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Treatments and age limits question

isitbannedintheuk.co.uk · Answer card

How to check your beautician or aesthetics practitioner

A one-page summary to pin up for clients.

The answer

Different checks for different treatments

Different treatments need different checks. For tattooing, piercing, semi-permanent make-up and electrolysis, check the council licence or registration and whether it covers that address. For botulinum toxin and other prescription treatments, find out who is prescribing, then check their professional registration, any restrictions and their entitlement to prescribe that medicine. For thread lifts in England, and other treatments by a healthcare professional that need CQC registration, check the service is registered.

Where you live matters

Person, premises, treatment

Step 1

Ask what applies

Ask which licence or registration applies, who holds it, and whether it covers this treatment at this address.

Council licence or registration

Step 2

Check with the council

See which treatments need one in your nation on our salon licence page. If in doubt, contact the council.

Professional register

Step 3

Check the register

Check their registration, any restrictions, and their entitlement to prescribe the proposed medicine. What you can see varies by register. Doctors: GMC. Nurses and midwives: NMC. Dentists: GDC. Pharmacists: GPhC (England, Scotland and Wales) or PSNI (Northern Ireland).

Healthcare service registration

Step 4, England

Search the CQC

Search the CQC website for the service, for treatments where registration is required.

Practical questions

Step 5

Ask before booking

Training for that treatment, insurance, aftercare, and what happens if something goes wrong. These are sensible checks, not legal requirements in every case.

Voluntary registers

Step 6

Know the limits

The Professional Standards Authority accredits some voluntary registers. Accreditation applies to the register, not the individual. It isn't a licence, and it's no guarantee about any one practitioner.

What this doesn't tell you

Being on a register doesn't guarantee good results, and not every legitimate practitioner is on a voluntary register.

Last checked:

Sources

isitbannedintheuk.co.uk/rules/check-your-practitioner/ · Last checked 2 November 2026

General information from official sources, checked on the date shown. Not legal or medical advice. © The Contract Studio UK Ltd