Seek beauty injections with care, Hong Kong watchdog urges
Consumer Council plea to patronise registered practitioners comes amid rise in complaints
Consumers should choose a registered medical practitioner and ensure they understand the risks of beauty treatment microinjections as the city’s watchdog is receiving more complaints.
Nine beauty injection-related complaints were received in the first five months of this year compared with none for the same period last year, the Consumer Council said on Wednesday. Last year, the total number of such complaints was five, compared with none in 2014.
Council chief executive Gilly Wong Fung-han said computer-operated injectables were widely used to control the depth, dosage and speed of applying microneedles, with injections made between 0.4mm and 5mm below the skin’s surface.
Considered invasive, the procedure should only be performed by registered doctors, she said.
“In previous cases, complainants found their face to be very painful,” Wong said. “Their wounds also couldn’t heal easily and their faces were swollen.”
“In previous cases, complainants found their face to be very painful,”
She explained that consumers sought out the injections for a variety of reasons, such as skin hydration, whitening and facial contouring.
However, the effects of microinjections did not last long, she said, noting that after a few months consumers often had to repeat the procedure and thus potentially saw unfavourable results.
Wong said clinics did not need a license to do the procedure and that consumers should ascertain whether a practitioner is licensed or registered.
The council found that two-thirds of 30 local beauty salons it polled either claimed the procedure was performed by “therapists” or did not disclose a practitioner’s qualifications at all. The rest of those polled clearly indicated the treatment was to be conducted by registered doctors.
