Before you book
How to check a beauty or aesthetics practitioner is legitimate
Because no UK nation currently licenses most beauty treatments, the checks fall to you. Four questions cover almost everything that matters: what qualification they hold and who awarded it, whether their insurance names the specific treatment, what happens if something goes wrong, and — for injectables — who is prescribing.
Last reviewed · How we research and check this
The four questions
- What qualification do you hold for this treatment, and which awarding body issued it? A named, Ofqual-regulated qualification can be checked. “I did a course” cannot.
- Does your insurance cover this specific treatment? Insurers set the de facto standard in the absence of law — if a treatment is not on the policy, the insurer has usually decided the practitioner is not qualified for it.
- What is the aftercare route if something goes wrong? You want a named person, a phone number, and for fillers, access to dissolving agent.
- For injectables: who is prescribing, and will I see them? Botulinum toxin requires a face-to-face assessment by a prescriber. If nobody can name the prescriber, walk away.
What a good answer sounds like
Specific, unhesitating and checkable. A practitioner who is comfortable being asked will name the qualification, name the insurer, and often offer the information before you ask. Defensiveness about any of the four is itself the answer.
What the absence of regulation actually means
It does not mean practitioners are unqualified — most are, many are excellent, and the industry contributed £28.3 billion to the UK economy in 2025. It means there is no systematic barrier to someone who is not. The distribution has a long tail and nothing currently prevents you meeting it.
Common questions
How do I check if a beauty therapist is qualified in the UK?
Ask which qualification they hold and which awarding body issued it, then check that body exists and regulates that qualification. There is no single national register to search, because most beauty treatments are not licensed in any UK nation. Voluntary registers such as the JCCP and Save Face cover part of the aesthetics sector but membership is optional.
Is it rude to ask about insurance?
No, and it is the single most efficient question you can ask. Insurers require evidence of training before covering a treatment, so asking whether a policy names the treatment is an indirect way of asking whether the practitioner is trained for it.
What if they refuse to answer?
Book someone else. In an unlicensed market, willingness to be checked is the strongest available signal, and refusing a reasonable question tells you what you need to know.
Related guides
Find someone you can actually check
Every listing on this site shows what has been checked and when — or says plainly that it has not been. You contact the therapist directly and pay them directly; we take no commission.