How aesthetic treatments are regulated in Singapore

Clinics providing medical services are licensed by the Ministry of Health under the Healthcare Services Act, which replaced the older Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics Act in phases from 2022. A licence attaches to a service at a place; it is the reason a clinic's name, address and licensee are fixed and public, and the reason a 'clinic' operating from a residential unit or a salon back room should give you pause.

The Ministry also regulates healthcare advertising. The rules restrict content that is misleading, that creates unjustified expectations, that compares providers, or that uses testimonials, before-and-after images and promotional pricing to induce demand. This is why compliant clinics do not publish fees or patient photographs online, and why this site publishes neither.

The SMC registers medical practitioners and maintains the public register you can search by name. Its Ethical Code and Ethical Guidelines govern how doctors practise and advertise, and its Guidelines on Aesthetic Practices for Doctors set specific rules for this field: which procedures doctors may offer, what evidence base is expected, what training and certification is required for procedures with weaker evidence, and how patients must be informed and consented.

The aesthetic guidelines sort procedures by the strength of their evidence. Well-established procedures may be offered by appropriately trained doctors; procedures with less evidence carry additional requirements, and some are not permitted outside approved research. A doctor who tells you a treatment is 'not something I can offer here' may be telling you something about the evidence, not about their skill.

The HSA regulates medical devices and therapeutic products under the Health Products Act. Lasers, radiofrequency and ultrasound devices used for medical treatment, dermal fillers, botulinum toxins and prescription medicines must be registered or otherwise authorised before supply in Singapore. The HSA's public database lists what is registered.

Registration is for a product and an intended use. A device can be registered for one indication and used for another; that is 'off-label' use, which is lawful when a doctor justifies it clinically but should be disclosed to you. Some products that are heavily marketed in the region — injectable exosome preparations, for example — are not approved for injection here at all, and the reviews on this site say so.

Procedures that are invasive, that use prescription products or that deliver medical-grade energy are medical procedures for registered doctors, in licensed premises. Beauty salons and spas may offer non-medical services — facials, superficial exfoliation, low-powered light and massage devices — and may not inject, prescribe or operate medical lasers. Nurses and therapists may assist and, within clinic protocols, operate some devices under a doctor's supervision; who will actually treat you is a fair question to ask.

No fees online: a compliant Singapore clinic quotes at consultation. No before-and-after galleries: they are treated as promotional and are not a fair guide to your result in any case. No testimonials and no 'best clinic' claims: both are restricted. Cautious language: 'helps to', 'may improve', 'suits some faces' is not evasion but compliance, and it happens also to be more truthful than the alternative.

Aesthetics International is a publication rather than a clinic, but it is edited in Singapore and holds itself to the same standard. Its reviews cite studies rather than show results, name prescription medicines generically, and carry a verdict on evidence rather than a recommendation to buy.

To check a doctor: the SMC register. To check a product or device: the HSA's registers. To check a clinic's licence: the Ministry of Health's healthcare institution directory. Complaints about a doctor's professional conduct go to the SMC; complaints about a licensed clinic's service go to the Ministry of Health; concerns about a product's safety can be reported to the HSA.