New guidelines to regulate beauty industry to be ready next month

Star: PETALING JAYA: The new guidelines to regulate the beauty industry involving invasive procedures will be ready next month.
The rules will cover all invasive beauty procedures and treatment that require the attendance of registered medical and dental practitioners.
The guidelines will spell out the do's and don'ts, particularly in prohibiting non-registered medical or dental practitioners from carrying out procedures involving injection and laser procedures.
Once the guidelines are implemented, the public, medical practitioners and those in the industry can report beauty salons or those offering such treatment without authorisation.
The guidelines are sorely needed to govern the burgeoning billion-ringgit beauty industry in Malaysia, said Deputy Health Minister Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin.
She said although there was an ethical guideline by the Malaysian Medical Council on aesthetic medical practice, there were no specific guidelines by the Health Ministry.
She said the ministry would cooperate with authorities like the Companies Commission of Malaysia, Domestic Trade Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry and the police to regulate the beauty industry and keep tabs on errant beauty salons.
“Currently we do not have direct control on the operating licences of these beauty centres since they are registered and licensed as business premises with the local authorities,” said Rosnah.
However, she said monitoring and enforcement by the ministry could be carried out under the Private Health-care Facilities and Services Act 1998 as well as the Medical Act 1971.
She said following complaints, several beauty salons which did not have a medical practitioner in at-tendance had been sealed for providing prescription drugs to their customers.
Rosnah said beauty salons that provided services that misled the public, used medical equipment and operated as though they were a healthcare facility could face action under the Private Healthcare Faci-lities and Services Act.
Malaysian Beauty Therapy Asso-ciation president Datin Dr Clara Chee gave the thumbs up to the proposed guidelines, saying it would help weed out the bad hats.