rtwskin explain what to ask to be assured that you are putting your face in safe hands when it comes to Botox
1.�What product does the clinic use?
Don’t only ask what clinic the use – ask to see the vial! Botox is the registered brand name of the market-leading product manufactured by Allergan. 70-80% of clinics use rival products; some of them are transparent about this, but some of them still call in Botox. Some of the rival botulinum toxins produced in the Far East are bought by the clinics over the internet and so are going under the radar of the Medicines and Health Regulatory Authority; this means you can’t know exactly what they want to inject into your face. Yes, you will save money – some of them cost only a fifth of the price of Botox – but you get what you pay for.
All the products have different dilutions; the more dilute the toxin is, the greater the likelihood of it travelling to other areas in your face, which can cause problems, such as frown lines bleeding to cause drooping eyelids.)
2.�How is the Botox prescribed?�
The General Medical Council has ruled that all Prescription Only Medicines for cosmetic use must be authorised directly by a regulated prescriber, not a remote prescriber – and that includes facial aesthetics such as Botox. If the clinic can’t answer that question, they aren’t following the rules and so aren’t taking the right steps to protect your health.
3.�What training, skills and experience do you have?�
The Botox�manufacturer, Allergan, don’t provide basic training in the UK; they only run master classes; to get on them, you already have to be injected with a high level of skill. Making sure your aestheticist has Allergan masterclass training is a good sign that they know what they are doing.
4.�What look will you achieve?�
This is really important: you need to know that they are on the same page as you, that they will listen to you and be guided by your hopes to achieve the results you want. They should also be transparent about what they can and can’t achieve, and should talk honestly about the difficulties of predicting exactly how the Botox will work for you (there are so many variables that can affect how it works, that no-one can predict the exact results beforehand.)
5.�Can I see some referrals, testimonials and before and after pictures?
If they’re good, they will have lots of happy customers and will be only too happy to show you these. This also gives you the chance to check that their work is in line with the results you want to achieve.
6.�What aftercare do you provide?
You won’t see the final results until two weeks after the injections, so good clinics should offer a review after a fortnight to see exactly how the Botox has worked. They should also offer additional injections, if needed, at their own cost.
7.�What’s the environment?
This might sound like a strange question, but it’s important. Botox requires aftercare: for the next four hours you need to keep upright (you can’t lie down) and you need to avoid alcohol, exercise and flying.� Botox parties, where the alcohol is likely to be flowing, automatically mean you jeopardise the aftercare that your treatment requires.
Botox can achieve fantastic results, which can boost your confidence on lots of levels.� But you need to approach it with your eyes open and carry out proper research to make sure you don’t end up in the hands of a cowboy, wishing you had never had it done.
Book a no-obligation consultation to discuss Botox�treatment and other�aesthetic procedures.�Call 01892 22 22 22.www.rtwskin.co.uk
