BACK-STREET Botox clinics are leaving hundreds of women permanently disfigured from botched treatments.

The obsession with year-round tans and wrinkle-free complexions has led to an explosion in salons offering injectable fillers, laser treatments and chemical peels. This industry rakes in millions every year but the safety standards of thousands of unregistered providers are unmonitored.

The result is that hundreds of women have been permanently scarred. In the most serious cases, clients have suffered from skin necrosis, where tissue becomes blackened and dies, or facial paralysis.

Meanwhile statistics seen by The Times show the soaring numbers of young women diagnosed with melanoma. Experts believe that the increasing popularity of sunbeds and cheap holidays is partly to blame.

Some hairdressers now advertise Botox and Restylane treatments on the side, while anyone can legally set themselves up as a mobile practitioner.

Health regulators are beginning to acknowledge the problem and stricter legislation, regulating cosmetic procedures, is to be implemented next April.

The Healthcare Commission was last week given new powers of covert surveillance, which it will use on salons putting customers’ safety at risk.

One victim was the actress Shobna Gulati, who visited Harley Street because she had stretch marks. Within hours of walking into a clinic, the former Coronation Street star had undergone laser surgery that left her in agony with an open wound.

She is now permanently scarred on her stomach, £4,000 worse off and the doctor who performed the procedure, Fayez Abu Mahfouz, has since been struck off.

Ms Gulati, who turns 40 on Monday, said: “The stretchmarks became worse, they changed pigment and left me with about six different colours.”

Approximately £100 million was spent last year in Britain on non-surgical cosmetic procedures, but some industry leaders say that the figure is a large underestimate because so many clinics are unregistered.The British market is expected to follow the US model, where the turnover for non-invasive cosmetic treatment is about $1.5 billion (£780 million).

Paul Stapleton, a director of Mapperley Park clinic in Nottingham, joined forces with the Independent Healthcare Advisory Service to raise awareness of unregistered outlets.

He believes that the sector will see even more rapid growth and aggressive marketing in the next few years. Mr Stapleton said: “There are thousands of unregistered clinics. Mobile providers fall outside registration and they account for 40 per cent of the sector.”

Laser clinics mist register with the commission but it believes that there are about 3,000 unregistered laser clinics trading illegally. Providers of Botox and cosmetic skin fillers, of which there are also about 3,000, are not required to register with the commission.

The Healthcare Commission said: “There are too many people providing healthcare services who are operating outside the law. Patients and the public want reassurance that services are safe and meeting minimum standards.”

THE RISKS

Laser treatment and Intense Pulsed Light (IPL)
Under the Care Standards Act because it is a prescribed technique. Mistakes can lead to burns and scarring

Botox
Exempt from the Act until April 2007, but under the Medicines and Healthcare Regulations Agency (MHRA) as it is delivered under prescription. Can cause temporary muscle paralysis

Facial fillers
Not covered by the Act or MHRA as they are classified as medical devices. Mistakes can lead to tissue necrosis, in which an area of the skin dies and may require grafting, or nerve damage, or a permanent lumpy effect

Tricholoracetic skin peels
Provider must be registered because this is a surgical technique which comes under the Act. Mistakes can lead to serious scarring. Chemical can burn through to dermis if left on too long or not applied properly.

Fruit/glycolic skin peels
Not regulated at all. If used in high concentrations can lead to burns or scarring.

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