The Ministry of Health has approved doctor-led clinics to provide Botox procedures to clients under Step Two of Alert Level 3.
Doctor-led Botox clinics on Monday announced the approval of the cosmetic procedure, albeit with conditions from the ministry.
Under the new guidelines, cosmetic doctors must wear a fitted N-95 mask and work from accredited premises.
The patient and doctor have to be double vaccinated and the appointment can't last longer than 15 minutes.
The patient also has to wear a mask the whole time, so no work can be done below the nose.
You still can't get a haircut but under Alert Level 3, botox is now allowed.
The Ministry of Health told 1News it doesn’t specifically grant exemptions for these services: "However where Botox is being provided as a health service, then treatment will likely be able to be given at Alert Level 3, in accordance with the rules relating to health services in the Alert Level Order. "This is because Botox needs to be prescribed - i.e it cannot be administered over the counter," a ministry spokesperson told 1News.
"Therefore it likely meets the definition of a health service and the doctor meets the Medical Council of New Zealand's definition of “practice of medicine” because of the need to be a registered practitioner with prescribing rights. "It’s also important to note the Medical Council of New Zealand has a standard for doctors performing this type of work and sets out requirements, including peer review," the spokesperson said.
The move has frustrated other beauty service providers such as hairdressers.
“It makes me feel very sad, you can go to the dentist, you can now get your Botox, but you can't get your hair cut or coloured,” says salon owner, Jan Waite.
She’s owned her Mount Eden, Auckland hairdressing salon for 20 years and says she's never had a bigger backlog of clients.
“It comes racing in like a tidal wave, a tsunami of people, everyone wants their first booking so we will be working 24/7 when we get back.”
Cosmetic doctor, Sarah Hart says those already operating say all cosmetic doctors have a medical background.
“We have been trained for years in infection control. if hairdressers and other professions were able to do that then that would be up to them to push that forward,” Hart told 1News.
Act Party leader David Seymour says the rules lack consistency.
“The rules have to be based on public health risk.
“Let’s have some consistency and get on a pathway to getting our freedoms back in an even, rather than an inconsistent way,” he says.
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