Before you buy another treatment: four things worth noticing this September

This month’s useful aesthetics stories aren’t really about novelty. They’re about proof: proof your products are legitimate, your claims stand up, your business model survives regulation, and your next “must-have” treatment still has somewhere left to compete.

Here are four things I’d be thinking about before signing another supplier agreement.

Botulinum toxin: safety just moved closer to the brand

What happened

In July, the MHRA strengthened warnings for botulinum toxin type A, following rare reports of iatrogenic botulism, including after cosmetic use.

It also reiterated the increased risks associated with counterfeit or unauthorised products and told healthcare professionals to check that products are authorised for UK use. MHRA

Why I care

This sounds like a clinical story. Commercially, it’s a trust story.

Patients don’t neatly separate clinical governance from “brand” when something goes wrong. And a cheaper supply decision is only a margin improvement until it becomes a reputational disaster.

What I’d do

Review the bits patients rarely see: sourcing, prescribing and administration processes, documentation and patient safety information. Then make sure anything you communicate publicly remains compliant with the rules around prescription-only medicines.

For the clinical and regulatory detail, use the MHRA and CAP.

Scotland has put a date on the future

What happened

Scotland passed legislation in March regulating higher-risk non-surgical cosmetic procedures including Botox and fillers, requiring them to be performed by, or alongside, specified healthcare professionals in registered settings. Scottish Government announcement

Businesses have at least until September 2027 to adapt.

Why I care

Regulation doesn’t just create paperwork. It changes business models.

Premises, professional oversight, partnerships, insurance and therefore cost can all move. That matters particularly for new practitioners whose economics depend on staying very lean.

What I’d do

If you operate in Scotland, start stress-testing your model now, without making expensive assumptions before implementation details are finalised.

Elsewhere in the UK? Watch closely. Scotland’s becoming a rather useful live experiment in what tighter regulation does to competition, cost and consumer trust.

“Clinically proven” needs more than a glossy PDF

What happened

In June, the Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint against Beauty Pie over an LED mask advertised as “clinically proven to reduce wrinkles in 4 weeks”. It concluded that the evidence supplied did not adequately substantiate that specific claim. ASA

Why I care

Here’s the interesting bit: clinics routinely inherit marketing language from manufacturers, distributors and trainers.

But “the supplier gave me the wording” isn’t evidence.

Before you buy a device, ask a deeply unglamorous question: what can I actually substantiate when I market this?

There’s a big commercial difference between evidence interesting enough to sell you a machine and evidence robust enough to help you sell the treatment.

Polynucleotides have already reached the “so what?” stage

What happened

A Rare Consulting census counted 6,049 UK clinic locations offering polynucleotides in August, with London and the South East accounting for 37%. Importantly, that’s a snapshot, not evidence that the category is growing. Rare Consulting

Separately, a July systematic review identified just seven randomised trials involving 183 participants across skin rejuvenation, scar prevention and wound healing. The evidence base is developing, but it isn’t enormous. PubMed

Why I care

Whatever your clinical view, commercially this is no longer an exotic little corner of aesthetics. It’s crowded.

So the useful question isn’t simply, “Should I offer polynucleotides?”

It’s “Why should somebody buy them from me?”

What I’d do

Before adding them, look at local competition, pricing, likely course completion, acquisition cost and repeat business.

If your proposition is essentially regenerative, natural-looking skin quality, have a look around first. You may find several thousand colleagues saying much the same thing.

One thing me and Octavia are watching

And lastly – what me and Octavia are watching. Post-weight-loss aesthetics as a new customer journey.

Reuters reported in August that more US men using weight-loss drugs are subsequently seeking cosmetic procedures. GoodRx data cited by Reuters showed men accounted for 28.3% of US weight-loss drug prescriptions filled in 2026, up from 18.3% four years earlier. Reuters

That doesn’t prove there’s a UK opportunity. Yet.

But I’d watch whether significant weight loss creates a group of patients who don’t think of themselves as traditional aesthetics customers at all. Their motivations, language and trust signals may be quite different.

I wouldn’t rush out with an “Ozempic face” campaign.

I would start listening to what turns up in consultations and search behaviour.

This month’s theme is irritatingly unsexy: proof before promotion, economics before equipment and regulation before reinvention.

Which links back rather nicely to my mantra – Strategy before Spend, ALWAYS!