GOLDEN RULES TO STAY SAFE

Check your practitioner is medically qualified, and able to handle complications that may arise – this means they should be a doctor, dermatologist, surgeon, dentist or nurse. Check the General Medical Council (GMC) or Royal College of Nursing (RCN) websites, or the British Association of Cosmetic Nurses. Ask how many procedures they have done (at least 100 for injectables) and check about insurance.

Look at their face and the receptionist’s, too. “If your doctor or nurse is overly plumped or filled, steer clear,” says cosmetic surgeon Charles Nduka. Insist on seeing pictures of their patients – not just from a brochure.

Use a friend’s recommendation rather than social media. Plastic surgeon Rajiv Grover warns: “Some celebrities are on the payroll of companies linked to clinics and there is a shameless lack of disclosure about this.”

A busy, established clinic where you have to wait for an appointment is a good place to start. Never have injectable treatments at home, at the hairdresser or in a gym. Time-limited or buy-one-get-one-free offers are unethical.

If it seems too cheap, it probably is – the practitioner may be using inferior products or working unsafely. On the other hand, says cosmetic surgeon Dr Mayoni Gooneratne, “a very high price doesn’t mean superior treatment and a Harley Street address is meaningless. Anyone can hire a room there.”

Don’t be the first to try a new treatment. “Many are unproven and ridiculously over-hyped,” says Dr Mervyn Patterson, of Woodford Medical Clinics. “If it works, it will still be around, better and safer, in 18 months or more.”