Lip fillers and Botox banned for under-18s amid rise in teens seeking 'Instagram Face'

ITV News journalist Natalia Jorquera and producer Lewis Denison investigated the rise of Kylie Jenner cosmetic filler packages promoted on social media - and seen by children as young as 13

Under-18s in England hoping to change their appearance for cosmetic reasons will no longer be allowed to get Botox and dermal lip fillers under a new law.

As of Friday, it is illegal to administer such products or book an appointment for people under 18 under the Botulinum Toxin and Cosmetic Fillers (Children) Act.

Failure to comply with the law "could result in a criminal prosecution and an unlimited fine”, said the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

The law also applies to people visiting from outside England and to those who have the permission of someone aged over 18 for the procedure.

However, treatments can still be approved by a medical practitioner to be carried out by a doctor, nurse, dentist or pharmacist on under-18s with a clinical need.

Former health minister Nadine Dorries announced the law last month, following a significant spike in the number of children and teenagers looking to achieve a so-called "Instagram face".

A 2019 ITV News investigation looked into the rise of "Kylie Jenner" filler packages being promoted on social media and seen by children as young as 13.

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Former health minister Nadine Dorries announced the law last month, following a significant spike in the number of young people seeking the "Instagram face".

Ms Dorries wrote in the Mail on September 5: “No child needs cosmetic procedures unless for medical reasons. Their physical and mental development is not complete.”

The government said there were ethical concerns over whether under-18s have the "emotional and mental maturity to give informed consent" to such procedures "when accessing them on the commercial market without a medical or psychological assessment".

MPs said a “complete absence” of regulation of beauty treatments such as Botox and fillers is putting the public at risk – and “maintaining the status quo is not an option”.

There was a complete lack of a legal framework of standards around non-surgical aesthetic treatments, which has left consumers at risk and undermined the industry’s ability to develop, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Beauty, Aesthetics and Wellbeing found.