Concerns over Cosmetic Procedures for Under 18s
Wales and England have different legislation for Botox and lip fillers
There are concerns under 18s are travelling to Wales to have cosmetic procedures.
Youngsters in England are banned from having things like lip fillers and botox but there is no similar legislation for Wales.
Campaign group Save Face - which is made up of registered practitioners - say an age limit is needed to protect children from potentially serious side effects.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Botox is a prescription-only medicine, which can only be prescribed by a qualified healthcare professional and administered by someone working under the direction of the prescriber.
"The prescriber is responsible for ensuring the product is given safely and in accordance with accepted professional standards and in the patient’s best interests.
"We would expect professional regulators to take action against any registrant who does not adhere to these requirements.
"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.
"We welcome the amendment to the Health and Care Act 2022 to introduce a licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures.
"This will in effect bring England into line with the powers we already have in Wales under the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017.”
Under Part 4 of the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017, there is a requirement to introduce a ‘special procedures’ licensing scheme in Wales to control four of the most common cosmetic procedures:
- electrolysis
- body piercing
- tattooing
- acupuncture
The spokesperson added: "This licensing scheme has not yet been implemented, but when it is it will initially regulate these four procedures.
"The Act also enables other cosmetic procedures to be recognised as ‘special procedures’ and thus included within the proposed licensing framework.
"When the Welsh Government is in a position to consider the possible inclusion of other cosmetic procedures as ‘special procedures’, we will fully engage with all relevant stakeholders for their views and expertise to identify what procedures should be considered for inclusion."