Innovative technologies set to hit the market...

Eve Oxberry's Editor's Letter, August 2014

Innovation is what drives this buzzing industry and keeps it thriving when so many other markets struggle during recessionary times. The researchers and product formulators out there are constantly looking for faster, more effective, less painful ways to achieve results, safe in the knowledge that people will always pay the price to look younger, slimmer and generally more beautiful.

Some of the most interesting developments at the moment include a peptide delivery system for botulinum toxin that will allow it to be applied without injection, a handheld nail laser that could give techs an affordable way to treat fungus, and formulations that can shift stubborn pockets of fat when injected. Read about all these and more in our August issue.

Of course as the industry develops apace, it’s been hard for the regulators to keep up, and the reputation of the profession has also been blighted by people looking to make a quick buck by offering treatments without sufficient training or insurance. So news this month of a new Government-endorsed training framework for advanced treatments such as lasers and peels is likely to be met with a mixed response from salon owners.

Since deregulation in 2010, many have felt the need for tighter for control on who is performing laser treatments. However, unless the advanced courses become mandatory, they could be viewed as just an additional cost for responsible practitioners that’s likely to be ignored by the cowboys out there.

Yet if suppliers and insurers get on board it could have a huge impact on the training needed to practise these advanced treatments legally. We’d love to hear what you think. Email us at info@professionalbeauty.co.uk or tweet us your views on anything you read in the magazine or on this website via our Twitter account @pro_beauty.