New Delhi: Given growing complaints, the Union health and family welfare ministry has firmed up standards for the $2.1 billion cosmetology market, according to data from India Brand Equity Foundation and Grand View Research, to standardize clinical care, enforce mandatory safety protocols, and ensure patient health safety that will also help in eliminating ghost clinics, according to a government official and documents reviewed by Mint.
India ranks among the world's top 10 aesthetic procedure markets by volume, behind hubs like the US, Brazil, South Korea and Germany, and is one of the fastest-growing in Asia-Pacific.
The new guidelines mandate that these clinics must be operated exclusively by dermatologists and plastic surgeons, require clear public disclosures of qualifications, strict adherence to informed consent and patient confidentiality, and compliance with national biomedical waste management rules, according to the document. Furthermore, the practitioner must be registered with the State Medical Council or the National Medical Commission (NMC), and a minimum level of support staff must be present to meet standards of care.
The rules will be enforced by State and District Registering Authorities under the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act (CEA), in coordination with State Medical Councils and State Pollution Control Boards for biomedical waste monitoring.
Ghost clinics are beauty centres or medi-spas that display a doctor's credentials and registration but rarely have that doctor on-site, leaving procedures like laser resurfacing and injectables to untrained technicians.
- Health ministry issues first-ever binding standards for India's cosmetology industry.
- Only registered dermatologists and plastic surgeons can legally operate cosmetology clinics henceforth.
- Procedures split into two tiers, each with distinct infrastructure and safety requirements.
- Rules follow rising complaints over unqualified staff and inconsistent infection control.
The new regulations categorize such interventions into Level 1 procedures, such as Botox shots, chemical peels, dermal fillers, and microneedling conducted in designated clinic zones; and Level 2 procedures, including ablative lasers and vitiligo surgeries, which strictly demand a restricted operating theatre.
These are mandatory minimum standards under the Clinical Establishments Act, compulsory for licensing in states that have adopted it. Non-compliant clinics risk having their registration cancelled, fines imposed, and closure.
Need for new norms
This comes in the backdrop of compliance gaps, including procedures performed by unqualified personnel, absence of standardized medical record-keeping, inadequate emergency infrastructure, and inconsistent infection control protocols, causing health complications and even deaths.
Actor Shefali Jariwala's death from cardiac arrest in June 2025, linked to anti-ageing and skin-brightening injectables, sparked a national debate on unregulated aesthetic procedures, as did actor Chethana Raj's 2022 death during a fat-removal procedure. Authorities have also flagged cases of facial burns from salon chemical peels, blindness from botched filler injections, and fatal infections from unmonitored hair transplants.
India has roughly 15,000 registered dermatologists, represented by the Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists and Leprologists (IADVL), and approximately 2,500 to 3,000 board-certified plastic surgeons, represented by the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India (APSI).
Industry estimates put the number of cosmetology clinics, medical aesthetic salons and hair transplant centres in India at over 40,000, with medical associations saying nearly 50-60% lack qualified, full-time specialists on-site.
According to the document reviewed by Mint, a cosmetology clinic is defined as an establishment that “restores, changes, normalizes or improves the appearance, function and well-being of skin, hair and nail at the request of the individual.”
The standards were finalized by the National Council for Clinical Establishments under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Two tiers of procedures, two sets of rules
To ensure safety, the ministry has mandated that these centres “should only be manned by a dermatologist or plastic surgeon who are themselves providing patient care services/treatments like performing procedures, dispensing of medicines, injections and dressing.”
The framework also details physical space and infrastructural requirements for all operational levels. Level 1 procedures like cryosurgery, chemical peels, fillers, Botox, and microneedling require a 10x12 ft procedure room, while Level 2 procedures like vitiligo surgery and ablative lasers require a 12x12 ft operating room with a wider door.
Also, laser and energy-based device setups require specific electrical and safety measures, including protective eye goggles and a crash cart with emergency drugs.
The guidelines bring India closer to regulatory regimes in the UK and the US, where only credentialed practitioners can perform invasive laser treatments, prescription injectables, and surgical procedures in verified clinical facilities.
Indian cosmetology players agree with the government’s measures and say these regulations are the need of the hour.
Dr Aparna Santhanam, head, Medical Operations and R&D, Kaya Clinic, said, “The new minimum standards are a significant step towards eliminating, or at least restricting, low-quality and unsafe practices.” By spelling out who can perform procedures and mandating consent, emergency readiness and proper infrastructure, the guidelines bring accountability to the sector, giving patients more confidence when choosing a clinic, she added.
“Once a beauty intervention becomes clinical, qualified medical supervision, informed consent, hygiene, emergency preparedness and accountability cannot be optional,” said Dr. Abraham Lee, managing director and chief executive officer, Korean skincare company Atomy India. Regulation builds the trust needed for India's beauty industry to grow sustainably, Dr Lee added.
Queries emailed to a health and family welfare ministry spokesperson on Thursday remained unanswered till press time.
Ashish Jha, co-founder and director, medical aesthetic device supplier Photonence, said the new patient-safety standards are vital, but equal attention is needed to certify the quality and safety of the devices used, not just the practitioners who operate them. “We need robust regulations covering equipment certification, maintenance, calibration and performance, so that every procedure is supported by safe and reliable technology,” he said.