Trading standards officers have uncovered 'shocking locations' where procedures are being administered including pop-up shops on high streets, cubicles in public toilets and hotel rooms. 

In addition, there is a growing popularity of regulated medications such as Ozempic and Mounjaro, and CTSI is concerned about fat-dissolving injections - such as Lemon Bottle - which have little to no regulatory oversight to ensure their safe use by the public. These injections do not fall under the remit of the MHRA.

Other issues that have been uncovered by trading standards recently include:

• Unsafe and unregulated filler products readily available for sale online to everyday consumers for as little as £20
• A postcode lottery across the UK in the minimum ages at which such procedures can be carried out – with young people crossing the border to have procedures carried out
• Unlicensed premises and unqualified practitioners carrying out procedures
• No collation of NHS data that shows the burden placed on already overstretched services through dealing with infections and life-threatening complications
• Major gaps in regulation with a lack of clarity on who is responsible for the products and procedures.

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), who is working with a coalition of national charities to urge the Government to get a grip on these issues before more lives are put at risk, is calling for:

• A licensing scheme to help regulate the sector
• The establishment of a ministerial-led government taskforce to help regulate this sector
• Extension of underage legislation to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
• Removal of unsafe products sold online.

Richard Knight, CTSI lead officer for cosmetics and beauty, said: ‘Because of the big gap between the lack of hard and fast safety rules, and consumer expectations of their protection under the law, we are gathering evidence of harms to the public as part of a joint initiative to urge law-makers to adopt a cross-Government approach to tackling this Wild West situation.'

Kerry Nicol, external affairs manager at CTSI, said: ‘I am genuinely shocked by the scale of potential harm facing the public due to the alarming lack of regulation in the aesthetic industry. Consumers' lives are being put at risk every single day. What's worse is that many of these unregulated practitioners are preying on people's vulnerabilities and the pressures they feel around body image, they are taking advantage of those who are often just looking for a boost to their confidence or self-esteem.

‘Alarm bells would ring if someone was offering a tattoo in someone's kitchen or a public toilet at a cheap price - so those are the alarm bells we need ringing for people offering facial injections in these kinds of settings. Action is urgently needed to crack down on the bad players operating in this sector. This isn't an issue that trading standards alone can fix, it's a Government and multi-agency responsibility that requires coordinated activity.

‘A logical and immediate first step is the introduction of a national licensing scheme, giving the public a clear indication of who is qualified to carry out these procedures. It's time the UK takes public safety seriously and weed out those putting lives at risk.'

Ian Andrews, head of environmental health at the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, said: 'We're concerned about CTSI's findings and would welcome clarity from the Government on when further legislation will be consulted on because what our members currently work with is outdated. The creation of a national licensing scheme would ensure that all those who practise are competent and trained, improving safety for members of the public.'

In response, chair of the National Pharmacy Association Olivier Picard, said: 'Medication from unregulated sellers could be fake, swapped for an alternative medication and not meet rigorous safety standards we have in the UK. Medicines are not like ordinary goods for sale online, they must be handled with great care because they have the power to harm as well as to heal.

'We urge regulators to reintroduce pre-Brexit rules that made a list of regulated online medicine sellers in the UK publicly available. We think this will provide a helpful tool for patients to understand how to find a regulated, safe online pharmacy.'