In a new drive to ensure that there are regulations and standards governing the spa and medical aesthetics practice in the country, APSMAN, the Association of Practitioners of Spa and Medical Aesthetics of Nigeria, has set up a body for this purpose.

APSMAN also want to ensure that spa owners are properly licensed and insured to carry out their business in Nigeria.

Speaking to The Guardian newspaper at its first meeting that held recently in Ikeja, the association’s President Felix Avajah said: “We noticed that a lot of people are carrying out this practice wrongly. We are an integral part of the society and we belong to a profession that is respected and so we have decided to work together and move this profession forward.”

Avajah noted that the association is poised to help people appreciate the essence of beauty, hence they have decided to train and license people.

He added: “We see a lot of people with damaged skins, we want to correct this anomaly. We want people to be trained to know the nitty-gritty of the job and so we have partnered with the Lagos State College of Health to help with training. We also want to ensure that all members are insured so that when a patient is at risk in the line of carrying out their duty, the insurance covers the procedure.”

General Secretary of the Association, Mrs. Toyin Collins, buttressed Avajah’s statements, she noted that there would be a school for training and retraining for even practitioners who have been in the business, to ensure they keep abreast of modern practice.

“Spa is growing every day in Nigeria, it is a multi-billion dollar business in the world and we want to be among the place where the international world stands and we can only achieve that by first coming together as an association and regulating our activities.”

Joyce Adenike Busari, professional Aesthetician & Nutritionist, and owner of Biyou Spa delivered a lecture at the inaugural meeting.

In her lecture, Mrs Busari said that a visit to the spa is more than having a facial or bodily massage, but is a holistic experience that helps people to rest their physical, mental and spiritual well-being. “What we eat, drink or put on our skin helps us keep alive and so it is necessary to be watchful of what we put in our bodies.”