For beauticians, cosmetic training courses for as little as £150 taking only a couple of hours and being done online may sound appealing. It’s an extremely cost-effective, time-saving and convenient way of extending their service offerings for which they can charge substantial sums of money.

For clients of beauty salons, however, the ensuing unregulated procedures can cause disappointment at best; allergic reactions, scarring, bleeding, emotional trauma and irreversible damage as some of the worst outcomes.

According to an article in the Mail Online, secret filming has taken place for a BBC Three documentary titled ‘Under the Skin: The Botched Beauty Business’. The recordings have exposed all manner of dangerous treatments, such as thread lifts and Botox injections, being taught and administered by novices thereby posing a serious risk to the public.

Cosmetic training academies of ill repute permit anyone to attend courses, make no attempt to control infection and, according to the undercover nurse involved in the secret filming exercise, leave students without “the technical or practical capability to provide safe and comprehensive treatment”.

With beauty salons and clinics now fully reopen post lockdown, if you’re considering embarking upon any treatment, choose your beautician wisely and don’t be afraid to ask probing questions upfront. Remember, too, that the Beauty Treatment Claims team is here to help if your beauty treatment has gone wrong and you need to sue a beauty therapist.

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Fuelled by social media, the beauty and aesthetics industry is apparently soon to be worth £3 billion. Despite the sector’s booming status, practitioners remain largely unregulated. In the meantime, the number of botched beauty treatments continues to rise rapidly.

It’s for this reason that BBC Three went undercover to produce a documentary titled ‘Under the Skin: The Botched Beauty Business’, available on the BBC website. An important cautionary note upfront here: the BBC’s video contains graphic scenes which some viewers might find upsetting to watch.

According to the BBC, unregulated training courses are leading to extreme injuries in beauty customers including two ladies featured in the half-hour film, Faye Page and Victoria Lee.

The first of these, brow technician Faye, underwent tip-lift filler in her nose causing stage two necrosis – that’s irreversible tissue decay – which could have cost Faye her nose if left unattended. When later assessed by celebrity cosmetic doctor, Dr Nyla Raja, a retinal scan was recommended to fully ascertain the extent of damage as it’s likely she was injected into the dorsal nasal artery which could have transferred into the supratrochlear artery, affecting vision.

The second of these, make-up artist Victoria, actually leaves the house for the first time since undergoing the botched treatment, other than to see her doctor, to be interviewed by documentary presenter, Anchal Seda. Although having Botox for ten years, she used a different practitioner. The treatment hurt and within a week, lumps appeared on her face which bled and oozed puss. She now has permanent facial scarring. It turns out that Victoria was one of nine patients botched by the same injector.

The overriding message of the documentary is the absolute need for education and government intervention in regulating beauticians. Both practitioners and their patients should be better educated in safety and the serious complications that can arise from procedures such as the vampire facial, lip filler, cheek and jawline filler, non-surgical nose job, thread lift, bum Botox, anti-wrinkle injection and laser skin treatment.

Necrosis has already been mentioned above. Other severe issues range from anaphylaxis (life-threatening allergic reactions) to vascular occlusion (blocked blood vessels). Read more about what can go wrong by visiting our blog.

Where regulation is concerned, there are urgent calls for the introduction of governing rules to stop putting people’s lives at risk. Our ‘Wild West beauty sector needs regulating’, ‘The dangers of unregulated beauty treatments’ and ‘Government launches information campaign to raise awareness of risks’ blogs cover this subject in greater depth.

Until such time as tighter regulation comes into force, practitioners can use the lack of a rule book to their advantage, even illegally promoting their courses as being Ofqual accredited, with attendees becoming certified after as little as two hours of training.

At Beauty Treatment Claims, we specialise in supporting individuals who’ve suffered harm by their beauty therapist. If you’ve been injured are considering suing a beauty salon or suing a beauty therapist, contact our legal team in confidence to make a compensation claim. Our free initial no-obligation assessment and ‘no win, no fee’ terms remove any financial worries you may have.

Email enquiries@beautytreatmentclaims.co.uk, call 0800 141 3682 or 0333 202 6560, or complete our online enquiry form.

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59-year-old Jayne Bowman from Hampshire is struggling to leave her home over fears people will see the scars on her neck left behind after a botched fibroblasting beauty treatment. That’s according to a news report on the ITV website.

All about fibroblasting

To clarify, fibroblasting is the non-surgical, skin-tightening procedure that uses plasma and microbeams to trigger the production of collagen and elastin which, in turn, firm up the skin giving it a more youthful appearance.

Fibroblasting can be performed on many areas of the body, typically for facial wrinkles, lip lines, neck, jowls and imperfections such as acne scars and stretch marks. Results from fibroblasting are temporary, lasting from a couple of months to up to two years. Often, fibroblasting is coupled with other cosmetic procedures – dermal fillers, lip fillers and Botox amongst them.

Jayne Bowman’s fibroblasting disaster

The same as with any beauty treatment, there’s a risk of fibroblasting going wrong. To quote Jayne’s own words from the ITV report about what happened and the injuries she endured by her beauty therapist:

“I don’t go out without a scarf on. In fact, I don’t like going out at all. I’d rather go out in the rain where I’ve got a hood up and nobody can see me. I’m not slating all beauticians because they’re not all the same, but there are many of them out there that are bad. Stick to professional people.”

The unregulated beauty industry

Jayne’s story is a cautionary reminder about selecting a reputable, trained, registered practitioner for any treatment you’re considering having done. According to Save Face, the industry watchdog, 81% of its 2,083 complainants last year find their beauty therapist on social media via criteria such as cheap deals, number of followers and use of celebrity images. There can be serious consequences in choosing a therapist for one of these reasons as they’re not necessarily the safe option.

There are continued rallying calls for better regulation of the beauty industry. When you think of the harm that can be caused – blindness and disfigurement in the worst cases – it’s nigh time for the introduction of more robust safeguards to regulate providers and protect public health.

We’ve written on the subject of beauty sector regulation previously. Take a look at our ‘Wild West beauty sector needs regulating’, ‘The dangers of unregulated beauty treatments’ and ‘Government launches information campaign to raise awareness of risks’ blogs.

Making a beauty injury compensation claim

If you’ve been let down by your beauty salon, like Jayne, why not instruct a specialist solicitor for claims against beauty therapists? By doing so, you’ll receive the advice and support you need to secure compensation for your injuries – whether physical, psychological or both.

At Beauty Treatment Claims, this is our area of expertise. Our free initial no-obligation assessment and ‘no win, no fee’ terms thereafter ease the pressure at what is usually a very distressing time for our clients.

Contact us by emailing enquiries@beautytreatmentclaims.co.uk, calling 0800 141 3682 or 0333 202 6560, or completing our online enquiry form.

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The beauty industry likened to the “Wild West”, an increase in complaints to Save Face from 378 in 2017 to 2,083 in 2020 being just the “tip of the iceberg”, and unnecessary interventions causing “serious harm” – potentially leading to extreme complications such as blindness, breathing difficulties, lip amputations and rotting tissue – are some of the most-recent commentaries by Labour MP Carolyn Harris, Save Face’s director Ashton Collins and Women’s Equality Party’s leader Mandu Reid respectively.

Urgent pleas for the regulation of non-invasive cosmetic treatments come amidst news that celebrities too are suffering at the hands of their beauty therapists, supermodel Linda Evangelista included.

Currently, in the UK anyone can perform non-surgical procedures with little or no training, despite the risk of life-threatening side effects. It’s been reported that the majority of complained-about treatments are carried out by beauticians, hairdressers and laypeople. Their clients are largely unaware of the dangers and practitioners fail to warn them sufficiently about any severe problems that can happen.

As of October, the Botulinum Toxin and Cosmetic Fillers (Children) Act 2021 comes into force, thereby making it illegal for under 18s to be given Botox. But it’s not enough. There are calls for further legislation which is being reviewed by the Department for Health and Social Care.

Before you commit to beauty treatments, browse through our blog so that you’re fully prepared for every eventuality upfront. Our ‘The dangers of unregulated beauty treatments’ and ‘Dermal fillers, lip fillers, Botox – government launches information campaign to raise awareness of risks’ blogs are a good starting point.

To contact our legal team in confidence about suing a beauty therapist, email enquiries@beautytreatmentclaims.co.uk, call 0800 141 3682 or 0333 202 6560, or complete our online enquiry form.

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Don’t try out everything you see on social media. Big Brother star, 21-year-old Tilly Whitfield, learnt this lesson the hard way.

After watching a viral TikTok faux-freckles beauty trend, Tilly used a sewing needle to prick her skin with brown tattoo ink ordered over the internet. Unfortunately, due to unexpectedly high lead levels in the ink, she suffered facial scarring and temporary blindness.

Tilly’s burn marks were the reason she subsequently appeared on the Big Brother reality TV show wearing a blue clay mask. £8,500 later, Tilly has still not found a cure for the harm caused by the application of a dangerously toxic substance on her face.

Whether self inflicted or resulting from a treatment by a beauty therapist that’s gone wrong, take your own learnings from Tilly’s mistakes by only undergoing beauty procedures when you understand upfront the potential risks in their entirety. You should know how to proceed if you experience injury after being let down by a beauty salon or clinic too (as detailed below).

It goes without saying (but we’ll say it anyway!) that replicating what you observe in social videos, viral or otherwise, is ill advised. That’s because not only do you rarely see the full story, just an edition version, you also won’t be confident that the social media star is a reliable, trusted source. Take what you view online with a pinch of salt and seek guidance from a recommended beauty therapist instead.

You can talk to our expert legal team any time to discuss your options regarding suing a beauty therapist, and we’ll take on your case on ‘no win, no fee’ terms to pursue a compensation claim for scarring and sight loss, like Tilly, or for any other disfigurement. Our guide to how to sue a beauty therapist might prove useful here. Get in touch by emailing enquiries@beautytreatmentclaims.co.uk, calling 0800 141 3682 or 0333 202 6560, or completing our online enquiry form.

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Following a notable rise in reported cosmetic treatments gone wrong, including dermal fillers, lip fillers and Botox, the British government has launched an information campaign to raise awareness of the issue. Others are calling for better regulation of the entire industry. Here at Beauty Treatment Claims we support the government campaign, and call for better training and regulation of all beauty therapists.

There have been a number of British fatalities from people undergoing cosmetic surgery abroad, specifically by having Brazilian butt lifts. Many botched procedures, both in the UK and further afield, end up costing the NHS significant sums of money for correctional work.

According to an online survey of 1,033 women aged between 18 and 30 commissioned by the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme and Newsbeat, published last year (read more), 83% of respondents expressed a desire to change their body with 7% having already had treatments such as lip fillers and Botox.

Save Face, a national register of accredited practitioners, received 934 complaints in the 2017 to 2018 period regarding unregistered practitioners. Of the issues raised, the vast majority, 616 in total, related to dermal fillers. You can learn more about the risks of dermal fillers and what to do if you have problems here.

Worryingly, these and other cosmetic treatments are embarked upon without full awareness of the potential risks and complications. Additionally, they’re usually administered by beauticians lacking medical training. That’s because some fillers aren’t currently regulated like medicines.

Another factor is the wide availability of products bought over the internet and self-injected at home. For overseas procedures, patients typically see their surgeon only on the day of the operation and it’s nigh on impossible to seek follow up treatment resulting from complications.

A core aim of the government’s campaign is to help individuals become better informed about what may happen from the outset and empower them to choose reputable, medically qualified practitioners from national registers. If news headlines of botched treatments are anything to go by, the campaign has a long way to go.

At Beauty Treatment Claims, we support individuals who’ve been harmed by their beauty therapist. With an impact on both physical and mental health, and often heavy financial implications, our role is to represent clients to secure maximum compensation from those to blame for the injury and suffering.

If you’ve been injured in this way, contact us in confidence to ask about making a claim against a beauty therapist. Our dedicated and experienced legal team, regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, can progress a case on your behalf on a ‘no win no fee’ basis.

To get in touch for a free, no obligation discussion today, please email enquiries@beautytreatmentclaims.co.uk, call 0800 141 3682 or 0333 202 6560, or complete our online enquiry form.

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Like many women today, 37-year-old Hannah Hopkins from Oxford felt pressured to appear at her best at all times. With a job demanding hundreds of early morning flights abroad, Hannah decided to undergo eyeliner tattoo treatment as she thought that semi-permanent make-up would help her look polished throughout the day.

Hannah’s decision came after having already undergone microblading surgery on her eyebrows. According to a recent report, she did her homework by researching options and attended a Harley Street clinic in May 2018.

As soon as Hannah arrived at the venue, however, things went terribly wrong. Her practitioner was running 30 minutes late, eventually turned up wearing no shoes resulting from an alleged house fire, and kept referring to her by the wrong name.

Hannah was further worried when she requested to see the eyeliner shape sketched out and was told that, due to an anaesthetic gel already applied at this stage, it could cause blindness by opening her eyes. Already blind in one eye, Hannah had not been informed beforehand of what exactly the procedure would involve and possible related risks.

Once the tattooing began, the situation drastically worsened, described by Hannah as something like a scene from a ‘horror film’. She suffered ‘immense pain’, kept having her eyes wiped which she later discovered was because she was ‘bleeding so much’. Despite her protestations, she was pinned down, and ordered to ‘suck it up’ and ‘stop behaving like a baby’ as the practitioner wouldn’t stop until it was finished.

Afterwards, Hannah was covered in blood and had a swollen, purple face with ‘eyes like slits’. Even worse, the shape of the eyeliner on her eyelids was uneven and far from the natural look she’d aspired to.

Back home in Oxford the same day, Hannah attended A&E at her local hospital and was told by doctors that her eyelids had been cut because she has the wrong shape for this type of treatment. Initially prescribed six steroids a day for three days followed by a course of antihistamines, paracetamol and ibuprofen, Hannah has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Correctional treatment to have the eyeliner removed by a skin repair expert is being undertaken over ten sessions across a two-year period charged at £650 per session. Doctors have advised they can’t treat any damage to her eyes until the eyeliner is fully removed.

It turns out that Hannah’s practitioner was uninsured. Her story is a stark warning to others about only embarking upon semi-permanent beauty treatments such as this with proven, insured specialists.

If you’ve experienced harm at the hands of a beauty therapist, contact us in confidence to ask about making a claim for compensation. Our dedicated legal team can progress a case on your behalf against both insured and uninsured individuals or salons.

To get in touch, email enquiries@beautytreatmentclaims.co.uk, call 0800 141 3682 from a landline for free, phone 0333 202 6560 from a mobile or complete our online enquiry form.

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Following on from our last blog post about an 18 year old, Lauren Winstanley, who was hospitalised after a lip filler disaster (read ‘Lip fillers disaster for hospitalised teenager’), this week we share a similar report about a 34-year-old dentist from Bristol whose lips turned to ‘rock hard blue lumps’ after a filler procedure went horribly wrong.

Sarah Najjar had always admired other people’s ‘pillowed pout’, especially as she thought hers were becoming deflated, and paid £300 for lip fillers to emulate the desired look as a 30th birthday treat. During the procedure, Sarah was injected one millilitre of filler.

Afterwards, Sarah experienced some swelling but assumed it was a normal reaction. A week later, however, her lips were ‘very lumpy and uneven’ with ‘huge blue lumps’. She returned to the beauty therapist who’d first performed the surgery and was advised to have more filler injected to even them out. A further course of one millilitre of filler ensued.

With two millilitres of filler injected in the space of just two weeks, things went from bad to worse. Sarah’s lips became badly swollen and ‘rock hard’.

In hindsight, Sarah acknowledges that she didn’t research sufficiently, which was out of character, before having the work done. She wasn’t aware of the potential risks and complications, and readily admits it was ‘cheap for a reason’. Keen to reverse the damage, Sarah researched extensively and found that hyaluronidase injections can break down hyaluronic acid, the ingredient used in most lip fillers.

Sarah visited a dermatologist and paid £700 for an injection of hyaluronidase. Despite a slight allergic reaction to hyaluronidase, which was treated with antihistamines, her lips thankfully began returning to normal after two days, aided by Sarah massaging her lips to remove the lumps.

Keen to prevent others going through a similar trauma, Sarah decided to train in facial aesthetics at London’s Harley Street, and is now qualified to perform injectable fillers. Her ethos is to ensure patients fully understand what will happen and potential side effects during an enforced 24-hour cooling-off period before the procedure is undertaken.

Worryingly, lip fillers are often carried out by unskilled beauticians in an unsterile, non-clinical environment using unlicensed products. Such individuals can’t adequately deal with complications that may arise including having an inability to prescribe medication.

If you’re considering dermal fillers, heed Sarah’s warning and research thoroughly at the outset by scanning lists of accredited practitioners recognised by the Department of Health and NHS England. Be wary of those with cheap offerings and know what to do if you react adversely to treatment.

The latter – treatments gone awry – may well involve instructing a reputable law firm to pursue a legal claim for compensation. At Beauty Treatment Claims, this is our area of expertise. It’s our role to progress your case with those responsible for harm caused to you.

To find out more on what we do and to request our support, email enquiries@beautytreatmentclaims.co.uk, call 0800 141 3682 from a landline for free, phone 0333 202 6560 from a mobile or complete our online enquiry form.

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It’s 18 years since the actress Lesley Ash first brought lip filler treatments into the spotlight. In 2002, Lesley underwent a lip implant procedure that went horribly wrong and left her with badly swollen lips for which she was cruelly described ‘trout pout’. Lesley is now an active campaigner against cosmetic surgery and was recently featured on the Lorraine TV show advocating growing old naturally.

Perhaps testament to the growing pressures faced by women (and men) to look perfect and the ongoing selfie craze, lip fillers are more popular today than ever before including amongst younger women such as teenagers.

Despite the bad press surrounding lip fillers, there remains little regulation in place and operations are often performed in a non-clinical environment by someone without medical training which the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons claims is ‘hazardous even in the expert hand’. According to Lesley, who’s launched a two-part series called ‘Cosmetic Surgery Nightmares’ for ITV, one in ten Brits are considering cosmetic treatments.

It was reported recently that an 18 year old from Wigan, Lauren Winstanley, paid £170 for lip filler injections at a salon which gave her ‘sausage lips’ three times their normal size and oozed green pus.

Although assured by her beautician that the swelling was a normal, non-serious allergic reaction and could be resolved with antihistamines, Lauren went to hospital the following day and was prescribed a course of painkillers and antibiotics. Later, when the pain became unbearable, Lauren visited hospital again, this time undergoing surgery straightaway to get rid of the infection and remove the fillers, being hospitalised for a week overall.

With Lauren’s reasons for having lip filler treatment being low self esteem and a desire to wear lipstick properly on ‘plumper, better lips’, far from achieving her desired goals, she actually ended up feeling traumatised by the ordeal which has left her with ‘lumpy’ lips, a ‘sharp pain’ in her lower lip when pressed and ‘slightly numb’ feeling on the bottom left hand side.

Lauren eventually found out the salon owner had only been trained five months previously and possessed limited experience injecting fillers. She documented her nightmare in order to urge other women to do their research before embarking upon lip filler surgery, stating she’d ‘never wish that pain on anyone’.

At Beauty Treatment Claims, our advice to individuals who find themselves in a similar situation to Lauren is to get legal representation by a specialist law firm and pursue a claim for compensation. Compensation goes some way to recompense for distress caused and recover expenses paid such as correctional treatment.

We offer no win, no fee terms and provide a free initial consultation to set you off on the right track. Contact us in confidence by emailing enquiries@beautytreatmentclaims.co.uk, calling 0800 141 3682 from a landline for free, phoning 0333 202 6560 from a mobile or completing our online enquiry form.

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