Dear Save Face and JCCP,

This is not a letter of criticism. It’s a letter of recognition—and reflection.

You exist to protect the public. That’s your mission, and it’s a valuable one.

But in the process of building voluntary registers to oversee non-surgical aesthetic treatments, something else happened—something that wasn’t necessarily intentional, but has been deeply felt across an entire sector:

The beauty and skin therapy industry was effectively struck off.

You made the decision not to include skin therapists on your registers. And in doing so, the message was clear—at least to the public, and to policy-makers watching from a distance:

“These professionals cannot be trusted with the skin.”

And yet… we are still here.

Still working with the skin.

Still offering advice and care to the general public, day after day.

Not because we are reckless.

But because there is no alternative framework.

You chose to set standards for the upper end of aesthetic procedures. That is your remit.

But in doing so, you drew a line—and left everyone else behind it.

Meanwhile, millions of people with sensitive, problematic, or confused skin are seeking help. Often they turn to therapists, because their GPs are overwhelmed, their pharmacists can only offer so much, and no one else is available to spend time asking questions about their lifestyle, routines, or skin history.

Some therapists are well-trained. Some are not. Some do excellent work. Some do not.

But there is one common factor:

They operate outside of any national health guidance.

Why? Because no such guidance exists.

You have called for regulation of high-risk procedures.

That is important. But it is not enough.

Because every skin-facing intervention, no matter how small, still works with an organ.

And whether that’s an acid peel or a clay mask, a laser or a lotion, skin still responds.

So The Skin Well™ asks gently:

If we regulate those who work with the skin at Level 7,

then why have we turned our backs on those at Level 2?

The truth is, many people begin at Level 2.

And if we don’t guide, support, and reform the education they receive—what do we expect them to become?

Poor regulation doesn’t stop by exclusion.

It stops by building something better.

This is not about aesthetics.

It’s about skin health.

It’s about understanding that skin therapists are not just beautifiers.

They are often the first to notice abnormalities. The first to offer product advice.

The first to support someone who feels their skin is “not quite right.”

I’m not asking for automatic inclusion on your registers, I’m asking you to acknowledge the absence.

And perhaps ask yourselves:

In focusing on needles and youth,

have we missed the bigger picture?

Skin is a public health issue.

It deserves unified oversight, better education, and consistent support—for those caring for it at all levels.

If this is about protecting the public,

I invite you—quietly—to look again at who’s been left out.

Respectfully,

Jacqui de Jager
The Skin Well™

📚 Connected Scenario(s):

• Scenario Four: Education from the Inside Out
  A call for unified training that prepares skin therapists to work within public health-aligned models of care.

• Scenario Five: 224,000 Reasons for Regulation
  What happens when a vital organ — and the professionals who care for it — are left out of national frameworks?
  

May 2025