England is moving to restrict who can perform high-risk cosmetic procedures such as liquid Brazilian butt lifts (BBLs), vampire facials and chemical peels, under long-awaited government proposals meant to stop what officials describe as 'cosmetic cowboys' operating with no training or oversight.
Under the plans, only properly trained professionals would be allowed to offer these 'no scalpel' treatments, high-risk procedures would be banned outright for under-18s, and rogue providers would face new criminal offenses alongside fixed fines of up to £4,000. Currently, there are effectively no restrictions on who can perform these procedures in England, despite their potential to cause serious harm or death if done incorrectly.
Years of warnings, and two names behind them
The government began consulting on tighter cosmetic-procedure rules back in 2023, but campaigners have pushed for stricter regulation for far longer, citing a pattern of procedures carried out in Airbnbs, hotel rooms, garden sheds and even public toilets. Two cases in particular have come to symbolize the risks: Alice Webb, a mother of five from Gloucestershire, died within hours of receiving a liquid BBL in 2024, and Sasha Dean, from Bedfordshire, was left in a coma after the same type of procedure that same year.
A liquid BBL involves injecting filler into the buttocks to add volume without surgery, a non-surgical alternative to the fat-transfer version of the procedure that has nonetheless proven capable of causing fatal complications when performed by untrained operators, including filler entering the bloodstream.
We want to drive cosmetic cowboys out of the market.
UK government statement on the proposed rules
A long road to enforcement
The proposed rules are not expected to take effect until 2027, reflecting both the complexity of regulating a fast-moving industry and years of delay since the initial 2023 consultation began. Women who have suffered complications have told the BBC of dangerous side effects, lasting pain and permanent scarring after treatment by unlicensed operators, underscoring the gap between when harm occurs and when protections are likely to arrive.
What happens next
The government's proposals will need to go through further consultation and legislation before the 2027 target date, giving the cosmetic procedures industry — and the unlicensed operators it is meant to push out — a multi-year runway during which current, largely unregulated practices can continue. Campaigners say they will keep pressing for the timeline to be accelerated given the fatalities already recorded.