Ban BBLs: Dangerous butt-lifts taking place in ‘Airbnbs, hotel rooms, garden sheds and public toilets’, claim MPs in shocking new report
Brazilian butt lifts must be banned and laws on fillers and Botox tightened as patients are being harmed by ‘wild west’ care in garden sheds and public toilets, MPs warn.
More people are turning to non-surgical cosmetic procedures after developing body image issues, fuelled by content they have seen on social media, according to a report by the Commons’ Women and Equalities Committee.
It raises concerns about internet influencers ‘normalising’ high-risk and potentially deadly procedures, such as BBLs, which involves injecting fillers into the buttocks to make them appear plumper.
And the cross-party panel of MPs accuses ministers of ‘not moving quickly enough’ to introduce a licensing system for people performing these tweakments – often with no formal training.
There is currently no regulation on who can perform non-surgical cosmetic procedures such a fillers, botulinum toxin injections, laser therapy or chemical peels.
‘This has led to a ‘wild west’ in which procedures have reportedly taken place in Airbnbs, hotel rooms, garden sheds and public toilets, leading to many individuals experiencing serious harm,’ the WEC said in its report.
It welcomed Government proposals to make sure that BBLs and other high-risk procedures are only performed by specified health workers.
And it pointed out that this would act as a ‘de facto ban’ on these procedures, which ‘pose a serious threat to patient safety’.
Sarah Owen MP, chair of the Commons’ Women and Equalities Committee, called for an immediate ban on BBLs
But its report warns: ‘The Government is not moving quickly enough in introducing such a system.
‘At present, individuals without any formal training can carry out potentially harmful interventions, placing the public at risk.
‘High-harm procedures such as the liquid Brazilian butt lift (BBL), which has resulted in fatalities, should be banned immediately without further consultation.
‘A licensing system for lower-risk procedures, in which only those suitably qualified can perform them, should be introduced within this Parliament.’
One woman, Sasha Dean, gave tearful testimony during the MPs’ inquiry as she described how she was admitted to intensive care with sepsis and kept in hospital for five weeks after a BBL went wrong.
The committee also heard how mother-of-five Alice Webb, 33, from Gloucestershire, died following a liquid BBL in September 2024.
WEC chairwoman Sarah Owen said: ‘Procedures that are deemed high risk such as liquid BBLs and liquid breast augmentations, which have already been shown to pose a serious threat to patient safety, should be banned immediately.
‘There is no need for further consultation and delay.
The committee heard how mother-of-five Alice Webb, 33, from Gloucestershire, died following a liquid BBL in September 2024
‘A licensing system for non-surgical cosmetic procedures should be introduced within this Parliament.
‘The Government is not moving quickly enough in introducing a licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures and should accelerate regulatory action.
‘Currently, individuals without any formal training can carry out potentially very harmful interventions and often do so in unsafe environments.
‘This ‘wild west’ of procedures is placing the public at risk.’
Ms Owen added: ‘Regulation has not kept pace with the sector’s expansion.
‘In 2013, the head of the NHS warned that a person having a non-surgical cosmetic intervention has no more protection than someone buying a toothbrush.
‘Over a decade later the only thing that has changed is the number of people suffering life-changing and life-threatening injuries.’
The WEC report also said the NHS should record data on cosmetic procedures performed abroad amid concerns patients are coming to harm in cheap overseas clinics and then seeking repairs on the health service.
In 2024, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he would work to improve safety for Britons travelling abroad for cosmetic procedures in the wake of several deaths.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘This Government is taking action to crack down on cosmetic cowboys and root out dangerous treatments.
‘Our tough new measures will ensure only qualified healthcare professionals will be able to perform the highest-risk procedures.
‘For anyone considering a cosmetic procedure, please check the provider’s qualifications and insurance – and avoid treatments that appear suspiciously cheap.
‘We will consider the Women and Equalities Committee’s report and respond fully in due course.’
