The government has introduced plans to crack down on unsafe cosmetic procedures, ensuring only qualified healthcare professionals can perform high-risk treatments.
Under new proposals from the Department of Health and Social Care, clinics offering fillers and Botox will need to meet strict standards to obtain a license. The move aims to protect people from untrained “rogue operators” who often perform invasive procedures in homes, hotels, or pop-up clinics.
Officials say some people have been seriously harmed—even killed—by poorly performed beauty treatments. One woman, who suffered lasting injuries, told The Guardian her experience left her with lifelong complications.
Triggs, 40, from Leeds, paid £100 for an Endolift—a non-surgical laser treatment for skin tightening and fat reduction—but ended up with severe bruising, swelling, and pigmentation issues.
Triggs after undergoing a counterfeit cosmetic treatment that left her with bruising, swelling, and pigmentation problems. Photograph: Triggs
The procedure, which normally costs around £2,000 when performed by a specialist, was a fake version of the treatment. Triggs said:
“I’d been to this clinic before for other treatments, so I thought I was safe. But as soon as it started, I knew something was wrong—the pain was unbearable, and the bruising appeared instantly.”
Her injuries lasted months, and she now faces permanent pigmentation issues unless treated professionally.
“I want to warn others—don’t risk unregulated treatments. Find a trained, experienced professional. I’m still dealing with the consequences months later.”
Dr. Priya Verma, an aesthetic doctor, warns that counterfeit laser machines—often bought cheaply online—are making the problem worse.
“People are buying these devices for as little as £400 and then training others to use them unsafely,” she said.
In a tragic case last year, Alice Webb, a 33-year-old mother of five, died after a non-surgical Brazilian butt-lift procedure involving dermal fillers. Her partner, Dane Knight, believes her death could have been prevented with stricter regulations.
“If these rules had been in place sooner, she’d still be here,” he said. “I hope this stops others from going through the same pain.”
The new measures aim to prevent further harm by ensuring only qualified professionals can perform high-risk cosmetic procedures.This will happen again, tearing another family apart—unless we act now before it’s too late.
Knight said, “It’s tragic that someone had to lose their life for those in power to finally take notice and enforce this law. Now we must prevent more families from suffering the same devastation.”
