Tighter rules planned to protect people from cosmetic surgery that goes badly wrong

The government began consulting on changes to the cosmetic surgery industry in 2023, but there have been calls for stricter regulations for many years.

It comes following horror stories of procedures reportedly carried out in Airbnbs, hotel rooms, garden sheds and even public toilets, by "cosmetic cowboys", external.

Women have told the BBC of dangerous complications, pain and permanent scarring after treatment by rogue operators.

Alice Webb, a mother-of-five from Gloucestershire, died within hours of getting a liquid Brazilian butt lift in 2024.

That same year, Sasha Dean, from Bedfordshire, was left in a coma after receiving a liquid BBL.

A BBL is a non-surgical cosmetic procedure in which dermal fillers are injected into the buttocks to alter their size or shape.

Some of Sasha's treatment took place in a private house and she ended up developing sepsis.

She told BBC News: "Very quickly it turned into a complete nightmare.

"I had a heart attack, one of my lungs had collapsed, my kidneys were failing. My body was just completely shutting down."

Under the government's new rules:

• Fillers injected into parts of the body other than the face, like liquid BBLs, will be legally defined as cosmetic surgical procedures, meaning only doctors could perform the surgery

• High-risk non-surgical or wellbeing treatments, including deep chemical peels, vampire facials, dermal micro-coring and some laser procedures would be restricted to doctors, dentists and some nurses, midwives and pharmacists who have been trained

• Cosmetic surgery and risky treatments will be banned for under 18s - lip fillers and face Botox on children has already been stopped

• Vampire facials involve drawing a patient's blood and then separating out platelet-rich plasma from it using a centrifuge. The plasma is then injected back into the face through tiny needle punctures

• Dermal micro-coring involves removing tiny sections of skin using thin hollow needles, small enough to allow scarless healing

• Chemical peels are skin resurfacing procedures that use a chemical solution to remove the top layers of skin

Health Minister Karin Smyth said: "We want to drive cosmetic cowboys out of the market and raise standards across the board, giving reputable businesses a fair chance to thrive by helping people identify safe, qualified providers they can trust."

The British Beauty Council said the government should be congratulated for tackling the issue head-on.

But Mr Keith Allison, from the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said the consultation was "long overdue" and, while welcome, the proposals did not go far enough.

"Ministers must ensure they do not create a new loophole in patient protection by regulating non-surgical cosmetic procedures more robustly than cosmetic surgery itself.

"A doctor should not be able to carry out cosmetic surgery simply because they hold a medical license."

The government will now ask, external doctors, businesses, regulators, the public and other experts for their say on the draft rules, before plans go through parliament in spring 2027.

A licensing scheme for Botox clinics in England to improve safety standards has already been announced.

In Scotland, laws passed in March mean cosmetic procedures must be performed by, or alongside, certain healthcare professionals in a registered setting. Non-surgical procedures are banned for under 18s.

There are no dedicated regulations around cosmetic procedures in Wales or Northern Ireland.