Rule 3 of Cosmetic Work - A Deep Dive
Do meticulous research about your surgeon/aesthetician.
This one should be self-evident, but it’s always incredible to me how few people ask basic questions of their practitioner.
It is really important that you understand the expertise of whoever you’re trusting with an area of your body that you already have insecurities or concerns about.
If you’re in the UK, be aware that the injectables industry is currently unlicensed. It is possible, and alarmingly common, for someone to start injecting after taking a 1-day course.
1 day.
Before they can start altering your face.
Best case, they will have practised on live models during that day. Worst case, it was a dummy or (I have heard anecdotally) a piece of fruit.
For non-surgical work, I would still urge you to go to a doctor. It will probably be more expensive than the woman working out of a room in the back corner of your hairdresser’s, but I believe it will be a better investment of your time and money.
In the US, only doctors and nurses are allowed to perform cosmetic injections and it’s far more tightly regulated. I still got caught out in New York when I made an appointment for Botox with a ‘doctor’ and realised when I got there that I was actually being injected by a nurse with a PhD. So, she was a doctor, but not a doctor doctor.
I’m not here to debate the relative talents of doctors vs nurses, but in this instance, having decided to go ahead with the treatment, it was the least effective Botox treatment that I’ve received. There are some excellent nurse injectors in the US; my point is to make sure you understand and are comfortable with the qualifications of the person whom you’re trusting to make changes to your face and body.
It is genuinely shocking the extent to which Google Ads has impacted consumers’ ability to conduct independent research. Virtually any question that you type in will return several pages of cosmetic practitioner websites, each of which will tell you that whatever procedure you’re considering will improve your life forever and that they are 100% the best people in the world to do it for you.
It’s a jungle out there.
The best possible resource for you is a recommendation from someone who’s had the procedure that you want and whose results you admire.
I’ve lost count of the number of people who ask me to recommend someone for a procedure that I’ve never had. I’m really, disturbingly, good at the internet, but I’m no substitute for someone who’s actually had that procedure done.
Of course, the immediate issue is twofold:
The best work probably won’t be immediately obvious
The stigma of approaching someone to ask if they’ve had Procedure X done and the associated mortal fear of causing them unquantifiable offence
THIS IS WHY WE NEED TO BE MORE HONEST ABOUT THE WORK THAT WE’VE HAD DONE. More of this in Rule 6. But we have GOT to start helping one another out more.
If you’re in the UK and you don’t have acquaintances whose brains you can pick, the annual Tatler guide is a decent starting point. The reality of publishing means that there’s a high chance that some - if not all - of these slots have been paid for, but 2 doctors - that I found independently and did work that delighted me - are on the list, so I think it’s a reasonable resource in an underserved space.
There is a high chance that you’re finding practitioners via Insta or TikTok. It makes me icky, but if I can’t dissuade you, just please don’t see anyone who’s obviously banging a filter on every post. Your cosmetic work is going to be seen IN REAL LIFE. Only work with people who are showcasing real-life results.
The questions you should ask will vary from procedure to procedure (there will be more info on this in future, procedure-specific posts), but these are universal:
When did you qualify as a doctor/nurse/practitioner?
How long have you been doing [Procedure X]?
Why do you like doing this work?
(What you want from them here is “I love finding ways to make my patients/clients feel more like themselves” and/or “I enjoy working with and guiding patients/clients to get them the results that they’re looking for” and/or “I’m passionate about working with new techniques and technologies to expand my skillset and delight my patients/cients” and not “I dunno, it pays better than podiatry.”)
If the answers aren’t obvious from their website, make sure you have asked them all of these in the consultation and walk away from any practitioner whose answers don’t 100% satisfy you. Do not take unnecessary risks with your appearance.
An ethical practitioner will be unafraid to say no to you - my injectables doctor refuses to give me filler more often than not “You don’t need it, there’s still loads in here” and is resolute in his opinion that there’s no reason for me to have a thread lift yet. This is what I pay him for, honestly.
Trust the cosmetic professional who tells you that you do not need work done or that the outcome you want is unlikely to be possible. Distrust the person who assures you that your every wildest aesthetic fantasy can be made real. More about this in Rule 5.
A passionate and creative practitioner may also propose alternative approaches once they’ve understood what outcome(s) you’re after.
This, though, looks like your rhinoplasty consultant saying “A chin implant would be more effective - in your case - than a rhinoplasty, let me show you why,” rather than your tummy tuck consultant saying “What I’d recommend is liposuction throughout the stomach, thighs and arms and we can discuss a discount if you get a neck lift at the same time”.
Do your research and only work with genuine experts in the procedures that you want to have done. If in doubt, don’t.
Any cosmetic work undertaken should be in accordance with the other five rules. Here they are, in case you missed them the first time
