Compliance

Captions that won't get a clinician in trouble.

Aesthetic marketing is regulated. Before a caption ships, it's written against current FTC, FDA, ADA, AmSpa, ASPS, and AAD guidance — then scanned for the language that draws warning letters. Here is exactly what that means.

Who sets the rules

Six authorities, one standard: don't deceive.

Every authority that touches aesthetic social media lands on the same principle — claims have to be truthful, substantiated, and not misleading. Mintdrop writes to all six so you don't have to track them.

  • FTC

    Every vault

    The Federal Trade Commission regulates every commercial post, in every specialty. Its Health Products Compliance Guidance and the 2023 Endorsement Guides require claims to be truthful, substantiated, and not misleading.

  • FDA

    Every vault

    Naming a prescription drug — Botox, Dysport — pulls a post under FDA promotion rules: approved-use only, and risk presented alongside benefit. We keep neuromodulator and filler captions inside approved labeling.

  • ADA & AACD

    Cosmetic dentistry

    The 2025 ADA ethics update added a social-media advisory opinion that holds influencer posts to the same “not false or misleading” standard as the practice's own — and flags percentage-of-fee influencer pay as fee splitting.

  • AmSpa & state boards

    Med spa

    Med spa marketing can't misrepresent who performs a procedure or imply a treatment is non-medical when state law requires physician supervision. Injector credentials have to be stated straight.

  • ASPS & The Aesthetic Society

    Plastic surgery

    No sensational or exaggerated before/after content, no unsubstantiated “exclusive technique” claims, and “board certified” has to name the actual certifying board.

  • AAD & cosmetology boards

    Dermatology & aesthetician

    Evidence-based claims only — no cures, no guarantees on devices. Non-physician licensees can't imply a medical scope they don't hold; aesthetician captions stay on cosmetic, non-diagnostic ground.

What we don't write

The language that gets practices warning letters.

The FTC's Health Products Compliance Guidance draws a clear line. Here's what stays out of a Mintdrop caption, and what goes in instead.

  • Never

    “The best veneers in town” · “#1 med spa” · “safest filler”

    Instead

    Outcome-honest language with no superiority claim. The FTC treats unsubstantiated superlatives as deceptive.

  • Never

    “Results guaranteed” · “permanent results” · “zero risk”

    Instead

    “Results vary by individual.” Guarantees and zero-risk messaging are deceptive when typical outcomes differ.

  • Never

    Botox marketed for an unapproved use

    Instead

    Approved-use language only — or the treatment category described generally, without an off-label implication.

  • Never

    “$99 Botox” with mandatory add-on fees omitted

    Instead

    No deceptive pricing. A material omission about cost is something the FTC treats as deceptive.

  • Never

    A before/after that implies the shown result is typical

    Instead

    A variability qualifier sits next to the image: “one patient's result; individual results vary.”

Before-and-after posts

The riskiest post type, handled.

A before/after photo implies the shown result is typical. The FTC expects a clear variability qualifier near the image, and every specialty body expects documented, informed consent before an identifiable patient image goes public.

Every Mintdrop before/after template carries the results-vary frame in the caption and a consent-language block for the patient. We provide the language frame; collecting and storing the patient's signature is yours to do — the Terms spell out that split.

Endorsements and reviews

#ad goes early, and it isn't buried.

The FTC's 2023 Endorsement Guides require any material connection — money, free treatment, a discount, employment — to be disclosed clearly in every post. A buried hashtag doesn't count, and suppressing negative reviews or posting undisclosed staff reviews is an unfair practice.

Mintdrop's influencer and patient-review templates put the disclosure early in the caption, in plain language. We never write a fake review, and we never write copy that asks you to hide a real one.

The compliance scan

What the scan catches before a drop ships.

Every monthly drop is run through a language scan in addition to editor review. It flags the patterns regulators look for:

  • flagSuperlatives — “best,” “#1,” “safest,” “perfect”
  • flagGuarantee and zero-risk language — “guaranteed,” “permanent,” “no risk”
  • flagPrescription drug names paired with unapproved or off-label uses
  • flagPricing claims missing required add-on or condition disclosure
  • flagBefore/after captions missing a results-vary qualifier
  • flagTestimonial or influencer posts missing an early #ad disclosure

Who does the editor review is on the editors page — each vault has a clinical advisor for compliance-sensitive content.

Where the line is yours

What Mintdrop can't do for you.

Mintdrop is not legal advice, and this page isn't either. We write captions against current federal and professional-body guidance, but rules change, enforcement shifts, and state medical, dental, and cosmetology boards add their own requirements on top.

You are responsible for any edit you make to a caption, for the accuracy of claims you add, and for collecting patient-image consent. When a post is unusually sensitive for your specialty or your state, run it past your own counsel or board before it goes up. The full split of responsibility is in the Terms.

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