Looking to get rid of wrinkles? Interior Health issues warning about needle-free filler treatments

KELOWNA – People wanting to get rid of wrinkles with hyaluronic acid fillers are being warned by the Interior Health Authority to be cautious.

The acid, which occurs naturally in the body, allows the skin to become hydrated when injected so wrinkles are smoothed out and lips can become fuller.

Right now, the only way to administer the hyaluronic acid has been with needles so only trained health professionals — such as physicians and surgeons — do the injections, according to Interior Health team leader for environmental public health Juliana Gola.

Interior Health wants the public to know that only qualified professionals can do this work, not spas or estheticians.

As well, Interior Health has received a number of applications from places such as spas and estheticians seeing if they are able to bypass rules by inserting the acid through pressurized pens instead.

None of those pens are approved for use in Canada so none of those applications have been accepted, Gola said, and doctors won't use the pens unless they are approved by Health Canada.

To report a non-professional administering needle-free hyaluronic acid fillers, go to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. website here.

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