Under-18s wanting Botox or lip fillers are travelling to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to bypass England’s ban, campaigners claim
Under-18s in England are avoiding the ban on Botox and lip fillers by traveling to other British countries, campaigners have warned.
Since October 2021, it has been illegal in England to administer cosmetic treatments to young people, even if they have permission from an adult.
But Save Face, which campaigned for the law change, said under-18s are heading to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to get around the rule.
Although it is a ‘no brainer’ for these countries to follow England’s example, they have not imposed a similar rule, the organization said.
As a result, children aged 15 and over who think filler and Botox are similar to getting a manicure or having their eyebrows done are at risk of failed procedures and serious risks such as blindness and tissue death, Save Face warned.
Botox treatments are banned for young people under the age of 18. Catrina Banks (pictured) had filler injected into her lips at age 16, but her second procedure left her with facial swelling
Ms Banks, now 19 and a pensions consultant from Edinburgh, eventually got her money back from the beautician, who begged her not to tell anyone about the botched procedure (pictured)
Facial and lip fillers, or dermal fillers, are injections of collagen or hyaluronic acid into areas such as the lips and cheeks to add volume or reduce wrinkles.
The effects of the procedure, which costs around £200, last for up to 18 months.
Botulinum toxin (of which Botox is the most widely recognized brand), which costs £100 to £350, is injected into areas such as the forehead to block nerve signals that cause muscles to contract.
This reduces the appearance of wrinkles for about three to six months.
Doctors say it is unethical to offer the treatments to children because their facial structure is still growing and changing and they are at risk of psychological damage.
Ashton Collins, director of Save Face, which worked with Tory MP Laura Trott to ban cosmetic treatments for children in England, told MailOnline that since the rule change she has been contacted by a raft of parents whose children cross the border. United Kingdom have been crossed. countries for Botox or filler.
However, she warned that it is still a problem in England and that a postcode lottery is taking place to determine whether local trading standards officials are enforcing the rules.
Since the rule change, Save Face has received 31 complaints, mainly from parents, about cosmetic procedures under the age of 18 in England. The figures are lower in Wales (12), Scotland (11) and Ireland (7).
The ban came amid growing concerns about a Love Island-inspired wave of teenagers seeking cosmetic enhancements.
Then-Health Minister Nadine Dorries said the aim was to protect young people from the pressure to create the “completely unrealistic” images of celebrity bodies.
She cited “a huge increase in inquiries from people wanting a so-called ‘Instagram face’ – looking for cosmetic procedures such as Botox and fillers to give them the high cheekbones, cat-like eyes and full lips seen on the heavily airbrushed photos that celebrities post. on social media’.
Ms Collins said children are at risk of ‘huge problems’ from filler and Botox.
‘Young people think they have little risk, such as having their nails or eyebrows done, and often haven’t thought about the risks or side effects.’
She warned that clinics offering these cosmetic procedures to under-18s often fail to warn them of potential risks – such as blindness and tissue death.
In rare cases, the filler can enter a small blood vessel in the face that connects to the retinal artery, which supplies blood to the retina at the back of the eye. This leads to permanent blindness.
Tissue death can also occur if the filler is accidentally injected into a blood vessel, interrupting the blood supply and causing the tissue to die and eventually fall away.
As with adults, children are also at risk of botched procedures that have the opposite effect of what they hoped for, Ms Collins said.
She told me BBC that a mother in Hereford reported her daughter had traveled to Wales for the cosmetic treatments, while another in Bristol said her 16-year-old had done the same.
Parents told Save Face that their children were not asked their age and that clinics hung up when they contacted them to complain.
Patients only contact Save Face when their treatment has failed, so the cases they are aware of are “the tip of the iceberg,” she said.
Reports have been received of 61 under 18s having used dermal fillers since 2021. Although there are no recent reports of Botox, two were reported before that year.
The vast majority of children were 17 when they received filler (48), while a handful were 16 (11) or 15 (2).
Lip filler was the most popular treatment (93.4 percent) and the majority of young people found their clinic through social media (95.1 percent).
Almost four in five Brits who receive anti-wrinkle injections experience adverse side effects, research shows
Botox, which lasts three to four months, works by relaxing the muscles in the face to smooth out lines and wrinkles. Researchers say the ability to stop people from frowning – by freezing the forehead muscles needed to do so – ensures that recipients don’t experience negative moods as intensely.
Swelling, bruising, infection, hematoma (when an area of blood collects outside the major blood vessels), and blocked blood vessels with tissue death were among the reported side effects.
An 18-year-old boy from Wales called for a law to be introduced to prevent young people ‘making mistakes’ and receiving beauty treatments too early.
Ruby David, from Bridgend, told BBC Wales Live that she wanted lip filler at the age of 15, following pressure from social media.
However, she did not go through with it due to her parents’ concerns.
She said: ‘I was like ‘oh whatever it is, it doesn’t matter – you only live once’.
‘The older you are, the more you think about things. You think about the outcome, or what could happen.”
Catrina Banks, from Edinburgh, had filler in her lips at the age of 16.
She was left with lumps in her lips and cheeks, but was told this was normal and that more filler would even out the lumps.
However, a second procedure left her with painful bruising on her face that made it difficult for her to speak, and some of her lip tissue died, forcing her to seek medical attention.
Each visit cost her £210, but the beautician gave Catrina a refund.
BBC Wales Live contacted ten clinics across the country to ask if they would book a 17-year-old for Botox or filler.
No one asked the patient’s age before booking the appointment. In England it is illegal to book children under the age of 18 for these procedures.
When told the patient would be 17, seven clinics rejected the booking, two said they would check and call back and one said they would do it anyway.
Sophie Riddell, a pharmacist who works in clinics in South Wales, told the BBC that she turns away clients for Botox and fillers if they are under 21, but feels ‘powerless’ to stop young people from trying other clinics.
She said patients had reported that under-18s from England were coming to Wales for the procedures.
“I feel like the Welsh Government is not really doing enough to promote patient safety in this sector,” she told the broadcaster.
The Welsh Government said it was aware of the ‘regulatory divide’ between England and Wales and would undertake ‘further work in this important area’.