We had a lot of interest in our last blog, Teeth Whitening - The Legal Way, and we wanted to do a follow-up, to answer a few lingering questions and also to continue the spread of accurate knowledge.
Knowledge. Tradeshows & Exhibitions Across UK & Ireland
Anyone who has been along to a beauty tradeshow within the last fifteen years will be well aware that the biggest and brightest stands are the teeth whitening stands. They are hard to miss, and are usually accompanied by demonstrations, with huge queues of eager customers waiting to have their teeth whitened and sign up to these companies.
Why is this?
These tradeshows are held across the country each year and are full of industry professionals, full of the latest and the greatest that the beauty industry has to offer. So it’s no surprise then that an industry which has reached record growth over the last few years and is now worth over £11 billion worldwide is starting to take centre stage.
Another factor is that oral hygiene and appearance has never been so popular amongst the British, and this is a proven trend that is GROWING year on year, with no signs of slowing down. As a nation, we are now competing shoulder to shoulder with our American cousins and their Hollywood smiles.
To keep pace in this highly profitable and growing industry, there has been an influx in those wanting to train in teeth whitening and also an industry built around those wishing to purchase equipment.
Positives & Negatives
The positives here are that more and more people are aware of teeth whitening, and the more publicity that surrounds the industry, the more people research the industry and the more you will see bookings increase.
The negatives, however, are that there are as many 'cowboys' in this industry as there are in any other. These individuals do not obey the rules and make no mistake, they will be caught sooner rather than later. These individuals, who we repeatedly distance ourselves from, end up painting all of us with the same brush and tarnishing our hard built reputations. Our aim is to stop, or at the very least limit this damage.
We do this by training our people the correct way and providing them with the opportunity to be a part of this amazing industry the legal way. We have refused to sell many individuals products or offer them training and insurance if we have reason to believe they will break the rules. We believe this is our duty as an industry leader.
At some of the more unprofessional teeth whitening stands within these cosmetics and beauty shows, you may see people painting whitening gel onto customers teeth, or flaunting other rules which could land them in trouble. AVOID THESE PEOPLE!
We often get reports of behaviour such as this, and although we have reported them ourselves, we are relatively powerless in preventing this type of behaviour from occurring. What we can do is try to reach as many people as possible with our message of how to operate as a teeth whitener legally and professionally.
If you are ever unsure, come and talk to us - we don't bite! We are always happy to further educate the market and to have the chance to flex our 16 years of experience.
Chelsey Harwood And Other High Profile Cases
Why did Chelsey Harwood get prosecuted?
It’s very simple. She broke the rules.
If Chelsey had not made falsified claims, if she did not attempt to trick people into believing she was a dental professional and if she did not offer aftercare advice – then she would not have been prosecuted.
Chelsey was caught by a pair of GDC investigators posing as customers. This is a common practice which involves two people from the GDC inquiring about teeth whitening sessions and attempting to uncover if a practitioner is breaking the rules.
You can operate a very successful business easily, safely and legally. We cover all of this within our training packages, meaning you never have to worry about receiving a visit as you will be operating within the law.
As industry professionals, we don’t shy away from cases like this, we confront them head on and say ‘look at this, this is illegal and I do not support it’ and so should you! It’s an opportunity for you to proudly let people know that you have undertaken training with Naturawhite which means you know your products, you know your industry and you know the law. There are many opinions on matters such as this, which is why it’s so important for us to provide the facts to ensure that the wealth of misinformation out there stops spreading. We wholeheartedly agree with the sentence of guilty for Chelsea, as she was breaking the law.
If you are being targeted or receiving misinformation from any sources regarding cosmetic teeth whitening, then please either screenshot it or take a photograph and send it to us at info@naturawhite.com so that we may have the opportunity to respond and address any misunderstandings, or take legal action if the misinformation has evolved into anything more defamatory.
You can read more about one of our partners who recently won a case against the General Dental Council here.
