Spa treatments such as Botox and Restalyne have been criticized by NYT reporter Alex Kuczynski’s in her new book, Beauty Junkies.


In an interview, Beauty can easily morph into beastly, the author states:
“The federal government doesn’t have oversight over cosmetic surgery practices. State health boards do. I think we need to seriously look at the way they monitor doctors who call themselves cosmetic surgeons when in fact they are gastroenterologists or OB/GYNs and they’re doing face lifts. I know this sounds morbid, but I keep waiting for some senator’s daughter to die during liposuction because she had it done by a gastroenterologist who took a weekend seminar at the local Hilton. And then something will change.”
That is morbid, and unfortunately, sometimes that is how the law changes, leading to tighter, but not necessarily smarter, regulation. Spas, particularly medical spas, should take preventative action by becoming aware of potential liabilities and proactively handling spa legal issues such as ensuring proper supervision, appropriately credentialing nurses, massage therapists, cosmetologists, and other personnel, obtaining proper insurance, and otherwise managing legal risk.