The law and the regulators
What the law requires, what it does not, and which parts of it are in force in which UK nation.
What the law actually requires of the person injecting you
Less than almost everyone assumes. This is the single most important thing to understand before considering a non surgical cosmetic procedure in the UK.
The licensing scheme for non surgical cosmetic procedures in England
A power exists. A scheme does not. The difference is the whole story, and it is regularly reported as though it were not.
The Botulinum Toxin and Cosmetic Fillers (Children) Act 2021 explained
A short Act with a narrow purpose: it made it an offence to give under 18s botulinum toxin or filler for cosmetic reasons in England.
Cosmetic treatment regulation in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Almost every statement that begins in the UK, the law says is wrong in at least one nation. Here is what differs and where to check.
The four registers that matter: GMC, GDC, NMC and GPhC
What each regulator covers, what its register shows, what its guidance says about cosmetic work, and how to complain to it.
Voluntary registers: what the JCCP and Save Face do and do not prove
They carry out checks nobody else is obliged to make. They also cannot stop anybody practising. Both facts matter.
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This publication does not name, rank, rate or review any clinic or practitioner, because it has assessed none of them. Our funding is set out in full on the about page and in our editorial standards.
Nothing here is medical or legal advice. Speak to a qualified clinician about your own circumstances, and to a solicitor about a claim.
When the rules change, we will tell you
One email when a law or a regulator's guidance changes in a way that alters what you should check, and when a new article is published. No treatment offers, no product recommendations and no clinic suggestions, because we do not make any.