The lack of regulations in the aesthetics industry has been a major health concern for a long time and up until recently, there were no rules or laws in place to prevent minors from having Botox and filler treatments.
Although Botox and fillers are perfectly safe when the treatment is carried out by fully qualified aesthetic clinicians, there are many immoral people who have been offering injection treatments to under 18s. The people who do provide the treatments tend to be amateurs, which means the likelihood of a botch job is magnified.
It is estimated that around 41,000 Botox procedures were carried out on minors within the last year, with many youngsters looking to replicate the look of their favourite celebrities.
From September 24 2021, the Botulin Toxin and Cosmetic Fillers (Children) Act has been introduced to ban the procedures on under 18s. Anyone found guilty of administering Botox or filler treatments on minors from this date can face “criminal prosecution and an unlimited fine”, according to the new legislation.
While it may seem obvious that administering treatments to under 18s would be bad practice, the number of estimated treatments show that the ban was much needed. In circumstances where there is a clinical need for a procedure, a doctor is allowed to perform the procedure for under 18s.
The former health minister Nadine Dorries commented on the change:
“No child needs cosmetic procedures unless for medical reasons. Their physical and mental development is not complete.”
She also stated that there were ethical concerns over whether someone under the age of 18 would have the “emotional and mental maturity to give informed consent” to such procedures “when accessing them on the commercial market without a medical or psychological assessment”.
This new legislation is a very welcome step in the quest to improve safety in the aesthetics industry. At SkinViva, we are passionate about improving health and safety in the industry.
One of the main ways that we contribute to improving quality standards is by providing expert aesthetics training to people who are already medical professionals. The combination of their medical training and our industry-leading training courses, ensure that SkinViva training delegates become the best aesthetics clinicians in the profession.
SkinViva also provides support to aesthetics clinicians throughout their career, to help to work with new products and to make decisions around health and safety. We provide a support framework for all aesthetics clinicians who train with us, to help them to continue to develop and to ensure they are continually delivering the highest standard of treatments.
SkinViva would never consider providing an aesthetic treatment to a minor and any other reputable aesthetics clinic would have refused under 18s, even before this law came into effect.
The safety and wellbeing of clients is our number one priority, and we are always available to provide advice and guidance for anyone who is considering getting a treatment, so we can explain any risks and concerns to be aware of.
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