Experts working in non-surgical cosmetic surgery have told ITV News they are 'concerned' by polling for ITV which showed one in five 18 to 25-year-olds surveyed had had some form of filler of botox.
The survey findings, from the latest ITV Youth Tracker poll conducted for ITV News and ITV’s Peston, showed 19% of the 1,000 young people surveyed said they'd had a non-surgical cosmetic procedure.
It's prompted campaigners to warn many don't realise the risks involved, as popularity of these non-surgical cosmetic procedures soars.
Filler is an injectable treatment used to add volume or smooth wrinkles, often giving immediate results.
The current law makes it a criminal offence to give these treatments to under-18s in England, even with the permission of somebody over the age of 18.
But for adults in the UK, the industry is largely unregulated.
It means anyone can legally pick up a needle and inject someone.
Ashton Collins is from Save Face, a group pushing for better industry standards, she says the lack of rules is putting young people at risk.
"Fillers have been consistently popular amongst that age group throughout the last ten years," she said.
"These are treatments that can cause permanent disfigurement, blindness, even death if injected wrongly. Young people need to be going to medical professionals — you can use our register to find medically trained practitioners.”
Half of the complaints Save Face has received about fillers over the past decade have come from people under 25.
Ashton says social media deals and a casual attitude towards injectables are partly to blame.
"I think it's a variety of factors, but the two main contributing factors are: they tend to find their practitioner on social media in reaction to deals and time-limited promotions. And secondly, it's perception. Younger people tend to view these treatments like getting their hair or nails done, rather than medical procedures."
"Because of that, they have no expectation to see a healthcare professional or to understand that Botox is a prescription-only medicine. They tend to opt for cheaper providers, where there’s no informed consent and no aftercare."
Former Love Island contestant Faye Winter knows the dangers of starting fillers young. She had her first procedure at 22.
"My forehead had basically prolapsed. It was horrendous. I know the horror stories," she said.
Faye believes reality TV shows like Love Island — where contestants often face intense scrutiny over their looks — can add to the pressure.
"I think because so many contestants get judged on the way that they look — and me in particular — I was really judged, particularly on my lips and how big they were," she said.
"I didn't see it at the time. I feel like so many young people are in that same situation, where they're getting filler done."
She says the industry’s lack of regulation shocked her once she started speaking out.
"We become kind of filler-blind," she said.
"I didn’t like the fact that anybody can inject people’s faces. There’s no duty of care, no industry standards. I felt like if anyone was going to start talking about it, it needed to be me. It was such a big subject that I was personally scrutinised for — and with this whole filler blindness, people don't even realise anymore what looks natural."
Campaigners are calling for urgent new laws to keep young people safe — and to recognise that cosmetic injectables are not just beauty treatments, but serious medical procedures.
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