Government urged to speed up roll‑out of liquid BBL ban and tighter controls on ‘high‑harm’ cosmetic procedures

The Government is facing renewed pressure to accelerate long‑promised reforms to the cosmetic procedures sector, after MPs warned that patients are being exposed to unacceptable risks in an under‑regulated market. The Women and Equalities Committee has called for an immediate ban on liquid Brazilian butt lifts (BBLs) and other high‑harm interventions, alongside faster action on a licensing scheme for non‑surgical treatments.

The Committee said liquid BBLs and liquid breast augmentations pose a significant threat to patient safety and should be prohibited without further consultation. It recommended restricting these procedures to appropriately qualified medical professionals, a move that would effectively end their availability in the UK given the lack of clinicians willing to perform them. Chair Sarah Owen MP said the evidence was clear and that further delay would put more people at risk.

MPs criticised the slow progress on a statutory licensing regime for non‑surgical cosmetic procedures such as fillers, Botox, laser treatments and chemical peels. They warned that the absence of enforceable standards has created a “wild west” in which untrained practitioners operate in unsafe environments, including private homes and short‑term rental properties. Existing rules, including those governing Botox prescriptions, were described as routinely circumvented and poorly enforced.

The report also highlights the growing burden on the NHS from complications linked to cosmetic surgery carried out overseas. MPs urged the Government to require the NHS to systematically record and publish data on complications arising from procedures performed abroad, and to consider regulating UK‑based companies that recruit patients for treatment in other countries.

Concerns about mental health safeguarding feature prominently in the findings. The Committee said practitioners seeking a licence should be required to undertake training in informed consent and psychological screening, including identifying conditions such as Body Dysmorphic Disorder. It also criticised the role of social media in promoting unrealistic beauty standards and normalising high‑risk procedures, recommending that body‑image and social‑media literacy be embedded in school curricula.

More than a decade after the PIP breast implant scandal, the Committee said many women are still living with its consequences. It called for the NHS to offer removal of PIP implants to any woman who wants them, and for mandatory recording of all breast implant and explant procedures by 2026. It also recommended annual publication of adverse outcome data by implant type, a mandatory two‑week cooling‑off period before breast implant surgery, and new research into the long‑term health impacts of implants, particularly for women with autoimmune conditions.

The report concludes that specialist training and board certification should be required for all practitioners performing invasive cosmetic surgery, arguing that the current system leaves too many patients exposed to avoidable harm.

Readers can track the progress of The Health and Care Act 2022 (Section 180) (Licensing of Cosmetic Procedures) on the IoL’s resources page.