BLITZ ON BOTOX Ministers to crack down on cosmetics cowboys selling dangerous Botox and fillers

COSMETICS cowboys selling dangerous Botox and fillers that have left Brits disfigured are being cracked down on by ministers.

In a victory for The Sun’s Had Our Fill campaign, which has pushed for stricter regulation to protect customers, the Government has pledged to toughen up rules.

Officials are drawing up a licensing scheme that could introduce age limits on high-risk procedures and prevent untrained people from performing them.

Professor David Sines, of the Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners, said: “All too often it is the NHS - the taxpayer - that has to pick up the pieces when cosmetic procedures go wrong.  

“The Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners has seen a 400 per cent increase in complaints in the last year alone, so we warmly welcome this important step towards proper regulation.

“Nothing is more important than public protection and patient safet

Around 900,000 Botox injections are dished out every year in the UK.

The toxin works as an anti-wrinkle treatment by paralysing tiny muscles in the face, stopping skin scrunching.

Nearly 3,000 complaints after cosmetic procedures are submitted every year, with two thirds related to dermal fillers and a quarter about Botox.

Some salons illegally use unlicensed versions of the products imported from South Korea, which have not been tested and approved by the MHRA.

Others offer services despite not being trained properly, resulting in botched procedures.

The Department of Health has launched a consultation to shape a new licensing scheme for businesses in England.

Campaigners and experts are being invited to offer their views on how to regulate the industry and ensure high standards.

The consultation will run until the end of October and could result in restrictions on fillers into the breasts and buttocks, officials said.

Health minister Maria Caulfield said: “We have heard too many stories of bad experiences from getting a cosmetic procedure from someone who is inexperienced or underqualified.

“There’s no doubt that the popularity of cosmetic procedures is increasing, so it’s our role to ensure consistent standards for consumers.”

Had Our Fill campaign

Britain's Botox and filler addiction is fuelling a £2.75billion industry.

The wrinkle-busting and skin plumping treatments account for 9 out of 10 cosmetic procedures.

50% of women and 40% of men aged 18 to 34 want to plump up their pouts and tweak their faces.

Fillers are totally unregulated and incredibly you don’t need to have ANY qualifications to buy and inject them.

83% of botched jobs are performed by people with no medical training, often in unsanitary environments - with devastating results. 

Women have been left with rotting tissue, needing lip amputations, lumps and even blinded by botched jobs.

Despite the dangers, there is no legal age limit for dermal filler, which is why Fabulous has launched Had Our Fill, a campaign calling for:

• fillers to be made illegal for under 18s
•  a crackdown on social media sites plugging fillers
• a Government-backed central register for practitioners with accredited qualifications

We're working in conjunction with Save Face and are backed by the British Association of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS) and British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS).

We want anyone considering a non-surgical cosmetic treatment to be well-informed to make a safe decision. 

We’ve Had Our Fill of rogue traders and sham clinics - have you?