Teens as young as 15 are being scarred by botched cosmetic surgery and fillers

Social media has sparked a rise in children being injected with botulinum toxin (Botox) and dermal fillers, leaving them scarred and needing emergency corrective surgery.

Advice Direct Scotland (ADS) is calling for tighter restrictions on cosmetic procedures after complaints of ‘ghost’ practitioners who visit teenagers’ homes.

Social media has sparked a rise in younger people having surgeries with algorithms promoting cheaper surgeries and making Botox injections seem to be as normal as getting your nails done.

In a submission to members of the Scottish Parliament, the charity said it has dealt with 430 cases related to botched treatments in the past two years costing customers £192,000.

ADS said they have received complaints about practitioners carrying out dermal filler and Botox injections on customers as young as 15.

In a sample of 50 cases, ADS found that 24 contained reports of physical harm or adverse effects, of which some required medical assistance.

Save Face, a registry of accredited cosmetic procedure practitioners, has previously called on the government to take action.

Shortly after its launch in 2014, the company began receiving calls from parents whose children had received lip or cheek fillers, expressing their shock that those performing the procedures were not breaking any laws.

Save Face then launched a campaign, calling upon the government to make it illegal for under-18s to have fillers and Botox.

Ashton Collins, founder and director, told Metro: ‘It seemed like a ludicrous thing that you couldn’t have a tattoo until you were 18, but you could have lip fillers which could potentially scar you for life or even cause blindness.’

After working with MP Laura Trott, the Botulinum Toxin and Cosmetic Fillers (Children) Act became law in 2021, making it a criminal offence to give cosmetic Botox or fillers to anyone under 18, even with parental consent.

The company has been ‘nagging’ the Scottish government to put a similar law in place since 2015.

Now, the Scottish government is proposing the Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers Bill, which both Save Face and ADS support.

ADS also wants targeted public awareness campaigns and guidance aimed at parents, guardians and carers to help those particularly at risk.

The charity’s analysis identifies young people, first-time parents and those influenced by social media trends as those at risk.

Over the last 11 years, Save Face has helped more than 15,000 people with complaints and concerns about unregistered practitioners.

Consistently, year on year, around 48% of those come from people aged 18 to 25.

Ashton believes social media has a key part in people’s decisions: ‘Younger people tend to be the most vulnerable to fall into unsafe hands.

‘You research the procedures yourself, and then you’re in that sort of algorithm where practitioners pop up offering cheap deals and time-limited offers.

‘Younger people don’t associate these with being medical procedures. They think it’s like getting your nails done or your legs waxed.

‘They’re so trivialised amongst that age group that they don’t ask any questions really. They just see a price tag and book the treatment.’

Jillian Edmund, project lead at ADS, said: ‘It’s shocking to be contacted by people as young as 15 who are left needing help after being injected with Botox and fillers by unscrupulous practitioners.

‘In many cases, individuals providing these treatments may not have adequate knowledge of facial anatomy, infection control, or complication management.

‘Patients can be left harmed with limited recourse against unethical practitioners.’

One of ADS’ cases involved a person attending a facial filler consultation at a beauty salon, where they were upsold additional treatments and ended up with severe swelling and fluid under the eyes.

When they contacted the practitioner, they were told it was an allergic reaction and just to take antihistamines.

This did not work, so the customer had to pay extra to have some of the filler dissolved.

Ashton told Metro how this dismissive nature of practitioners is common due to how many of them ‘operate like ghosts’ where they come to your house or have a pop-up salon.

Her piece of advice for under-18s looking to get a cosmetic procedure done is: ‘Don’t have them done. You don’t need them done.

‘It’s actually illegal for you to have these procedures done, so anyone willing to inject you under 18 and not verify your age is somebody who’s probably really unscrupulous.’

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: ‘It is vital we see safe standards across this industry, that is why we have brought forward legislation to regulate this sector, which includes an offence to provide non-surgical procedures to people under the age of 18.

‘Our aim is to ensure there is robust and proportionate regulation in place so that anyone who chooses to have non-surgical procedures can do so safely.’

Has your child had a botched cosmetic procedure done under the age of 18? If so, reach out to me at Molly.Lee.met@metro.co.uk.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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