Safety and good practice

Almost every beauty appointment is uneventful. The few problems we hear about follow the same patterns — a skipped patch test, a treatment done without the right training or licence, a deposit paid to the wrong person — and nearly all of them are avoidable before you book.

If you are booking

• Check the listing states qualifications, and ask about them if it does not. A professional will happily tell you where they trained and show a certificate or insurance document on request.
• For laser, IPL, electrolysis, microblading and other treatments that need a local authority licence or registration, ask to see it. Licensed premises usually display it, and that includes a home studio.
• Expect a patch test 24 to 48 hours before lash and brow tints, lash extensions, lash lifts, brow lamination and most skin treatments. A therapist or salon that skips it is cutting a corner.
• Tell the practitioner about allergies, pregnancy, skin conditions, medication (including retinoids and acne treatments) and recent sun exposure. Some treatments are unsuitable in certain conditions, and a good practitioner will ask.
• Agree the treatment, the price and any course or deposit terms in writing before you go. A price that only appears once you arrive is a warning sign.
• Never pay a deposit by bank transfer to an account you cannot verify, or in gift cards or cryptocurrency. That is the standard pattern for scams and the money does not come back.
• Be wary of listings whose photos of work appear elsewhere under another name. A reverse image search takes ten seconds.
• Injectables such as anti-wrinkle injections and dermal fillers are not listed on Radar Beauty. Botulinum toxin is a prescription-only medicine; if anyone offers it through a listing here, report it.

If you advertise

• Keep your qualifications, insurance and any licence or registration current and be ready to show them. Membership of a professional body such as BABTAC, the FHT or the Guild of Beauty Therapists reassures clients and is worth stating on your listing.
• Take a consultation and, where the products call for it, a patch test before the first treatment, and keep brief records; it protects the client and it protects you.
• Follow the manufacturer's instructions for every product and device, and keep equipment cleaned and disinfected between clients. Use single-use items where they are meant to be single-use.
• Confirm bookings by message so there is a written record of what was agreed, and state your cancellation and deposit policy clearly.
• For mobile appointments, share your location and expected finish time with someone you trust, and agree a check-in.
• If you work from a home studio, do not publish your exact address on your listing: list the neighbourhood and give the address on confirmation. Check whether your treatments need a licence or council registration for the home premises, and tell your insurer you work from home.

Qualifications and licensing in the UK

Beauty therapy as a whole is not statutorily regulated in the UK, so training is the main signal of competence. The recognised route is a Level 2 or Level 3 qualification in beauty therapy, nail services or make-up (NVQ/VRQ from VTCT, ITEC, CIBTAC or City & Guilds), with Level 4 and 5 qualifications for laser, skin peels and other advanced treatments.

Some treatments do need a licence or registration. In England, premises and practitioners offering skin-piercing treatments such as electrolysis and semi-permanent make-up must usually register with the local council; in London, many boroughs require a special treatment licence for laser, electrolysis and other treatments; Wales licenses special procedures (including electrolysis and semi-permanent make-up) under the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017; and Scotland licenses skin piercing through local councils. England is also introducing a licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures. Those rules apply to where the treatment happens, so an independent working from a home studio needs the same licence or registration as a salon offering the same treatment. Every listing here must hold whatever licence its treatments legally require, and the verified badge means we have seen evidence of it.

Who to contact

• Emergency: 999. For an urgent reaction that is not an emergency, NHS 111.
• Police, non-urgent: 101.
• Action Fraud: 0300 123 2040, for scams and fake bookings.
• Your local council's environmental health team: for hygiene concerns or unlicensed premises.
• Modern Slavery Helpline: 08000 121 700, confidential, 24 hours, if you believe someone is working under coercion.
• Radar Beauty: report a listing. We review every report within 24 hours.