Materia Medica Malaysiana

Check on beauty centres

All beauty centres will in the future have to satisfy strict requirements set by the Health Ministry before being given a licence to operate.
Health Ministry director-general Datuk Dr Ismail Merican said this would be implemented under the Cosmetics Act expected to be passed next year.
“We want to ensure that beauty centres are safe and run by credible registered people who use registered products and avoided invasive treatment,” he said yesterday.
Dr Ismail said the Act would cover both the premises and practice of the beauty centres, and those carrying out cosmetic procedures and slimming programmes.
“We want to make sure that the premises, treatment and equipment are safe, and to know who is conducting the procedures,” he added.
Currently, he said, the ministry conducted investigations only when reports were lodged against beauty centres.
“We are not stopping the operations of places like slimming centres but we are concerned as to who is operating it, and what treatment and products are given.
“You can have slimming centres but it must have a holistic approach such as exercise or diet, and no intervention such as injecting products like Vitamin C, which can only be done by registered doctors.
“There are even now beauty centres, where the doctors or specialists are not registered, and these people have no business carrying out such treatments,” added Dr Ismail.
He said there were beauty centres that used unregistered products manufactured by multi-national companies.
The Malaysian Medical Association had voiced its concern last month about unqualified doctors providing anti-ageing treatment at health centres.
“Doctors, unless otherwise stated in their annual practising certificate, should not be working in these centres,” it had said.
The Malaysian Medical Council had said that it received complaints from general practitioners about patients, who came to them following complications from a beauty treatment.