How we verify listings

Every listing is checked before it goes live, and the verified badge is shown once we have confirmed four things: who is behind the listing, that the photographs and details are theirs, that they hold the qualifications and insurance they claim, and that they hold any licence or registration their treatments legally require.

What we ask for

• Independent professionals (beauty therapists, nail technicians, lash and brow artists working as sole traders, whether from a home studio, a rented room or chair, or fully mobile): a valid photo ID (passport or driving licence), a certificate for each qualification declared, and a current insurance schedule covering the treatments listed and the way you work — public liability, plus treatment risk cover, and mobile work where you travel to clients. We do not need a business registration from a sole trader, and we never publish your home address: the listing shows the neighbourhood only.
• Salons, nail bars and clinics: business registration or a utility bill for the premises, the name of the responsible person, and confirmation that the staff carrying out each treatment are qualified and insured. For aesthetic clinics, also evidence of the training behind each advanced treatment listed (for example a Level 4 laser qualification) and the details of any device used for laser or IPL.
• Licences and registration: where a treatment needs one — such as a special treatment licence in London, skin-piercing registration for electrolysis or microblading in England, a special procedures licence in Wales or a skin piercing licence in Scotland — a copy of the current licence or registration. These attach to the place where you work as well as to you, so a home studio needs its own: in London, many boroughs require a special treatment licence for treatments carried out at home, and elsewhere in England skin-piercing treatments need the home premises registered with the council.
• For all: a working phone number that we call before the listing goes live.

What we do not list

We do not list injectable treatments, including anti-wrinkle injections, dermal fillers and other injectables. Botulinum toxin is a prescription-only medicine, and England is introducing a licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures; a directory cannot check prescriptions, so these stay off the site. Teeth whitening, which in the UK may only be carried out by a registered dental professional, is not listed either.

What we do with it

Documents are stored encrypted, with access limited to the team doing the check. They are never shown on the site, never shared with clients or other advertisers, and deleted when the listing closes. We keep a note of what was checked and on what date, which is the date shown on the listing.

What the badge means — and what it does not

The badge means we confirmed identity, business details where there is a business, declared qualifications and required licences on the date shown. It is not a review of the treatment, not a recommendation, and not a guarantee about your results. It tells you the listing is who it says it is and holds the training and licences it claims.

Re-checks and removal

We repeat verification every twelve months, when insurance or a licence renews, and whenever a listing changes its main photographs, its business name or adds a treatment that needs a licence. We remove any listing that misrepresents its qualifications or licences, advertises injectables, uses photographs that are not its own, or breaches the content and photo guidelines, and we report anything suggesting exploitation to the relevant authorities.

Telling us about a problem

If you believe a listing does not match the person or business behind it, claims qualifications or licences it does not hold, or has behaved unprofessionally, tell us through report a listing. Reports can be anonymous and we review every one within 24 hours.