Video: Where do beauty therapists fit into aesthetics?
It’s an age-old debate, but what treatments should beauty therapists practise in the aesthetics field? PB London speaker Fillmed practitioner and expert trainer Andrew Hansford shares his thoughts on the matter.
1. Injectables won’t make you more money
Across the world, Hansford says that beauty therapists know where they stand in aesthetics and make good profits from beauty treatments. “In Australia they have dermal therapists – which is technically a BSC in beauty therapy – and they are earning an absolute fortune, but they wouldn’t pick up a needle if you paid them to. They understand where the different protocols sit,” says Hansford.
“Follow that path and you’ll make much more money than you ever will with botox and filler.”
2. Doctors do value beauty therapists’ skin knowledge
While medics may be better placed to perform injectable treatments, they often consult beauty therapists when they need to improve skin quality. “I know many doctors who will ask therapists’ opinion on how to help with pigmentation, rosacea and various acnes. That’s where your training comes in,” says Hansford.
“Beauty therapists know so much about the skin, and you can do incredible things with various treatment options available. Botox and fillers do not do that. They are a quick fix, but they don’t help with the skin,” he says.
3. It’s about medical knowledge
Anything that involves a prescription drug, or needs to be fixed with a prescription drug, Hansford believes should stay in medicine, says Hansford. “When you go to medical school, you spend four years understanding diagnostics so you can diagnose a condition,” he explains.
The medical knowledge is required so that a problem can be prevented of fixed if things do go wrong. “There is no way that you can do that within a two-week course or even if you’ve done hundreds of them,” he says.
“Medics who have that history understand what can go wrong. They’re prepared and they can also fix it. But when you haven’t had that historical education or that backstory, you do not.”
For advice on how to treat menopausal clients, watch facialist Teresa Tarmey talk about the best methods to treat menopausal skin.