LOCAL beauty businesses have been tested to see if they are illegally offering fillers to children.
Officers from West Yorkshire Trading Standards have been contacting businesses that offer botox or fillers to request appointments for their 'daughter' and suggesting the appointments need to be when they are not at school.
Under current laws, it is illegal to administer cosmetic fillers or botox to people under the age of 18 for anything except genuine medical reasons – even if the young people have their parent’s permission.
It is also illegal to arrange to administer such treatments – even if no payments have been made.
Late last year West Yorkshire Trading Standards wrote to numerous businesses, including 53 in Bradford, to “remind them of their obligations” in providing cosmetic procedures.
This included a warning against providing fillers or botox to under-18s.
The organisation has now revealed that it has carried out several tests on businesses in recent months.
While most refused to book appointments for children, some businesses did not ask for ages and were “happy to make an appointment".
A statement from West Yorkshire Trading Standards said: “Over recent months officers have been checking compliance, and calling round businesses which offer botulinum toxin or dermal filler treatments and reviewing their websites, to check whether robust age verification measures are in place.
“They have also contacted practitioners to request appointments for lip fillers for their ‘daughter’, which could only be made for after school hours or during school holidays - to test whether the businesses enquired about the age of prospective clients.
“Our officers have looked at hundreds of aesthetics providers across the region and are pleased to report that the majority did ask questions about age and, once they realised that the ‘client’ was under 18, confirmed they were unable to undertake the requested treatment.
“However, several businesses did not verify the age of the recipient of the treatment and were happy to make an appointment.”
Businesses that have not complied could face legal action.
The issue was raised at a meeting of Bradford Council’s Corporate Scrutiny Committee earlier this year.
At that meeting, councillors suggested schools could be advised of the laws around botox and fillers, allowing them to report if any students appear to have undergone such a procedure.
Consumers wishing to report any practitioners offering these treatments to under-18s can contact Trading Standards team by calling the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline: 0808 223 1133.
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