Health authorities caution against illegal cosmetic treatments

The Health Bureau has urged citizens to stay vigilant while seeking cosmetic medical services as such procedures have been growing increasingly popular in the territory over the last few years.
According to the authorities’ statistics, last year only 21 medical centers out of 287 health care venues had registered with the government to provide cosmetology services as their major business while another 21 venues run similar services.
The health department stressed that ordinary beauty salons without related licenses from the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau were not authorized to engage in business involving medical procedures or plastic surgery, as it is strictly prohibited by related regulations. Since 2011, the authorities have already received 51 complaints over the provision of cosmetic beauty services, 26 of which are directed at health care venues, while the rest are at beauty salons.
In 2012, the two bureaus established a joint mechanism to monitor the industry, allowing them greater power in overseeing such services. The authorities have carried out a total of 23 onsite inspections throughout the region in the first two quarters of the year. They also called on service-seekers to understand the potential risks associated with cosmetology before undergoing plastic surgery.