— Cosmetologists and clinics are actively advertised on the Internet and social networks. How do you know which specialist is right for you?
– I advise you to trust word of mouth. The advice of a person who has gone to the doctor before will be the most reliable.
– What if there is no such acquaintance?
– You can read reviews online. Special sites will help here, where the risk of coming across fake information is much lower than the personal blog of a beautician. For example, an account on the ProDoctors website indicates that a specialist has studied medicine: you can only register there after presenting a diploma and other certificates. Comments on this site are published after acceptance confirmation.
– Can you trust the doctors who advertise their services on Instagram (the owner of Meta is recognized and banned in Russia as an extremist)?
– There is no clear answer. There are excellent experts who maintain their pages and publish honest patient reviews. It’s the opposite. I tend to believe that it is difficult to find a worthy specialist through Instagram, since most professional beauticians do not have time to promote themselves on social networks.
— So the doctor shouldn’t have an account?
Why is that? I have Instagram. I’m talking about that, most likely, after knowing him personally or hearing from your friends, you will come to the page of the beautician. However, you don’t need to actively advertise your page to a doctor whose appointment is scheduled months in advance. And this is true for absolutely any industry.
– What other “ways” are there to choose a cosmetologist?
The easiest way is to set up a preliminary meeting with him. With personal communication, it will be possible to personally understand whether this doctor is suitable for you. Also at the appointment you can talk about modern trends in cosmetology, find out what methods the doctor has: as a rule, these are botulinum therapy, biorevitalization, biorevolumetry, their combination with hardware methods. A competent specialist is always aware of what is going on in the beauty industry. Even if the beautician himself does not use any methods, he must understand their general principles.
And, of course, you need to learn about the training of a specialist, since you came to the reception. They must have a higher basic medical education and may also have residency in cosmetology or have a certificate of further education. You can indicate how often the doctor attends special courses, what additional diplomas and certificates he has. If you are interested in a particular procedure, such as lip augmentation with hyaluronic acid fillers, it is worth requesting a training certificate in the relevant technique.
– Do you just need to look for a specialist with a long work experience?
– On the contrary, with a lot of practice. A beautician who graduated five years ago may have a lot of practice and therefore experience. If a beautician gives training seminars, this also speaks to his high qualifications and is a big plus. An unqualified specialist can never be a teacher for others.
– Why is it dangerous to work with a beautician without medical training?
– Here you must first answer the question of what exactly various specialists in the field of cosmetology have the right to do. For example, a beautician diagnoses, treats the skin, and has permission to offer services that include cosmetic injections. A nurse also has the right to give beauty injections, but cannot prescribe them.
And there is a cosmetologist-esthetician who provides various cosmetic procedures that do not require medical intervention, for example, hygienic facial cleansing, massage and hair removal. A higher medical education is not required for the work of such a specialist. Namely: if such a beautician without a medical education includes cosmetic injections in his price list, it is illegal. Carrying out such services without the proper training of a beautician can worsen the skin condition and harm the body as a whole, since injections require professional knowledge of the structure of the skin, its properties, composition of the drug, possible reactions to the substance. side effects.
What should be considered in the first meeting?
– First of all, on your feelings during communication. You should be comfortable talking to a person, don’t be shy, be embarrassed. 80% of a beautician is a psychotherapist. If you can’t trust him, you are unlikely to be satisfied, no matter how professional. Sometimes the patient deals with private matters and trust is needed.
– Does a beautician’s workplace matter?
– Of course. You choose not only a doctor, but also a clinic. In one place, hair removal is carried out on an alexandrite laser, and in another – on a diode. One clinic has expensive phototherapy machines, the other does not. For this reason, attention should be paid not only to the specialist, but also to the place where the service is provided and whether there is a license to carry out medical activities from the provincial health directorate.
– Is it possible to understand that something went wrong when you first applied to the clinic by phone?
– You should be careful if you are immediately offered to come for some kind of procedure. A specialist can recommend a specific intervention after a face-to-face meeting, which should last at least 30-40 minutes. The doctor takes an anamnesis, fills out a card, conducts a full examination.
– If during a personal consultation the beautician insists on a certain procedure, is this normal?
– In no case. The doctor can only recommend. In addition, we are talking about the aesthetic area where the same result can be achieved with different methods and different number of sessions. For example, you can gradually eliminate post-acne acne with the help of peeling or you can do non-ablative fractional laser. The cost will vary greatly. A good specialist will always offer alternative treatment regimens.
— Does it matter what preparations and techniques the beautician uses?
– It is important that these are drugs certified in Russia. Any self-respecting doctor works with several brands. But they all need to be well studied, cosmetic is not a place for experiments. I prefer drugs from the “Green injection” series. These drugs are produced in Europe, Italy from hyaluronic acid without impurities (even in the minimum allowable volumes). I can be sure of them.
— Why do I need to request documents for the drug?
– Because otherwise there is a risk of encountering counterfeit products. It’s no secret that there is a black market for beauty products in Russia. During the week I get about 50 odd offers, usually below market prices. These may be completely counterfeit or drugs that have not passed the certification procedure. The risk of complications after the introduction of such substances into the skin is very high. If the clinic purchases fillers or botulinum toxin from an official distributor, there will be no difficulties with documentation. And a licensed clinic cannot buy products from an incomprehensible place, as it reports the purchases to the controllers.
What are the consequences of using counterfeit drugs?
– Beauty imitation can be divided into two categories. Firstly, illegally imported drugs, for which no one has properly met the conditions of storage, secondly, counterfeit drugs with low-quality composition.
The results of injections using questionable methods have not been fully studied. The result of procedures using counterfeit drugs can be at least swelling or allergic reactions, such as the formation of subcutaneous balls that can only be removed surgically, and, at the maximum, death. In order not to become a victim of unverified funds, it is important to check not only the doctor and his licenses, but also the clinic – a medical institution with the status of an approved license will not be able to work with counterfeit products, because it is necessary to report on purchases.