Numerous Milton Keynes beauty clinics caught offering illegal lip fillers and Botox to underage teenagers

No less than 23 beauty clinic businesses in MK have been caught red-handed offered illegal lip fillers and Botox injections to young people under the age of 18.

Local Trading Standards officers form MK City Council posed as 17-year-olds to contact establishments all over the city and request the cosmetic procedures.

And a large number of the clinics failed to complete any age verification checks prior to making booking arrangements. While just two businesses did ask for the customer’s date of birth, one of them still continued with the booking despite being given details for a 17-year-old.

undercover operation by Milton Keynes City Council has uncovered a number of local businesses offering cosmetic treatments to underage people.

It is a criminal offence to administer a Botox or filler treatment for cosmetic purposes to anyone under 18. The Botulinum Toxin and Cosmetic Fillers (Children) Act 2021 also prohibits making arrangements or booking an appointment for this type of service for anyone underage.

Making arrangements can include confirming an appointment via phone, digital or social media, or in person, as well as agreeing to carry out the procedure on someone under the age of 18, even when no specific appointment is made.

Now the council has issued a strong warning to all businesses in MK who provide these services, requiring them to bring their practices in line with legal requirements.

Officers will continue to monitor businesses to ensure they are following the law.

Cllr Paul Trendall, the Cabinet member responsible for Trading Standards, said: “These are serious breaches of the law which are in place to protect young people. Businesses who have been prepared to treat an underage customer will feel the full force of the law if they continue to behave in this way. It’s thanks to our Trading Standards colleagues that we’re able to do this work to protect people in our city.”

Dermatologists say the demand for dermal filler and Botox-style injections has soared in recent years as people try to recreate celebrity looks in real life.

The parliamentary group (APPG) on beauty, aesthetics and wellbeing says the cosmetic treatment industry has undergone rapid growth, with almost a million Botox injections carried out every year in the UK.