Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Homemade remedies for various skin diseases suggested by ‘beauty experts’ might ruin the skin’s original beauty and create other complications.

Daily Times spoke to many dermatologists, who said that unqualified beauty experts were misleading the public nowadays, especially on TV and through social media. “They are not properly educated. Most of their expertise consists in suggesting herbal remedies for people. However, such combinations do not work against skin diseases,” they said.

Talking to Daily Times, Dr Taimur, a dermatologist working at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), said that there were various types of skins, including oily, dry, combination, sensitive and others.

“Only a dermatologist can recognise these forms of skin. The persons who have any skin disease can only be treated after the recognition of their skin type,” he said.

Dr Taimur said that beauty tips given by unqualified people on TV and other such platforms were very dangerous for human skin. “Such ‘advisers’ cannot recognise the actual disease. They are incapable of suggesting the right treatment,” he said.

Another dermatologist at PIMS said that besides avoiding homemade tonics, one should take proper care of one’s skin. “For example, when treating acne (a skin disease with black spots), one should avoid pore-clogging ingredients such as oils. However, such ingredients are in all the over-the-counter skincare products suggested by unqualified beauticians. If you apply such remedies to your skin, there will be no positive effect. Such people should consult dermatologists for the right diagnosis of the skin disease,” he said.

The trend to disseminate beauty tips and cures is on the rise in morning shows on television channels. The hosts of these shows invite beauty experts who are not dermatologists or not even registered herbalists.

These quacks also show the audience how to prepare homemade remedies live on TV. They then apply these tonics on the skin during the programme. Most of the viewers, particularly women follow these tips and ultimately they damage their skins.

The experts said that such unqualified beauty ‘doctors’ should be banned or there should be a proper monitoring system.

Earlier, this issue was also raised by Senate’s Standing Committee on Health member Mian Muhammad Ateeq Shaikh during a meeting. However, no practical steps were taken.

Talking to Daily Times, Senator Mian Ateeq said that such activities should be completely banned. He said that solid legislation was needed to stop such trends.

“Unfortunately, our system has no such mechanism right now to check such perilous activities. Mostly, these self-proclaimed experts have no medical degree. They are not even certified herbalists. They are just quacks,” he said.

He said that such beauticians only wanted to promote their businesses by appearing on the TV. The senator pointed that this was a dangerous trend and could have hazardous side-effects on those who use such tips.

The senator also said that the Senate’s Standing Committee on Health had directed the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and other departments concerned to look into the matter seriously to save the lives of people.

The senator said that there was a need to devise such policies to check the quality of herbal and other ingredients being used to prepare any skin tonics like other registered homeopathic and allopathic medicines.

The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) is the entity that oversees the medical sector across the country. However, the council has not devised any mechanism so far to regulate the business of skincare.

Similarly, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority is responsible for monitoring all TV channels and radio stations. However, it has also not taken any action to ensure that only certified health experts are able to use the mass media for the benefit of the people.

Published in Daily Times, July 31^st 2017.