Advertisements for cosmetic surgery in South Korea. CHINA DAILY

The founding of the brand alliance echoes the action plan the National Commission for Health and Family Planning issued with six other ministries in May, according to which special measures will be taken from then to April 2018 to crack down on illegal plastic surgery practices. But it is also a self-regulatory measure that will help increase customers' trust of the cosmetic surgery industry, which has been booming in China in recent years.

Data show that there are more than 10,000 plastic surgery facilities in China, and the size of the plastic surgery market is expected to exceed 800 billion yuan ($117.6 billion) in 2019.

However, the fast expanding market is rather chaotic at the moment, and some unscrupulous companies use counterfeit and shoddy materials, which pose health risks. As a result, quite a number of people have suffered from health problems, even disfigurement, after their plastic surgery.

Many legal plastic surgery providers are victims of the illicit deeds of a few, because customers' trust of the whole industry is ruined. That's why the founding of the brand alliance is welcome－it marks a solid step toward self-regulation of the industry and will help regain the public's trust.

However, the authorities need to take long-term measures to regulate the market. Those who violate the law should receive their deserved penalty, while blacklists should be established so that they won't be able to enter the industry again. A long-term regulatory mechanism is more important than temporary campaigns.