PART 7: Questions Every Woman Should Ask Before Consenting to an Injectable

 Take care of yourselves and your clients — from the inside out.

Questions to ask before getting Botox or fillers:  

1. What exactly are you injecting? Ask for the brand name, the product name, and the ingredients.
2. Can this be reversed? If not, are you comfortable with it being permanent?
3. What are your credentials? Are you a board-certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon?
4. How many times have you performed this specific procedure?
5. What will you do if something goes wrong? Do you have hyaluronidase on hand? Do you know how to manage a vascular occlusion?
6. What are my specific risk factors? (Medications, conditions, previous treatments)
7. What does the long-term research say about repeated use of this product?
8. Have you screened me for BDD or other mental health concerns that might affect my expectations? 

Cosmetic industry consumer awareness.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to look your best at every age. However, the cosmetic industry is projected to be worth over $270 billion — which means there is enormous financial pressure to sell you a syringe.

The most empowering thing you can offer your clients is to advise them to slow down, ask hard questions, and remember: a qualified provider who respects you will welcome every one of your questions. Anyone who does not welcome your questions is not someone you want holding a needle near your face. 

 WHICH BRINGS ME TO SOMETHING I HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT

Being a licensed Esthetician has been one of the great joys of my professional life. Since 1999, I have watched this industry transform in ways that would have been unimaginable when I first stepped behind the treatment table. Esthetics has gone from what I affectionately call "steam and cream" facials to micro-needling, dermaplaning, advanced chemical exfoliation, and technologies that would have seemed like science fiction a generation ago.

And yet in many states, the licensing requirements that govern our education have not kept pace with that evolution. In California, where I am licensed, the minimum training requirement remains at 600 hours. That number made sense in 1999 when our services were gentle and our products were largely neutral. It does not make sense today, when the tools and products we are legally permitted to use have the potential to cause harm in the wrong hands.

That gap — between what our license allows and what our education requires — is one that each of us must bridge on our own. It is left to us, the Licensed Esthetician, to hold ourselves to a standard that is well above the minimum. That has always been true of the best professionals in any field. It is especially true in esthetics.

THE OTHER PROBLEM NOBODY TALKS ABOUT: MISINFORMATION

Social media has given our profession something valuable — visibility, community, and connection. But it has also flooded our space with misinformation, and newly licensed Estheticians are among the most vulnerable to it. When you are just starting out and someone with a large following tells you something with what appears to be confidence, it is easy to take it as fact. Sometimes it is. Often it is not. 

HOW CAN ESTHETICIANS HELP?

I am certain we can help. With our knowledge, training and skills, we can offer safe services, solid information, and support to women. We, as Estheticians, can post helpful info and positive solutions on social media, in contrast to the current prolific criticism of women. So if you are a Licensed Esthetician and want to be part of the solution I am suggesting, please keep reading. 

One thing I know I can do is successfully create a community within which to bring Estheticians together with a goal of offering women an alternative to invasive and dangerous esthetics practices. And maybe we can even start a movement to teach women about the long-term effects of certain invasive procedures.(Here's a link to my credentials) 

And where to do that? Well, my Happy Esthetician Facebook page has 32,000 followers and is a space I have cherished for 16 years. However, because it is open to the public, it has natural limits as to the kinds of conversations that can happen freely and safely there. For that reason, I am considering creating a new private, subscription based, online community rooted in the philosophy of The Heart of Esthetics — a space that is exclusively for Licensed Estheticians who are serious about growing beyond the basics, elevating their standards, and building businesses they are genuinely proud of. And if there is sufficient interest, we might add a podcast.  

A place with no noise. No negativity. No misinformation. No public audience looking over your shoulder. Just licensed professionals sharing real knowledge, real experience, and real support for each other — on the business of esthetics, the science of esthetics, and the heart of esthetics. To be sure this space includes only Licensed Estheticians (and possibly carefully selected experts in the field), credentials would be required and will be verified prior to admission.

The community would be a place to explore questions like:

• What advanced certifications are actually worth pursuing in my state?
• How do I have informed conversations with clients about procedures like injectables without overstepping my scope?
• How do I market myself in a way that reflects my true expertise and attracts the right clients?
• How do I build a business that is sustainable, ethical, and deeply satisfying?

These are the conversations that matter. These are the conversations that most public forums never quite get to.

I HAVE DONE THIS BEFORE

Some of you who have followed me for a long time may remember SpaBizBoard --the private online community I created in 2006 specifically for spa and esthetics professionals. This was before Facebook groups became popular. The reason SBB was created is because back then when we graduated from Esthetician school, we were armed with only the information we had learned in our esthetics program (which wasn't much), and because we had all learned the same thing, asking each other for advice was not particularly helpful. 

SBB ran for eleven years and built a reputation in our industry that I am still proud of today. Out of curiosity, I recently searched for SBB online and here is what I found:

"SpaBizBoard gained popularity after its creation in 2006, as it became a trusted resource for spa professionals to share knowledge and ask questions. It was particularly well-regarded for its focus on the business side of esthetics. It provided a space for professionals to connect and learn from each other, enhancing its reputation in the industry."

I built it once. I built it well. And I believe — if the interest is there — I can build it even better for the Estheticians of today.  

HERE IS WHAT I AM ASKING OF YOU:

If the idea of a private, professional Esthetician community speaks to you, based upon the direction I want to go as set forth in the "Informed Esthetician" blog series, please post or DM on my Happy Esthetician FB page, and then watch for updates on that page. If there is enough interest and I decide to move forward, you will be the first to hear about it.

As I did with SpaBizBoard, the Estheticians who join early would be considered "founders" and will help shape what the community becomes. This is an opportunity I do not take lightly, and I would not offer it to just anyone. Those who took the time to read my 7-part series on the safety of injectables because they genuinely care about doing right by their clients would definitely be at the top of that list.

IN CLOSING

Thank you — sincerely — for reading this series from beginning to end. I hope the information in these seven posts serves you and your clients well. I hope it gives you language for conversations you have wanted to have but perhaps did not know how to start. And I hope it reminds you that your role — the informed, educated, ethically grounded Esthetician — is not a lesser role in the world of beauty and wellness. In many ways, it is the most important one.

The path to looking your best at every age should be paved with knowledge, not marketing. You are the professional who can make sure your clients walk that path safely.

Diane Buccola

The Heart of Esthetics

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