UK botox practitioners quadruple in two years - but vast majority not doctors

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By Ella Pickover, PA Media

There has been a fourfold increase in the number of practitioners offering botulinum toxin services in the UK in just two years, experts have found as they warned that the UK aesthetics industry has “outpaced regulation”.

The new paper highlights how the botulinum toxin – often referred to as botox – industry operates with “limited regulatory oversight”, despite being a prescription-only medicine.

Researchers from University College London (UCL) found that non-medical aestheticians doubled from 12% to 24.8% during the same period. More than a quarter (28.4%) of practitioners were doctors.

Clinics without clinical staff were more common in more deprived areas.

Between January and July last year University College London (UCL) researchers analysed information from websites and social media platforms to gather information on information on practitioners offering botulinum toxin products and fillers across the UK.

'Aesthetic market has expanded rapidly'

They identified 19,701 practitioners across 5,589 clinics, which the authors said represents a 437% increase in the number of practitioners and a 357% increase in the number of clinics compared with a 2023 analysis.