Consumers Are Naive To Risk Of Botox Parties

The Physicians Coalition for Injectable Safety and the health and beauty community RealSelf.com released findings of a joint survey reporting that 40% of consumers are unsure whether Botox parties are safe, and only 58% of consumers feel FDA approval of an injectable is important to safety.

"It's frightening to think that with the proliferation of information available on cosmetic injectables like Restylane or Botox, consumers are naive to the most important issues of safety," said coalition leader Renato Saltz, MD of Salt Lake City, UT. "The survey results do suggest that trust in qualified, board-certified physicians is high," said Dr. Saltz. "But clearly in terms of educating consumers about safe places to accept treatment and the importance of FDA approval for cosmetic injectables, we still have a lot of work to do."

According to the survey, consumers are as much as four times more likely to trust a board-certified plastic surgeon, facial plastic surgeon, dermatologist or ocular plastic surgeon to administer cosmetic injectables, than "any" doctor, nurse, physician's assistant or aesthetician. The survey validates the trust consumers have in these specialty physicians to provide cosmetic injectables like Restylane, Botox, and Juvederm, reporting that 54.5% of those surveyed trust doctor recommendations, whereas, 4.6% trust magazines and only 1.5% trust advertising.

Consumer reviews of cosmetic treatments were considered "important" information sources for researching cosmetic injectables by 80.3% of those surveyed. "It's interesting to note that traditional means of disseminating beauty information or promoting products among women -- magazines and advertising -- are not trusted when it comes to information about these cosmetic medical procedures," stated Thomas Seery, president and founder of RealSelf.com, a site that includes consumer reviews and provides a forum for consumer questions about cosmetic treatments.

The survey, conducted in March and April, 2008 is limited to a population of consumers with interest in cosmetic medicine and should not be considered projectable to all consumers.

The Coalition offers consumers these very simple questions to ask before considering any cosmetic injectable procedure:

-- Doctor: Is the injectable recommended by a qualified doctor who regularly treats similar conditions, in an appropriately licensed and equipped medical facility? Has the doctor examined the prospective patient before recommending treatment?

-- Brand: Is the injectable recommended approved by the U.S. FDA for cosmetic indications and is it appropriately labeled and packaged to reflect its authenticity and approval?

-- Safety: Is the setting a proper medically-equipped office, with safety and sterilization procedures? Has the physician evaluated conditions, recommended treatment, offered alternatives and clearly defined the potential outcomes including any complications?