Beauty’s big names Millie Kendall and Caroline Hirons have joined forces with the British Association of Beauty Therapy and Cosmetology (BABTAC) to push for better regulations in the treatments sector.
Currently, in the UK, a person with little or no training can establish themselves as a professional therapist, which could cause serious potential harm to consumers if treatments are administered incorrectly.
In response, the BABTAC has introduced its Make Beauty Safe campaign lobbying for the UK government to change the legislation.
Lesley Blair, Chair of BABTAC, said: “We need accountability, we need regulation. Now more so than ever.
“With confusion around Covid safety measures, a clear code of conduct needs to be established to ensure the safety of all those encountering the beauty industry, be it professionally or personally.
“From two-day courses selling themselves as reputable qualifications to unqualified practitioners administering injectables, without the means to deal with any complications should they arise, we need a government regulated standard across all areas of beauty.”
Meanwhile, a recent report published by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health said the regulations for cosmetic treatments are “no longer fit for purpose”.
Kendall added: “It’s astounding that you can go on a one-day course and become accredited to perform treatments that break skin or use chemicals without sufficient training.”
Hirons also noted that the lack of regulations in the sector can have terrible consequences.
“There are so many dire repercussions due to the lack of regulations in our industry, beginning with reputable, fit for purpose qualifications, having to compete with cheaper unverified substandard training, or worse still no training at all, resulting in under qualified therapists who are able to provide rapidly advancing treatments without any verification of insurance.
“Safety and professionalism should be at the heart of everything we do and with so little accountability this currently just isn’t the case in far too many circumstances.”
Blair also laid out the guidance that the BABTAC would like to see the government implement.
“We believe that there needs to be a minimum of a mandatory register that can verify all therapists are competently qualified and have a fit for purpose qualification and adequate insurance to ensure the safety of both therapist and client,” added Blair.
“The ultimate goal would be for a full regulation, either by the government or independent industry bodies, other industries have this, so we should too.”
BABTAC is urging consumers to sign its petition via change.org and the group will send a letter to the government.
