Currently, the UK doesn’t have legislation to prevent non-medical professionals administering facial aesthetics treatments. However, in 2022, a cross party group of MPs proposed introducing a licensing scheme, which could take effect from July 2023.

As things stand at the moment, a medical professional qualified as a prescriber does have to authorise the use of prescription-only medications such as Botox and other branded wrinkle-relaxing toxins. They must be present at the consultation and take responsibility for the outcome of the treatment, but they can prescribe these injections for use by someone without a medical qualification, such as a beauty therapist.

At Hydean, we believe that facial aesthetics treatments should only be administered by experienced and qualified medical professionals with in-depth knowledge of facial anatomy. All of the treatments we offer are administered by Dr Shree Patel.

It’s impossible to say which facial aesthetics treatments would be best for you without knowing more about your individual case. What would you like facial aesthetics treatments to help you achieve? Are you worried about loss of skin volume, fine lines and wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, your skin looking dull and dehydrated, wanting to create more symmetry or a combination of issues?

The answers to these questions and more will help your clinician narrow down which treatment options would give you the best outcomes.

Absolutely! In fact, successful facial aesthetics treatments are all about personalising them to the individual to give the best results.

A lot of our patients here at Hydean want to improve their skin health and minimise the signs of ageing without it being immediately obvious that they’ve had aesthetic treatments. Non-surgical facial aesthetics treatments are ideal for this because the outcomes tend to be more subtle than with cosmetic surgery.

Many treatments also offer ongoing improvements. A product like Profhilo, for example, will stimulate natural collagen and elastin production, meaning that your skin continues to look healthier, smoother and more hydrated for weeks after your treatment.

It’s important to choose a clinician who understands what each treatment can achieve, as well as the structure of your face to ensure discreet but beautiful enhancements.

Generally speaking, facial aesthetics treatments are comfortable and cause minimal pain. We use ultra-fine needles to deliver products such as dermal fillers and most brands include lidocaine for pain relief. If lidocaine is contraindicated for any reason, we have safe and minimally invasive alternatives.

If you are worried about how injectable or skin needling treatments will feel, you can opt to have an anaesthetic cream applied approximately half an hour before your treatment to numb your skin.

Again, this will depend on the treatment(s) you have. With most facial aesthetics treatments, there is little to no downtime.

Your clinician should always explain what to expect after a treatment so you can make sure that it fits in with your plans. With a Zo® Skin Health “Red Carpet” Peel, for example, some people experience slightly dry flaky skin for a couple of days post-treatment, so you might want to book a treatment like this a few days before a special event.

Similarly, we may recommend that you avoid wearing make-up for 12 to 24 hours after some treatments (for example, skin needling), so you might want to book these for a day when you’re happy to go make-up free.

It’s absolutely fine to have a facial treatment before wrinkle relaxing injections. However, we would advise against having a facial for at least 24 hours after wrinkle relaxing injections because it’s important to let the product settle. Indeed, if you’re planning any facial treatments in the two weeks after your wrinkle relaxing injections, please let us know so we can advise you accordingly.

You should always be given detailed aftercare instructions after any treatment.

As with several of the questions above, the answer depends on which treatment you have. Facial aesthetics treatments can cause slight redness, swelling and bruising (particularly at injection sites) but this usually self-resolves within 24 hours.

Once again, the answer to this question depends on which treatment(s) you’re having. Typically, wrinkle relaxing injections take about 30 minutes, whereas lip fillers may take nearer one hour. You should be told how long your treatment will take during your initial consultation.

We always recommend that you book a consultation appointment first. This is an opportunity to discuss what issues you would like to address and then explore the best treatment options for your goals, schedule and budget.