Women are being harmed by risky cosmetic procedures such as lip fillers and Brazilian butt lifts that face 'less regulation than a ballpoint pen', MPs have warned.
A new report from the Commons Science and Technology Committee found that regulation has 'failed to keep pace' with the explosion in high-street cosmetic treatments.
Women told MPs they had experienced chemical burns, scarring and infections after using cosmetic products or having procedures such as Brazilian butt lifts (BBL), Botox and lip fillers.
The committee heard evidence that high-risk procedures such as Liquid BBLs and Liquid Boob Jobs (LBJs) are being carried out by people without proper training.
Such procedures – in which large volumes of 'dermal filler' are injected under the skin – should be 'restricted to appropriately qualified medical professionals immediately', the report adds.
Current regulation of cosmetic procedures and hair and beauty products is a 'mess', the report said, adding that consumers have 'no more protection and redress than someone buying a ballpoint pen or a toothbrush'.
MPs also warned that cosmetic products designed for adults are 'increasingly being promoted and used by children' as parents unwittingly buy them products that can cause long-term harm.
Children often see such products on social media and think they need to use them because 'societal pressure, especially on young girls, to alter their appearance is acute'.
Woman getting a bum sculpting injection (stock image)
Alice Webb died after having a Brazilian butt lift
The report said: 'They are now seeing these things on TikTok and asking their parents to buy them, and some parents do not even realise that they are buying things that could potentially be harmful.'
MPs added that product safety laws have not kept pace with online marketplaces, allowing 'illegal and dangerous' products to reach UK consumers 'faster and in greater volumes than regulators have the powers or resources to effectively police'.
Dame Chi Onwurah, the Labour chair of the committee, said: 'People buying products and treatments on the high street should be able to trust that these are safe, properly regulated and being provided by someone with the right training.
'Years of delay have left dangerous gaps in regulation and exposed people to avoidable harm… Action, not just a consultation, is long overdue, and quick solutions must be found to regulate injectable products like fat dissolvers and skin brighteners.'
The report follows a string of deaths of Britons from risky cosmetic procedures, including 33-year-old mother Alice Webb, who died in September 2024 after having a BBL procedure at a salon in Gloucester.
The committee said that while the Government's recent consultation on proposals to restrict some high-risk cosmetic procedures is welcome, 'action must follow swiftly to address ongoing harms'.
The report sets out steps for the Government to take to help protect consumers. It comes after ministers launched a consultation on a proposed 'crackdown on cosmetic cowboys' earlier this year.
Under the proposals, high-risk treatments such as 'chemical peels' and so-called vampire facials – in which platelets drawn from a patient's own blood are injected back into their face – would be restricted to doctors, dentists, some nurses, midwives and pharmacists.
And separate to the consultation, the Government said it is committed to bringing in a licensing scheme to ensure 'lower-risk' treatments such as Botox and lip fillers are safe.
The Department for Health and Social Care was approached for comment.
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