chat with me about anything skin care related, please feel free to contact me at the skin care clinic or through the website.