Medical Clinic vs Beauty Salon

There is some confusion about the lockdown lift and I aim to further reassure you that you are in safe hands and that I am not compromising or presenting risks in the Covid-19 pandemic. I am not a beauty salon and have never aligned myself to any of the beauty salon standards or services. I do not and cannot offer beauty salon treatments. I am a Registered Nurse Prescriber and I run a medical aesthetic clinic.

The reasons beauty salons remain closed are because it is impossible for legislation to say whether their services and environments are safe or not. This is because beauty salons offer a huge variety of close contact and lengthy services.

The Government need advice too and will naturally band things together, they will defer to that as it makes their life simpler and legal. Beauty salons do not have a statutory professional regulatory body nor  infection prevention and control protocols or policies. The Government needs to rely on all services to follow its own statutory duties and codes of conduct to defer to in this instance. We as medically qualified professionals are able to do that. As a medically qualified professional, every aspect of contact is regulated, even if it’s offering a drink, to carrying out a complicated procedure – as long as that person is under our care, we adhere to our Code of Conduct: we are regulated to act in a person best interests and as such many strict standards have to be maintained.

There has long been an argument against non-medically qualified people injecting aesthetic treatments when they cannot diagnose, prescribe or manage what can be severe complications. They have no legal obligation to care after a person finishes a treatment. This article is not criticising beauty therapists or salons at all, it is purely describing the material differences between the businesses for identification purposes.

I hope this article helps clarify why a medical cosmetic/ aesthetic clinic cannot be compared to a beauty salon (even a salon carrying out injectable treatments) and therefore does not come under the broad category of beauty.

• If you are unhappy with medically qualified clinical care, you can sue through Medical Malpractice Insurance.
• If you are unhappy with a beauty therapist (even if they have injected you) you do not have this option and they can continue to treat others.
• If you have an issue during or following a treatment, a medically qualified clinician has a Duty of Care and a Code of Conduct to adhere to and will provide the full clinical pathway to treatment completion and support and directly treat you.
• If you are unhappy with a beauty treatment, they do not have any legal obligation to support you.

In the specific case of Lockdown Lift: There are some quite clear and distinct differences between Nurses in Medical Aesthetic Clinics and Beauty Therapists in Beauty Salons.

Clinic Definition

• A clinic is a healthcare facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients

Salon Definition

• Beauty salon: An establishment in which hairdressing, make-up, and similar cosmetic treatments are carried out commercially.

Aesthetic Clinic Design

• A clinic provides a clean, safe environment the design of which facilitates good infection prevention and control (IPC) practices and has the quality and design of finishes and fittings that enable thorough access, cleaning and maintenance to take place. (Health Building Note 00-09: Infection control in the built environment). Wash down walls, wipe clean floors, few soft furnishings, employs clinical waste removal services and is underpinned with infection control policies and procedures.

Salon Design

• In a Salon, interior design takes on heightened importance in a beauty business for the simple reason that it is selling beauty and style. A salon is a creative statement showing the way beauty is conceived and how it is expressed it to the world. Their treatment rooms are functional but not officially standardised.

Aesthetic Clinical Services

• Professional regulatory bodies: NMC, GMC, GDC
• Medical treatments involving prescription only medication
• Injectable treatments using prescribed medicines and regulated medical devices.
• Skin treatments using licensed cosmeceutical and/or prescription medicines.

Beauty Salon Services

• Hair removal: threading, plucking, waxing.
• Eye brow tattooing / tinting
• Eye lash treatments
• Dry Skin Removal: exfoliation and scrubbing.
• Manicure and pedicure:
• Nail and skin filing; and cutting and polishing.
• (all of which involve skin/hair shedding into the environment.
• Facials: using beauty grade skin care products.
• Use of steam
• Massage: using beauty grade skin care products

Aesthetic Clinical Training & Experience:

• Degree level nurse training for three years in clinical settings to diagnose, assess, plan, treat, prescribe medications, evaluate and manage medical conditions and on going care and follow up including social, psychological and all other aspects of the human condition.
• Numerous additional training at degree level and below whilst working in NHS environment as mandatory training and further Continuous Professional development (CPD) (Certificates can be seen)
• Revalidation process every three years to prove NMC standards in training to continue registration as a Registered Nurse Prescriber
• Years working in NHS in a professional and clinical settings where all actions and interactions were accountable to my National Registration Board (NMC)
• Yearly clinical comprehensive appraisals and mandatory training
• Extended cadaver and high level clinical training through access to the Royal College of Surgeons and Physicians
• Working continuously to our Mandatory Code of Conduct
• Regular Peer Supervision amongst esteemed medical professionals
• Regular attendance at professional conferences and membership to professional National Associations
• Save Face accredited Clinic which means annual inspections and training
• (I hold no beauty NVQ Level 2, 3 or 4 qualifications and so cannot carry out beauty treatments)

Beauty Training

• NVQ Level 2,3,4 Beauty courses
• (some Beauty Therapists hold higher levels in NVQ 4-7 and use this to inject the public but they cannot manage complications as they cannot prescribe)
• No legal obligation to update training

Aesthetic Clinical Assessment before a treatment

• Full consultation including medical history and assessment, informed consent and treatment plan recording in Medical records.
• Confidential Medical records
• Strictly by appointment

Beauty Salon Assessment before a treatment

• Consultation with the emphasis of the clients wants and desires
• Patch testing for dye treatments
• Record Keeping of health conditions and medication with limited understanding of implications
• Walk in appointments

Aesthetic Clinical Ability to manage medical complications during or following treatments

• Has a statutory and professional Duty of Care to follow up treatments
• Statutory Duty to adhere to Professional Code of Conduct
• Qualified and trained to identify, diagnose, treat and review medical complications
• Ability to prescribe appropriate medical interventions and medication necessary
• Easy professional Access to peer professional supervision and services

Beauty Salon Ability to manage medical complications during or following treatments

• Has no duty to follow up after treatments
• Unable to diagnose, solely manage, treat and review
• Not obliged to follow up or would need to contact a prescriber or outside medical professional to identify and manage complications

Aesthetic Clinical Tools

• Single use disposable instruments

Salon Tools

• Mutiple-use Tools
• Shared equipment and products: soaking in multi-use foot and nail baths;
• Sunbeds with multiple users.
• Multi use products nail varnish, wax pots, gel pots etc.

Aesthetic Clinical Staff

• Healthcare professionals:
• Educated to Degree level or higher.
• Independent prescribers.
• Nurses, Doctors, Dentists regulated by professional bodies.
• Professional Code of Conduct or Professional Guidelines meeting PSA standards underpin decision making and actions.
• Duty of Candour and Care. Professional accountability.
• All elements practice underpinned by infection control policies and procedures.

Beauty Salon Staff

• NVQ level or above therapists.

Aesthetic Clinical Insurance

• Medical Malpractice Indemnity Insurance

Beauty Salon Insurance

• Professional Liability Insurance

 Aesthetic Clinic Customers

• Private Patients

Beauty Salon Customers

• Beauty Clients

Aesthetic Clinical Suppliers

• Aesthetic Pharmacies and Official distributors with governance

Beauty Salon Suppliers

• Salon Supply warehouses

Alison Taylor Medical Cosmetics 29 June 2020