Med spas and aesthetic clinics / Nextdoor
3 Nextdoor policy rules bear on med spas and aesthetic clinics
3 rules come from Nextdoor policy and match the wording med spas and aesthetic clinics use. None of them is exclusive to Nextdoor. The rest are shared with the policies of Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Microsoft Advertising (Bing) and Reddit. None of them block approval; all 3 warn. Of the 3 platforms with a page for this industry, it has the 3rd most rules.
What Nextdoor policy adds
Platform rules are about ad approval and account risk, not law, and policies change. These are the Nextdoor rules whose wording is about injectables, laser, cosmetic procedures and image comparisons. They run when Nextdoor is selected in the checker.
CG-PLT-016 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text
Pinterest bars before-and-after weight-loss imagery and Snap bars before-and-after pictures in diet, fitness and dietary supplement ads. Meta lists a before-and-after weight loss image as non-compliant, and Reddit, Amazon, Nextdoor and Outbrain bar before-and-after photos in weight loss, supplement or cosmetic ads. Microsoft, Taboola and Yahoo allow them only if realistic and honest about the time taken. The same wording also draws FTC attention to typical results.
Source: Pinterest Advertising Guidelines (weight loss products and services); Snap Ads Category Requirements, Health (health and dietary supplements, diet and fitness); Meta Advertising Standards, Personal health and appearance; Reddit Ads Healthcare Products and Services policy; Amazon Ads Claims and substantiation policy; Nextdoor Ads Policy; Outbrain Advertising Guidelines; Microsoft Advertising Healthcare and Pharmaceutical policy; Taboola Policy FAQ health and beauty; Yahoo Ad Policy, Over the counter drugs
Safer wording: Remove the before-and-after pairing and show the clinic, the clinician or the process instead.
Meta Advertising Standards, Personal health and appearance, Taboola Policy FAQ health and beauty, Outbrain Advertising Guidelines, Nextdoor Ads Policy, Yahoo Ad Policy, Over the counter drugs, Microsoft Advertising Healthcare and Pharmaceutical policy, Reddit Ads Healthcare Products and Services policy, Amazon Ads Claims and substantiation policy, Snap Ads Category Requirements, Health, Pinterest Advertising Guidelines
CG-PLT-022 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text
Meta bars ads that declare or imply a perfect body, exploit insecurities or shame the body in order to promote a diet, weight loss or health product. Reddit bars body-shaming language and unrealistic beauty standards in weight loss and cosmetic ads, Nextdoor bars promoting negative or unrealistic body images, and Microsoft bars content that encourages negative body image in weight loss ads.
Source: Meta Advertising Standards, Personal health and appearance; Reddit Ads Healthcare Products and Services policy; Nextdoor Ads Policy; Microsoft Advertising Healthcare and Pharmaceutical policy
Safer wording: Describe the benefit in health terms (energy, mobility, blood pressure) and leave out appearance ideals and shame.
Meta Advertising Standards, Personal health and appearance, Nextdoor Ads Policy, Microsoft Advertising Healthcare and Pharmaceutical policy, Reddit Ads Healthcare Products and Services policy
CG-PLT-029 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text
Meta bars weight loss, cosmetic procedure and dietary supplement ads from targeting anyone under 18, and Microsoft requires 18+ targeting for healthcare advertising and for weight loss ads. LinkedIn and Nextdoor bar targeting under-18s with prescription, pharmacy, telehealth and pharmaceutical ads.
Source: Meta Advertising Standards, Health and wellness; Microsoft Advertising Healthcare and Pharmaceutical policy; LinkedIn Advertising Policies; Nextdoor Ads Policy
Safer wording: Write the ad for adults and set the audience to 18 and over. Do not address teens or children with these offers.
Meta Advertising Standards, Health and wellness, Nextdoor Ads Policy, Microsoft Advertising Healthcare and Pharmaceutical policy, LinkedIn Advertising Policies
What the checker flags with Nextdoor selected
Sample wording we wrote, run through the engine with Nextdoor selected. Only samples where a Nextdoor rule fires are shown.
Erase wrinkles forever with our Botox special. Before and after photos inside. Results guaranteed.
- Blocks approval
CG-STA-002Also matches CG-PLT-016Before-and-after material and personal results imply typical results and must be real, consented and fairly representative.
Source. FTC Endorsement Guides, 16 CFR Part 255; FTC Act section 5
Safer wording. Show what is typical, state the time frame and conditions, and keep written patient consent on file.
- Warning
CG-TRE-003Promises of a permanent fix, lifetime results, a time-boxed total cure, or results on every person make an outcome claim no practice can substantiate, and they imply the product replaces proven treatment.
Source. FTC Act section 5 and FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance (competent and reliable scientific evidence); FTC Endorsement Guides 16 CFR Part 255; FDCA section 502(a) (false or misleading labeling)
Safer wording. Drop timelines, permanence and universal-result language. State a typical, substantiated result with the evidence behind it and say individual results vary.
- Warning
CG-ABS-015Also matches CG-ABS-001A guarantee of results, including a money-back guarantee tied to results, promises an outcome nobody can promise for health products and services.
Source. FTC Act section 5; FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance
Safer wording. Describe what the service involves and say results vary. A refund policy may be stated without guaranteeing the result.
Our stem cell injections cure arthritis. Only 3 spots left this week.
- Blocks approval
CG-TRA-001Also matches CG-TRK-004, CG-DIS-001, CG-DIS-016, CG-DIS-018, CG-DIS-029, CG-PLT-013Saying a product or service cures, reverses, clears or removes a named disease, or that a condition goes away or vanishes, is an unapproved drug and treatment claim that is not backed by evidence.
Source. FDCA 201(g)(1) and 201(h); FTC Act section 5, deceptive health claims; FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance (2022)
Safer wording. Remove the disease and cure claim. Describe what the service actually does, cite substantiation for any outcome, and never promise a condition will go away.
- Blocks approval
CG-OFF-004Also matches CG-OFF-008Urgency and scarcity claims must be true, and false urgency is deceptive.
Source. FTC Act section 5
Safer wording. Use a real deadline and state it, or remove the urgency.
The federal rules that still apply
21 federal and general rules matched to med spas and aesthetic clinics run next to the Nextdoor ones. The ones that weigh most:
CG-DIS-019 · Blocks approval · Citation checked against stored text
Claims to slow, stop or prevent a serious disease, or to restore function after spinal cord injury, are disease claims that need drug approval and evidence.
Source: FDCA 201(g)(1); 21 CFR 101.93(g); FDA consumer alerts on stem cell and dietary supplement disease claims; FTC Act section 5
Safer wording: Remove disease slowing, prevention and recovery claims. Describe a supplement by its nutrients only, and a stem cell service only as an investigational study.
21 CFR 101.93(g) · Needs counsel review
CG-INF-001 · Blocks approval · Citation checked against stored text
A free product, a commission or a code is a material connection that must be clearly disclosed, and a before-and-after claim by a paid endorser needs proof and a typical-results statement.
Source: FTC Endorsement Guides, 16 CFR Part 255; FTC Rule on Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, 16 CFR Part 465; FTC Act section 5
Safer wording: Put a clear disclosure of any payment, gift or commission at the start of the post, and remove unproven results claims.
16 CFR Part 255, 16 CFR Part 465 · Needs counsel review
CG-RFA-002 · Blocks approval · Citation checked against stored text
Naming a disease as what a product, formula or package is for, or calling something a natural remedy for it, is an implied claim to treat or prevent that disease.
Source: FDCA 201(g)(1); 21 CFR 101.93(g); FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance
Safer wording: Do not name a disease as the use of a supplement or cosmetic. Describe general wellness support only.
21 CFR 101.93(g) · Needs counsel review
CG-RFA-003 · Blocks approval · Citation checked against stored text
Anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, immune-restoring, detox or regenerative claims describe the treatment or mitigation of disease and are unapproved drug claims when made for a supplement, cosmetic or biologic.
Source: FDCA 201(g)(1); 21 CFR 101.93(g); FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance
Safer wording: Remove anticancer, anti-inflammatory and regenerative claims. Do not describe the product as acting on disease processes.
21 CFR 101.93(g) · Needs counsel review
Everything for the industry is on the med spas and aesthetic clinics page, and all Nextdoor rules for any industry are on the Nextdoor page.
Next step
Check your Nextdoor med spa copy
Pick Nextdoor in the checker's ad platforms picker and every flag cites the rule and source listed above.