The Women and Equalities Committee published its report on cosmetic procedures in February this year. It is the most thorough parliamentary examination the aesthetics industry has ever received, and if you work in this sector, it is worth reading closely.

There's a lot of information out there about cosmetic procedures — what they involve, how long recovery takes, what results to expect. What gets far less airtime is the emotional side, and some of the risks that catch people off guard have nothing to do with the physical result. Read on to learn more about what you need to know before getting a cosmetic procedure and why the emotional side is so important.

Where the motivation is subjective, the risk disclosure has to include subjective outcomes. If a procedure is chosen for psychological reasons, psychological outcomes belong in the consent conversation. When a procedure fails to deliver them — when the patient is left with a technically acceptable result and the same distress they walked in with — that is a harm.

A form sitting in the patient file is not a safeguard — it is a document, and that document has legal consequences. Once a questionnaire becomes part of the clinical record, it becomes part of the evidence in any subsequent dispute. When that happens, the practitioner is no longer defending a claim about consent or outcome. They are defending a psychological assessment process they were never trained or qualified to run, and the questions that follow are not comfortable ones.

Informed consent in aesthetic practice has developed its own meaning. For most aesthetic practitioners, it is a combination of verbal explanation, practitioner judgement that the patient appears to understand, and a signed consent form. That process is not experienced as inadequate. Practitioners generally approach consent from a duty of care perspective: they feel they are on the same page with the patient, they have covered the key points, and the signature confirms agreeme

Cosmetic patients are warned about scarring, swelling and allergic reactions. Why are the psychological risks of cosmetic procedures still left out of consent? BDD is estimated to affect somewhere between 19% and 24% of cosmetic surgery patients. That is roughly one in five. It is associated with poor satisfaction after treatment and poor psychological outcomes. It is not a remote possibility to be noted in passing.