Whenever we talk about lay practitioners, or ask medical practitioners for their views regarding non-medics offering non-surgical aesthetic treatments, there will be a notable amount of; “Oh, well, I don’t really want to get into that.” They’re either not bothered about them or are fearful of speaking out.

It’s Too Intense

GlowdayPRO knows all too well the whole debate surrounding non-meds and in particular beauticians is contentious and confronting. There are strong views and opinionated people on social media, who will turn conversations to hostile and angry conflicts. For many medical practitioners, who are afraid of confrontation, trolls and/or saying the wrong thing, it’s easier to not say anything.

Beyond that, there are practitioners who simply don’t care about non-meds, because they don’t identify with them and don’t see it as a problem they need to address - they’re just not bothered. But should you be more bothered? Could this kind of complacency be contributing to the negative perceptions of non-surgical aesthetics and in some ways, constricting change?

Non-Medics Aren’t My Competition

There is definitely merit in not comparing yourself to non-meds, and you’re right, they aren’t directly your competition.

However, their existence and the proliferation of non-meds offering Botox and lip fillers does influence the perception of the industry. They perpetuate the idea that injectables are freely accessible, commoditised and beauty treatments. They impact your business directly because they drive down the costs of treatments and therefore undermine your value.

The complications which mostly arise from non-meds fuel the misconceptions about treatments and that everyone who has Botox and fillers looks fake. And if a patient sees a botched job in The Sun, they’re not going to blame the Government for the lack of regulation, they’re going to be dissuaded from having the treatment, period. That’s another patient you’ve lost.

We Don’t Have The Same Patients, It’s Not A Problem

Waitrose and M&S probably didn’t worry much about Aldi and Lidl when they set up in the UK. Are you being a bit of a snob about your potential patients? Are you discounting young people? Or people who are less affluent?

It’s not true that just because someone is younger, likes a bigger lip, has less disposable income and enjoys a Nandos that they want a treatment with non-medics, that they want it to be cheap and that they don’t care about safety, experience and training.

They don’t know they have to care.

Indeed, highly educated women earning £200k a year who drive fancy cars, don’t know they have to care. They will still have injectables with non-medics because they don’t know it’s unregulated, they don’t know that nobody verifies these people, they don’t know that anyone can offer lip fillers.

You do have the same patients..

The Moral Of The Blog?

We’re not saying you should get into arguments with non-meds or slag them off on your stories. But you should be talking about why being a medically-qualified practitioner is so crucial and be educating patients (young and old, rich or poor!) consistently and continually that you are better, safer and different. You should be telling them why they should chose you. And if you’re ever asked for your opinion on lay practitioners, make your voice heard. It’s always an opportunity to help educate people.

If you don’t, who will?