Brazilian Butt Lifts in Bathrooms: UK exposes shocking rise in black market cosmetic procedures

United Kingdom: In a shocking discovery, several unlicensed practitioners have been found offering Brazilian Butt Lifts (BBLs), fillers, botox, and fat injections procedures across United Kingdom in solicited locations such as public washrooms, hotels and pop up stalls that too for as little as £20. This has pushed trading standard leaders calling for the government's immediate intervention.

According to the information, Charter Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has called for active government action as it uncovered the shocking locations where some of the UK citizens receive their facial or body procedures in all areas which fall outside the typical business premises of such procedures.

The procedures by the unlicensed and unregulated practitioners are said to go on sale on online platforms and are being offered for as little as £20. The CTSI is now calling for regulations on the aesthetic industry due to the fact that one state may not allow someone of a certain age to undergo the procedures while other states allow which leads young people to travel to different areas in order to have the procedures. 

It also mentioned increasing worries about fat-burning injections like Lemon Bottle, which are not properly regulated to make sure they’re safe for public use.

The CTSI calls for vigilance from the citizens to check the credentials of the people who offer these procedures before accepting them as well as to remain cautious of anyone offering these procedures online or at areas that are not authorised to operate at and to never use such products at home. 

The external affairs manager at the CTSI, Kerry Nicol, voiced her concerns over the alarming lack of regulation in the aesthetic industry, saying people are at risk everyday because there are no proper regulations over the aesthetics' industry. 

She cited an example of a tattoo artist that there would be alarms if someone was giving a tattoo at someone’s home or in a public restroom at a cheap price, saying these same alarms need to be raised with people offering facial injection, BBLs or any other type of procedure in unfavorable settings . 

Accredited practitioners call for Ban

Ashton Collins, director at Save Face, a register of accredited practitioners, said that they have been advocating for the government to ban liquid BBLs from the high street and restrict their administration to qualified plastic surgeons only since 2023, and for too long these regulations have been poorly policed and enforced even though they were only meant to protect the consumer and patients of the procedures. 

Meanwhile, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson added that people’s lives are being put at risk by the inadequately trained operators in the cosmetic sector, which is why the government is looking into new regulations to protect people.The safety of patients is paramount and we urge anyone considering cosmetic procedures to consider the possible health impacts and find a reputable, insured and qualified practitioner.