After a UK Botulism Outbreak, Here’s the One Thing You Must Do Before Any Cosmetic Treatment

Camila Coelho wears mint green jeans, white turtleneck cropped top, white jacket, green bag and sunglasses and Aimee Song wears blue jeans, pink jacket and beige bag outside the Chanel fashion show during the Womenswear Fall/Winter 2025/2026 as part of Paris Fashion Week on March 11, 2025 in Paris, France.

The discourse around aesthetic treatments, tweakments, injectables (or whatever you prefer to call them) has never been more pressing. Just last week, 28 people in the north-east of England have been diagnosed with potentially fatal botulism (a rare but life-threatening condition that attacks the nervous system) after having anti-wrinkle injections believed to have been fake versions of the regulated drug Botulinum toxin (more commonly known as Botox).

While campaigners and the medical community have worked tirelessly to urgently reform laws around non-surgical cosmetic treatments like Botox and dermal fillers, there is still so much more needed to adequately safeguard patients from 'botch-jobs' and unlicensed, unqualified practitioners.