The dawn of a new era: nursing pioneers and the not-so-smooth sail towards aesthetic regulation

Looking back on the past 12 months, it has been an interesting year—to say the least—for aesthetics; there have been several steps forward within the sector, with regulations being introduced by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to help overseas nurses join the NMC register (NMC, 2019), as well as several steps back, as Channel 4 announced its controversial reality TV show, The Surjury, which some say exploits the vulnerable, in October (Heritage, 2019).

In late November, the Metro published yet another aesthetic horror story, reporting the case of a young patient undergoing lip fillers with a non-medical professional, which resulted in a group A streptococcus infection (Brazell, 2019). When contacted, the beautician who administered the filler stated that she thought the patient's swollen lips were unrelated to the filler. A shiver went down my spine as I read this—any qualified and trained aesthetic practitioner knows it is crucial to possess an understanding of the anatomy, as well as the knowledge and confidence to prevent and manage such complications. Despite stories such as these hitting headlines far too regularly, aesthetic procedures are only growing in popularity, with the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) reporting a 58% rise in hyaluronic acid injections and a 36% rise in botulinum toxin injections since 2014 (ASAPS, 2018). So, as patient numbers grow, as does the need to protect and educate them and chase a safer, regulated sector.