'My face was swelling up like Frankenstein's Monster': LBC uncovers scores of illegal botox products being sold online

8 February 2025, 00:09 | Updated: 8 February 2025, 09:22

LBC has uncovered black market botox being routinely injected on UK high streets - with experts warning it’s creating “a threat to public health”.

Only six prescription-only botox brands are legal for cosmetic use in the UK, but LBC has learned of companies illegally selling banned botulinum toxins through social media and websites masquerading as legitimate medical suppliers.

Councils across the country - including Manchester, Wolverhampton and Nottinghamshire - are warning about products such as an Innotox, manufactured in South Korea by Medytox, as well as Botulax and RenTox. None of these products are authorised for use in the UK.

There are concerns black market sales are being fueled by the viral K-Beauty trend, with Korean skincare and cosmetic procedures like 'glass skin facials' surging in popularity.

These banned botox products are often found in salons, environmental health officers have told LBC.

They say aestheticians are purchasing them through social media.

The government's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency say botox from unregulated sellers is often substandard or fake and "represents both a threat to public health and an increased risk of harm to individuals."

The consequences of being injected with counterfeit toxins can be life threatening.

Marcelle King was given fake botox by a man pretending to be a doctor.

She suffered a huge anaphylactic shock to the substance, which tests showed was unrefined beef gelatine imported from China.

"He started these injections... each one felt like a red hot cigarette," Marcelle told LBC.

"My (face) was swelling up like Frankenstein's Monster and my eyes started blistering up. I was really wheezing and struggling to breathe."

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Marcelle was hospitalised and, eventually, the man who gave her the injections was jailed.

Eleven years on, she still lives with constant pain and the effects of nerve damage caused by the incident.

Plastic surgeon Dalvi Humza, from the Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners, told LBC the demand for blackmarket botox is driven by cost.

He believes this is exacerbating the problem in the UK: "The going rate for a toxin when buying through the regulatory body is quite high, around £100. I could get one of these [unregulated products] for £10." Mr Humza is urging anyone having an aesthetic procedure to check exactly what they are being injected with, and identify whether it is a UK-registered product.

The MHRA says anyone who suspects a product is fake or unregulated should report it directly to them, through their Yellow Card scheme.