Brits revealed to spend below recommended time on beauty treatment due diligence

Aesthetic procedures should never be undertaken lightly, and research should always be undertaken to ensure the clinic carrying out the procedure is fully qualified and experienced.

With this in mind, experts from leading pharmacy and aesthetics supplier, Primed Pharmacy, delved into the increase in interest for cosmetic procedures and polled Brits1 to find out how long they spend doing their due diligence before undergoing beauty treatments.

From March 2021, a month before beauty salon restrictions were lifted, to August 2021, there has been a 60% jump in searches for “beauty clinics near me”², highlighting people’s cravings for beauty treatments and procedures since the beauty industry has opened back up.

Other terms that skyrocketed between this period include “weight loss injections” (+50%), “lip fillers” (+73%), “botox near me” (+136%), “jaw fillers” (+269%) and “hairdressers near me” (+1,350%) increase in Google searches³.

Commenting on this search insight, Qadir Hussain, Chief Executive Officer at Primed Pharmacy said: “For the beauty and personal care industry, it’s very positive to see the uplift in people searching for clinics in their area, it’s also great to see people feeling more comfortable receiving beauty treatments since the Government lifted the beauty industry restrictions in April.

“Although this is great to see, we have heard of many stories of beauty treatments “gone wrong” over the last few months, and so it’s important to remind people of the risks involved with booking a beauty treatment without carefully researching the treatment itself and the clinic or salon that delivers the treatment.”

With this in mind, Primed Pharmacy surveyed UK adults and can reveal the top five beauty treatments Brits spend the most time researching on average are:

1. Botox – 2.8 hours 

2. Weight loss injections – 2.7 hours

3. Other fillers (cheek, under eye, nose) – 2.5 hours 

4. Lip filler – 2.4 hours

5. Dermaplaning – 2.2 hours

The new study revealed the more invasive beauty treatments are what Brits spend the most time researching before booking. The age groups spending over the average time researching each procedure include 55-64 year olds, who spend on average 3.7 hours researching botox, and over 65s who spend on average 3 hours researching weight loss injections. This suggests those nearing retirement age may feel hesitant to undergo beauty treatments that could cause further ageing⁴.

As well as the procedures Brits are spending the most time researching, the insight revealed the top five beauty treatments with the least research time on average:

1. Hairdresser – 1.2 hours 

2. Nail tech – 1.3 hours 

3. Facial/massage – 1.4 hours 

4. Waxing/other hair removal treatments – 1.5 hours 

5. Eyebrow treatments – 1.6 hours 

From finding a new hairdresser to having weight loss injections, the study highlighted Brits are spending below the recommended time researching beauty treatments and cosmetic procedures. Primed Pharmacy ambassador – Cosmetic Doctor, Dr Abs, states that more than 3 hours should be spent researching beauty treatments and aesthetic clinics: “For invasive beauty treatments, 3 hours plus of research should be done looking at the following: clinician, clinic, materials used, location, price etc. These hours should be enough for you to decide on a few people to have a consultation with.

“From here, you can decide which provider you’d like treating you after meeting a few. The provider should be fully insured, highly qualified (not a one day course), legally able to stock what they need (e.g. to dissolve filler), qualified and experienced for many years and teach their subject for a bonus. Failure to tick these boxes leaves you at risk of disfigurement, social embarrassment and potentially permanent health complications – especially if you simply choose to go with whoever is cheapest.

“For less invasive procedures which can be hidden, changed and aren’t affecting you medically, a few hours may be enough to find someone that has given others the results that you’re after. With no medical change occurring, you are taking on much less risk for yourself.”