Hundreds of women 'maimed' by botched cosmetic procedures since 2023, but no criminal charges
Nearly 750 women have been "maimed" by cosmetic procedures carried out by people with no healthcare qualifications in the UK since 2023, but no criminal charges have been brought, LBC can reveal.
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More than half of the complainants to Save Face, a government-approved register of accredited practitioners for cosmetic surgery, said they developed sepsis, 74% dealt with infection, and 5% of patients reported necrosis - where the body tissue dies.
Of these, 98% needed NHS treatment.
The data showed nearly all of the complaints related to non-surgical Brazilian Butt Lifts - where hyaluronic acid, the same substance used for lip fillers, is injected in large quantities into a client's buttocks.
Non-surgical, or "liquid," BBLs are considered so dangerous that most trained aesthetic healthcare professionals in the UK polled by Save Face don't offer it as a service.
But clients are lured by social media adverts for cheap deals, with many assuming they will be engaging with a regulated organisation.
"It's estimated that around 11 of these [unregulated] procedures are being carried out per day in the UK, and the vast majority of those are [being administered by] people that are not healthcare trained in any way, shape or form," says Ashton Collins, director of Save Face.
She told LBC the procedures are being carried out by beauticians, hairdressers, or "complete laypeople" - members of the public with no medical training - using "unlicensed products that they buy from places like China and Korea and administer in places like Airbnbs, hotel rooms, salons and living rooms."
LBC highlighted the dangers of using unlicensed products in an investigation earlier this year.
Despite the high number - and severity - of the complications recorded by Save Face, no criminal charges have ever been brought against the practitioners, Ms Collins exclusively told LBC. She says the near-death experiences some have faced could legally be classed as assault.
"We urge every single one of these women to make a police report," she says.
"A lot of them have, and not a single case has been taken forward. And I just find that unfathomable because if you went to the police in any other context and said that you were assaulted on a night out, for example, and you nearly died and you've needed extensive surgery to fix it … that perpetrator would undoubtedly be arrested and charged, whereas nobody takes this seriously."
Last year, 33-year-old mum-of-five Alice Webb from Gloucestershire became the first person to die following complications after undergoing a liquid BBL in the UK.
Calling for the government to ban the practice, her family said "we are devastated by the overwhelming feeling of grief, loss, and anger because her death should never have been allowed to happen".
Gloucestershire Police's major crime team is investigating and arrested two people have been released on bail.
Currently it is legal for anyone in the UK, even if they have no medical qualifications, to perform invasive body augmentation treatments.
LBC was able to find one-day training courses promoted online for people interested in administering liquid BBLs, promising to teach participants to "safely and effectively" give injections, and "take advantage of this ever-growing market," for just £1,500.
"These procedures are largely unregulated, which means that anybody can administer dermal fillers or Botox from anywhere. They don't have to have any training, they don't have to be insured, they don't have to ensure that their premises meet certain standards," says Ms Collins.
She says other high risk procedures are also being carried out, including breast augmentation, surgical facelifts and eyelid surgeries called blepharoplasties "all of which can be fatal."
"We have lay people that are performing liposuction procedures on the high street," she says.
Today, the government is announcing new plans to "crack down on cowboy cosmetic procedures."
The regulations - which will be subject to a public consultation and parliamentary scrutiny before being introduced - will only allow "suitably qualified healthcare professionals" to carry out high-risk procedures like BBLs, and require clinics administering fillers and Botox to meet strict standards to obtain a licence.
Ms Collins says she's "delighted" the government has recognised the risks posed by these procedures, but told LBC "it's insane to me that we would even need a piece of legislation to stop a non-medical person picking up a scalpel and start operating on somebody."