Getting cosmetically enhanced is becoming common. Women, and increasingly, men, are getting more accustomed to the idea of various degrees of beauty fixes. Botox used to be done for older folks who wanted to rid their faces of wrinkles, but enter Botox prejuvenation today, where Botox is done in much younger people to delay the formation of wrinkles. For those with flat asian noses, the “lunchtime rhinoplasty” is a fuss-free nose augmentation filler or nose threadlift procedure which can be done at the doctor’s office in under 60 minutes, from prep, numbing and discharge from the clinic.
Botox is a powerful neurotoxin that can be used to relax or paralyse muscles. In aesthetic doses, Botox is harmless and can be used effectively to smoothen skin, lift or depress certain muscle activity. Dermal fillers are actually soft, moldable, biocompatible and biodegradable materials that can be safely injected by a qualified and trained medical professional. In the right hands, the results are natural without much downtime. In the wrong hands, a botched filler procedure can be disastrous.
Rogue Beauty Treatments In Singapore
Alarmingly, rogue beauty treatments are finding their way into Singapore, and illegal cosmetic treatments are being performed by unqualified beauticians. This is surprising, given that the laws here are strict for doctors practicing aesthetics and plastic surgery.
“I think perhaps the law for beauty salons need to be revisited”, says Cassandra Ling, who got skin burns from an IPL hair removal procedure at a beauty salon. “I only realized that my beautician did not need certification to perform IPL for me after I got burnt”. Thankfully, her scars have since mostly healed after year-long mild lasers done by her doctor and diligent use of lightening creams. She says she will only visit a doctor’s clinic for such procedures in future, if she ever reconsiders doing anything like it at all.
Strangely, doctors practicing medical aesthetics require specific certification by a recognized training centre in Singapore to perform laser procedures, including IPL. Yet beauticians have no such obligations and IPL hair removal beauty salons have sprung up in clusters in both the CBD and the heartland areas, offering affordable treatments to basically anyone who walks through their doors.
Illegal Cosmetic Procedures On The Rise
Illegal botox and filler treatments have made their way to beauty salons as well in recent years, and people are coming out and sharing about their horrific botched experiences. Some of the experiences give accounts of undereye/tear trough fillers injected wrongly into the eye socket, as well as swelling and filler lumps.
“Dermal fillers must be done by trained medical doctors, because of the risk of filler embolism which can result in devastating complications such as blindness or skin necrosis. The risk of infections when done in questionable places is also much higher. Point to add, when these are not done by trained doctors, they are considered illegal”, commented Dr Tan Ying Chien, Consultant Plastic Surgeon at the SW1 Clinic, located at Paragon Medical, Level 13.
In Singapore, rogue beauticians do exist. Cheap botox procedures can sometimes be found by foreigners who either live here or travel into Singapore to perform them. Some of these claim to be doctors from their respective countries but a lot of aesthetic treatments require follow up and that is something that untrained beauticians nor questionable “doctors” who fly in for a few days of cases who have “taken the bait” and leave after that cannot do.
They say when you get cheap beauty treatments, you pay an expensive price. SKINMAG recommends our readers look up credentials of suspicious beauty treatments and aestheticians. Safety first, before price.