Botox: Under-18s come to Wales after England bans practice

Under-18s are coming from England to Wales for Botox as there is no law preventing it, campaigners have said.

Save Face, a group that has a register of qualified practitioners in the UK, said it had reports of under-18s coming to Wales to get round the law.

The Welsh government said it was aware of the regulatory gap with England and would do further work in the area.

Ruby David, 18, from Bridgend, wants lip fillers and said it was down to pressure from things such as social media.

It was only concern from her parents that stopped her from having them so far.

Despite this, she wants to see the law introduced in Wales to protect young people from "making mistakes". She told Wales Live: "Two or three years ago I probably wouldn't have cared as much as I do now. When I was 15 or 16, I was like 'oh whatever it doesn't matter - you only live once'.

"The older you are, the more you think about things. You think about the outcome, or what could happen."

Ashton Collins, director of Save Face, said treatments were becoming increasingly popular and there was a "crisis waiting to happen with young people".

Mrs Collins, who worked with MP Laura Trott to bring in the law in England, said she thought it would be a "no brainer" for Wales to follow suit. 

She believes the risks involved in the procedures mean an age limit would avoid children having to deal with complications. 

Save Face said fillers and Botox could have serious side effects and - in extreme cases - could cause blindness and permanent tissue death.

Since England's law change, Mrs Collins also said the organisation had taken calls about under-18s who had "literally just crossed the border and come to Wales and had these treatments done".

She added: "People only report to us when something goes wrong, so what we're seeing is literally the tip of the iceberg."

Save Face said it was told by one mother from Hereford that her 18-year-old daughter was among those who had travelled to Wales for treatment. Another from Bristol told the organisation her 16-year-old had lip fillers across the border.

She told Save Face: "She wasn't asked her age. I called the practitioner to complain but she just hung up on me."

BBC Wales Live called and messaged 10 clinics across Wales to see if they would book in a 17-year-old.

None asked for an age before offering an appointment, but were then told the patient was 17.

Seven declined the booking, two said they were unsure and would call back and one said, if a parent came along, they would carry out the treatment.Pharmacist prescriber Sophie Riddell works at clinics in south Wales and said under-18s contacted her for treatment but she would not book anyone under 21.

Now she said she felt "powerless" to stop teenagers going elsewhere and although she had not been contacted by any under-18s from England, she was "aware of it happening through conversations with younger patients".

"I feel like the Welsh government aren't really doing enough to aid patients' safety in this industry," she said

The Welsh government said Botox was a prescription-only medicine and the qualified prescriber was "responsible for ensuring the product is given safely and in accordance with accepted professional standards and in the patient's best interests".

It added: "We are aware that there is a regulatory gap in Wales in relation to these types of procedures and will be doing further work in this important area."