Privacy Policy

We operate in compliance with Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and British Columbia's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA).

1. What we collect

Identity and contact — name, date of birth, email, phone, mailing and shipping addresses, emergency contact.

Health and clinical — intake and consent forms, medical conditions, medications and supplements, allergies, pregnancy or breastfeeding status, prior procedures, skin and scalp assessments, treatment notes, products and device settings used, aftercare given, and any reaction or complication.

Clinical photographs — before, during, and after images of treated areas.

Transactions — purchases, appointment history, package and membership status, payment records. We do not store full card numbers.

Technical — IP address, device and browser data, pages viewed, referring links, and similar information collected through cookies and analytics.

Communications — email, SMS, booking messages, consultation notes, phone calls, reviews, and correspondence with us.

You are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of what you tell us, and for updating it. We rely on it to treat you safely.

2. Why we collect it

To assess suitability and provide treatment safely; to maintain the clinical records our practitioners and medical director are professionally required to keep; to book and manage appointments; to process orders, payments, shipping, and returns; to administer packages, memberships, gift cards, and courses; to respond to enquiries and complaints; to send service and appointment messages; to send marketing where you have consented; to improve our services and understand how our website is used; to detect and prevent fraud, abuse of our policies, and misuse of our services; to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims and respond to complaints, audits, and investigations; and to meet legal, regulatory, insurance, and tax obligations.

We do not sell personal information.

3. Consent

We collect, use, and disclose personal information with your consent, except where the law permits or requires otherwise. Health information is collected under the express consent you give on your intake and treatment consent forms. For routine matters such as fulfilling an order or sending an appointment reminder, consent is implied by the transaction.

We cannot treat you without consent to collect and use your health information. Consent may be withdrawn on written notice, but withdrawal operates only going forward, does not affect anything already done, and does not override records we are required to retain or information we need to defend a claim.

4. Photographs

Clinical photographs form part of your treatment record and are used for treatment planning, tracking change, and clinical decisions.

Marketing use requires separate written consent, given specifically for that purpose. It is optional and is not a condition of treatment. You may withdraw it for future use; we cannot recall material already published or redistributed by others.

5. Disclosure

We disclose personal information only as necessary, to: service providers acting on our behalf (booking and practice management, cloud hosting and photo storage, payment processing, email and SMS, shipping, course platforms, analytics, professional advisers); our medical director and treating practitioners; other health professionals where you request it or where necessary to address an adverse event; manufacturers or distributors handling a warranty or safety claim; insurers, regulators, and legal advisers in connection with a claim, complaint, audit, or investigation; authorities where required or permitted by law; and a purchaser in connection with a sale or reorganization of our business.

6. Storage outside Canada

Our service providers store and process information in Canada and the United States. Information held in another country is subject to the laws of that country and may be accessible to its courts, law enforcement, and regulatory authorities. By using our services you acknowledge and accept this transfer.

7. Marketing

Where you have consented we may send promotional email and SMS. Each includes an unsubscribe method.

Unsubscribing does not stop transactional messages — appointment confirmations, reminders, aftercare, order updates, and safety notices — which are part of providing the service.

8. Cookies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to operate the site, remember preferences, measure usage, and assess advertising performance. Some are set by third parties. You may control cookies through your browser; blocking them may affect how the site functions.

9. Retention

We retain personal information for as long as required for the purposes above, for the limitation periods applicable to potential claims, and for any period the law or professional standards require.

Information is destroyed, erased, or anonymized securely once no longer required.

10. Security

We apply physical, organizational, and technical safeguards proportionate to the sensitivity of the information: access restricted on a need-to-know basis, staff confidentiality obligations and training, secured premises, access-controlled systems, encrypted storage for clinical photographs, and contractual protections binding our service providers.

No system is entirely secure, and we do not warrant that information will never be accessed improperly. Where notification of a breach is required by law, we will provide it.

11. Requests about your information

Requests to access or correct personal information must be made in writing to us and must identify the specific records sought. We do not action requests made verbally, at reception, or through social media.

We will verify your identity before releasing anything, and may require government-issued identification. A reasonable fee may apply to producing records, and will be quoted in advance and payable before production. We respond within 30 days, or notify you where an extension is permitted.

We may withhold information where disclosure would reveal personal information about another individual, where the information is subject to solicitor-client privilege, where it was collected for an investigation or in anticipation of a proceeding, where disclosure could reasonably be expected to threaten anyone's safety, or on any other ground permitted by law.

12. Clients aged 16 and 17

Selected services are provided to clients aged 16 and 17 with the written consent and involvement of a parent or legal guardian. We collect information from both, and clinical information may be shared with the guardian as appropriate.

13. Changes

We may amend this Policy at any time. The version published at tva.skin is current, and the "Last updated" date reflects the most recent change.