London: Lisa Stredwick got botox treatment around her mouth hoping it would help her look her best, but it did just the opposite.
The procedure caused scarring and damage which could not be corrected with surgery and she now has to pay for regular treatment just to disguise the scars.
"It's drastically changed my life and every six weeks I go for treatment so obviously I have to take time off from work which costs me. My confidence has you know, definitely changed, I work hard at that a lot. Since I am dealing with the public in my line of work so I have to look I am confident, but I don't always feel it," said Lisa.
Stredwick is now among a growing number of people in Britain demanding tougher regulation for Botox.
And after furious debate on the subject, UK's beauty industry has launched the Independent Healthcare Advisory Services or the "IHAS" voluntary register.
Think of it as getting a safety certificate.
"The consumers will need to look out for the quality mark which will assure them that if they go to that place, they'll get a properly clinically trained person and also proper cleanliness in the facilities, you know, done clinically, properly," said Dr Andrew Vallance-Owen from the Independent Healthcare Advisory Services.
There are five thousand companies, or individuals offering this beauty therapy and the IHAS claims 200,000 people got injectible treatments each year, which necessitates regulation.
But according to surgeons the government's backing for the register is dangerous because it'll lull patients into a false sense of security.
"You don't have to be part of the scheme to perform the injection. It's not essential, it's not mandatory and it's not enforceable, so anyone can go on injecting botox and fillers without being part of the scheme," said Nigel Mercer, from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons.
(With inputs from Associated Press).
The procedure caused scarring and damage which could not be corrected with surgery and she now has to pay for regular treatment just to disguise the scars.
"It's drastically changed my life and every six weeks I go for treatment so obviously I have to take time off from work which costs me. My confidence has you know, definitely changed, I work hard at that a lot. Since I am dealing with the public in my line of work so I have to look I am confident, but I don't always feel it," said Lisa.
And after furious debate on the subject, UK's beauty industry has launched the Independent Healthcare Advisory Services or the "IHAS" voluntary register.
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"The consumers will need to look out for the quality mark which will assure them that if they go to that place, they'll get a properly clinically trained person and also proper cleanliness in the facilities, you know, done clinically, properly," said Dr Andrew Vallance-Owen from the Independent Healthcare Advisory Services.
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But according to surgeons the government's backing for the register is dangerous because it'll lull patients into a false sense of security.
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(With inputs from Associated Press).
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