Regulation of the non-surgical market in the United Kingdom

Non-surgical facial treatments such as Botox and Dermal Filler injections are almost completely unregulated in the United Kingdom.

There is no clear guidance over who can administer these treatments and in which locations. Botox is a prescription-only medicine and the MHRA states that it should only be administered after seeing a doctor, dentist or a nurse with special prescribing skills.

It is not specific about whether a remote consultation in which the doctor does not meet the patient in person, but discusses their case on the phone, is permissible.

In many clinics across the UK Botox is administered by nurses without the patients seeing a doctor at all.

Dermal Fillers, which are used to treat wrinkles on the lower part of the face, are not classified as prescription-only medicines as they are in the United States and many other parts of the world. They are classified as medical devices and as such are almost completely unregulated and can be injected by anyone without any medical degree whatsoever.

We urge the UK government to take the bull by the horns and start a well-funded, logical and fair system for regulation of these treatments. If this is not done we fear that standards will vary and there is every chance of sub-standard treatments being performed by sub-standard practitioners.