The answer is no.

The Skin Well is not calling for the medicalisation of the beauty or skin sector. But is calling for structure, oversight, and recognition — because skin is an organ, and that fact cannot be ignored.

What this project proposes

What the project proposes is the creation of a General Skin and Aesthetics Council (GSAC) to oversee skin-based education, practice, and protection in England. This would introduce a national framework, rooted in risk, not job title, to ensure everyone working on skin — regardless of their role — has the appropriate training, regulation, and recognition.

The S.C.I.M.™ framework (Skin Competency & Integrity Modules) will provide the theoretical foundation for skin education across Levels 3–7.

Practitioners would be trained and regulated according to the level of risk associated with their work.

Oversight would increase with the risk level of the intervention — from standalone practice for low-risk, to remote oversight, and finally to fully medical-only treatments at the top.

What this model acknowledges

That facialists, beauty therapists, and skin therapists are not medics — and should not need to be.

That they can be trained to understand skin, products, and risk through a national, Department of Health & Social Care-approved curriculum.

That oversight is already the norm in other support roles, including dental nurses, play therapists, and physiotherapy assistants — all of whom work with patients, but are not ‘medical’ in their own right.

What this model avoids

It does not call for skin therapists to become nurses or doctors.

It does not remove work from beauty or aesthetics professionals.

It does not ban lower-level work — it simply clarifies what sits where, and who is best qualified to offer what.

Why this matters

Because right now, a skin therapist can be offering barrier support, providing skincare for someone with acne, or even working with lasers — with no national oversight, no formal skin education, and no clarity for the public. That would never be accepted in dental care, in muscular-skeletal work, or even in voluntary play therapy in a hospital setting. So why is it acceptable in skin?

A better way forward

The Skin Well is not calling for the medicalisation of the skin industry. It calls for the recognition of skin as an organ, and for a sector that works on that organ to be:

Properly trained

Publicly protected

And clearly regulated

What this also acknowledges

Yes, the cosmetic and aesthetics industry exists to improve appearance. But it does so by working with an organ — and that makes this health-adjacent, whether the sector has historically acknowledged it or not.

That doesn’t mean practitioners are medics. It means they are working independently on real bodies, with real responsibility. With the right training, regulation, and clear scope, skin professionals can:

• Know their boundaries

• Refer when needed

• Respond to lifestyle- and environment-driven skin symptoms

• And contribute to the wider skin health of the nation

This is not a call to be medicalised. It is a call to be recognised.

Skin is an organ. We already work with it. And with the right foundation, we can do that better — for everyone.