Considering botox or filler? Make sure your practitioner is legit!

Aesthetic medicine treatments are becoming ever more popular and accessible.

But you don't want to be taking risks with your health and safety, and this is your FACE after all.

Just because someone can inject things like botox or dermal fillers doesn't mean they should.

Sara-Jayne finds out about the risks you could face if you don't do your homework, chatting to Dr Gideon Alers, a GP specialising in aesthetic medicine.

"You might find other people in a practice like somatologists who'll do things like chemical peels and microneedling, but once it comes to the medical, injectable process that needs to be a medical professional."

Dr Gideon Alers, GP specialising in aesthetic medicine

Dr Alers lists three red flags you should be looking out for when you're shopping for a practitioner.

1. The practitioner isn't qualified to inject (it is still a medical procedure)

• In South Africa, only doctors and dentists are allowed to inject, NOT e.g. cosmetologists or beauticians. 
• Check if your practitioner is registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA).

3. The practitioner doesn't ask about your expectations - they just start injecting

• A good aesthetic doctor should ask why you want treatment and what bothers you.
• You need to be walked through the whole process and also told what could go wrong.
• If you don't feel safe, just say no.

If your chosen practitioner is not displaying their qualifications or registration, you are entitled to ask to see these, Dr Alers says.

He also gives the assurance that there is a whole 'fellowship' of legit medical professionals out there who can help you if something does go wrong with your treatment.

If you do encounter a practitioner you sense is dodgy, report it to the HPCSA or even the police, as injecting someone without having the necessary qualifications is a criminal offence.