Natasha Singer writes for the NYT:
The three most prevalent unlicensed medical activities here are plastic surgery, injections to the face and body, and dentistry, said Bob Mundy, the investigation manager for the Health Department's Unlicensed Activity Office for South Florida. Practicing medicine without a license in Florida is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Helping unlicensed practitioners is also a felony. Because of this, detectives say, illicit beauty practitioners use word-of-mouth marketing through networks of hairdressers, manicurists, aestheticians and personal trainers. "You have to be very careful about who you refer, but it's still easy to get a referral," said a 45-year-old hairstylist who works in a Coral Gables salon that caters to affluent clients. The stylist's name was not used to avoid associating him with providers of illicit treatments. "Instead of walking up to a stranger and asking, 'Who did your hair?,' you ask 'Who did your lips?' " he said. "Usually, someone will give you a phone number."