Anti-wrinkle and filler injections are to be banned for beauty consumers under the age of 18. The news comes as reports that tens of thousands of UK teens have undergone cosmetic treatments to smooth or plump their features.
The Daily Mail reports that from 1 October, it will be illegal for certified aesthetics practitioners to administer cosmetic muscle paralysers or fillers on patients aged under 18. Customers will be required to verify their ages before treatment to ensure patients and facial aesthetic professionals are compliant with the new law.
There will be exceptions for doctors who may need to use an injectable for medical reasons.
Most consumers choose these treatments for cosmetic treatments on lips, cheeks, jaw, chin, forehead, underage, and even other areas of the body. Around 41,000 injectable procedures were performed on under-18s in the UK last year.
Nadine Dorries, the minister of state at the Department of Health and Social Care, has voiced her support for the regulation.
“Holding back the years is fine once you get to a certain age. But far too many people have been left emotionally and physically scarred after botched cosmetic procedures,” she told the Daily Mail.
“So we are continuing to work closely with organisations to assess the need for stronger safeguards around potentially harmful cosmetic procedures.”
Over the past few years, celebrities and influencers have shared some of their horror stories of the adverse effects of injectable treatments. Reality TV star Khloe Kardashian admitted she had a negative reaction to a facial filler during a 2016 episode from her show ‘Kocktails with Khloe.’
“I don’t know if it’s Botox or filler. I did one of them and my whole face went numb and I could not make [an expression]. I had to dissolve everything," she said at the time.
"I looked crazy and I still think the effects are like, in there."
Dorries and other critics believe social media, the rich and famous, and reality TV shows such as Love Island have contributed to the rising demand for the two non-surgical procedures, especially among teens.
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