Trading Standards Warns the Aesthetics and Beauticians sector

Did you know that it is illegal to administer cosmetic fillers or Botox to people under the age of 18 for anything except genuine medical reasons? It is also illegal to arrange to administer such treatments – even if no payments have been made.

Over recent months Officers from West Yorkshire Trading Standards have been checking compliance, and calling round businesses which offer botulinum toxin or dermal filler treatments and reviewing their websites, to check whether robust age verification measures are in place. They have also contacted practitioners to request appointments for lip fillers for their ‘daughter’, which could only be made for after school hours or during school holidays - to test whether the businesses enquired about the age of prospective clients.

Our Officers have looked at 100s of aesthetics providers across the region and are pleased to report that the majority did ask questions about age and, once they realised that the ‘client’ was under 18, confirmed they were unable to undertake the requested treatment. However, several businesses did not verify the age of the recipient of the treatment and were happy to make an appointment.

What the law says:

From 1 October 2021, under the Botulinum Toxin and Cosmetic Fillers (Children) Act 2021, it is a criminal offence for a person to:

• arrange to administer (even if the treatment was not carried out and no payment was made) OR
• administer

Botulinum Toxin (commonly known as ‘Botox’) or a cosmetic filler for a cosmetic purpose to a person under 18 in England, even if they have the permission of someone over 18.

A conviction will result in a criminal record for the offender and unlimited fines.

The owner and/or corporate body of a business where an offence has occurred could also be liable to prosecution if they have not taken all reasonable steps to prevent offences, such as appropriate training of staff, facilitating ID checks or putting appropriate signage in place informing of age restrictions.

Under the law, cosmetic filler or Botulinum Toxin treatments may only be provided to under 18’s as part of medical treatments directed by registered doctors. Even in these cases, treatments must ONLY be administered by registered medical practitioners with appropriate training including doctors, nurses, dentists and pharmacists, acting under the instructions of the registered doctor.

Consumers wishing to report any practitioners offering these treatments to under 18’s -please contact our Trading Standards team by calling the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline:  0808 223 1133.