Choose a CANN Accredited Nurse for your Cosmetic treatments – qualified, experienced medical professionals

CANN (Cosmetic Appearance Nurse Network) brings together well-trained and competent practitioners in the use of safe and effective cosmetic products and treatments.

To find one of our Cosmetic Appearance Nurses in your area click here

CANN’s Top Tips for Safe, Effective Laser and IPL

If you’re considering laser or IPL to improve your skin, follow this important advice to make sure you’re safe.

In New Zealand , there are currently no regulations to stop untrained people from using lasers and IPL machines. CANN recommends following the NZ Society of Cosmetic Medicine’s list of top tips:

1. Any brown spot should have been checked within 3 months of treatment to make sure it’s not cancerous. Treating a cancerous spot with laser could be dangerous.

2. Your operator should advise against treatment if you’re tanned. Treating tanned skin risks burns, blisters, scars and white patches.

3. You should be offered eye protection.

4. Ask if your operator has completed a Laser Safety Course.

5. Your operator should tell you to protect your skin from the sun before and after treatment with sunscreen, clothing and a hat.

6. Your operator should ask you questions about eye colour, skin colour and tanning ability, to discover your skin type. This determines safe treatment settings for you.

In the media:

How fillers nearly cost one woman her face and nearly her life.

Sydney woman Jenny Winnall had been receiving Botox for years when she decided to try fillers.

“I had been sick and I had lost a lot of weight in my face,” she tells 9Honey. “I’d had Botox by the same doctor.”

Jenny began receiving regular injections for years, until 2013 when a lump formed on her face.

“I noticed a lump had appeared on my cheek,” she says. “I was really concerned.”. 

Read Jenny’s story here: cosmetic-procedure-risks

CANN’s advice: permanent fillers equal permanent problems

This article describes a problem with a permanent filler, Acquamid. It’s said that “permanent fillers cause permanent problems”. CANN agrees, and we advise our cosmetic appearance nurses against using permanent fillers.

Permanent fillers can cause problems many years later, and are also difficult to remove, often requiring disfiguring surgery.

This is why CANN recommends hyaluranon fillers. Hyaluranon fillers are a non-permanent solution. They can be easily removed with a dissolving enzyme called hyaluronidase. This gives hyaluranon fillers a high level of safety when used correctly by a well-trained injector.

For peace of mind, check if your injector is a member of CANN. Our CANN nurses are experienced in cosmetic treatments and follow the highest standards of patient safety and care.

You can see if your injector is a member of CANN by clicking here

The appearance medicine industry is bracing for change

Donna-Marie Lever: 1 News reporter 13th August 2018 

The appearance medicine industry is bracing for change as it deals with an increasing number of Asian clients wanting to Westernise their faces. The rules around who can apply dermal filler is also set to be tightened, because of the threat of rare, but serious health risks.

Asian aesthetics was a major discussion topic at the New Zealand Society of Cosmetic Medicine (NZSCM) conference in Queenstown over the weekend, attracting more than 220 doctors and nurses from the industry.

Hans Raetz, President of the NZSCM says, “We’ve certainly seen an increase over the past few years of five per cent a year on the year before. We estimate around 20 per cent of our clients are now of Asian extraction.”
Popular procedures include reshaping of noses, lips, eyelids and cheeks using dermal filler – but it comes with risks.

“If you inject into this area and you hit one of the arteries or veins you can cause issues at the back of the eye that can cause blindness.” Dr Raetz told 1 NEWS. read more here