Geelong has been described as a boom town for cosmetic injectables, but patients are being warned to do their research.
Hayley Marshall, who owns DermaLuxe Injectables in Geelong West, says she has seen clients who have been overdone elsewhere and left unhappy.
“I think that’s where my experience in nursing and beauty have come into it,” she said.
“I’ve seen young and probably more inexperienced people (from other facilities) poke anything into people’s faces … and it leaves clients looking older.”
Ms Marshall worked in the beauty industry and then became a nurse in 2007 before combining the two.
She has been working in cosmetic injectables for three years.
Hayley Marshall from Dermaluxe Injectables.
She said social media and influencers had “definitely given” the younger generation the idea they had to have a certain type of look.
Ms Marshall said her business’ most popular treatments were frown line and forehead Botox and lip injections.
A skin treatment which uses injections of a concentration of a patient’s own platelets was increasingly sought after.
She said clients were looking for more natural alternatives and she had seen a shift away from the “big cheeks and lips” aesthetic.
In Australia, doctors, nurses and dentists are allowed to provide cosmetic injections.
The Face Place Geelong owner Lisa Keane, who has been a registered nurse for more than 20 years and in cosmetic injectables for about six, said Geelong seemed to be a bit of a “boom town” for the industry.
“In this country we’re pretty well regulated, I would like to think there’s not too many cowboys around,” she said.
She said she had worked at other places where people seeking treatment had just come in off the street with no knowledge of it or the practitioner.
Complications of dermal filler, an injectable designed to plump out the wrinkles, can include blindness.
An Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency spokeswoman said cosmetic procedures were very popular and easily available in many malls and shopping strips.
“The cosmetic industry is massive and growing,” she said.
“While there are legitimate businesses and practitioners, there are also very worrying examples of businesses which appear to be putting profit before patient safety.”
The agency, which said its main areas of focus included advertising, prescribing and problems, urged people to make sure they were seeing a registered health practitioner.
Health Complaints Commissioner Adjunct Professor Bernice Redley recommended that if a person was considering undertaking a cosmetic treatment they should carefully make an informed decision and should ask the provider about their qualifications and experience; products; risks; and if they had insurance in the instance something went wrong.
Dr Anne Stephenson. Picture: Ginger + Mint
Local GP and Western Victoria Primary Health Network clinicalspokeswoman Dr Anne Stephenson said it appeared that demand was increasing for cosmetic procedures.
“Talking with your GP about your body image and any potential cosmetic procedures provides the opportunity to discuss the need for the procedure, the risks and benefits of the procedure, and make an informed choice,” she said.
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