Big lips and Botox – the Love Island legacy
After eight weeks of dominating headlines and social media discourse, ITV2’s reality television show Love Island concluded another season on Monday night. One couple went home with £50,000 and the rest of the contestants left the villa as a new cohort of social media influencers, welcomed home with endless media appearances and brand deals.
One of the most interesting things to come out of Love Island this year was a heated argument between the contestants about cosmetic procedures and the label “fake”. When asked to describe his turn-offs and turn-ons in a woman, one contestant repeatedly told the group he disliked “anything fake”. The comment was taken personally by some of the women who have been open about having had procedures in the past, and an emotional discussion ensued. Faye Winter who has had breast enhancement, lip fillers and Botox, told Hammond to “Get f***ing educated as to why girls get work done,” explaining that her parents bought her breast enhancements as an 18th birthday present, after watching her struggle for years with self-esteem issues due to being “underdeveloped”.
But it isn’t just influencers and celebrities who are increasingly turning to cosmetic procedures. “Tweakments,” minor procedures such as a very small amount of lip filler and “baby Botox,” preventative Botox performed on young people, are on the rise across the UK and the pandemic has been a surprise factor in boosting demand for these procedures. Zoom-induced insecurities have led to an influx of 30-something professionals seeking treatment, as well as the “selfie generation” whose social media consumption has fed them their own set of insecurities. By the end of this year, the government predicts the non-surgical cosmetic industry will be worth £3.6bn.
Speaking to my own friends, a generation brought up on social media and reality television, there is little stigma around “natural” cosmetic procedures (such as Botox or small amounts of filler). In some ways, it is felt that influencers and celebrities being open about the procedures needed to attain their appearances might help young people stop comparing themselves to unattainable beauty standards. On the other hand, in a world where you can book these procedures on Instagram and find a woman who has bought dermal filler online performing “treatments” in her living room, the rise of cosmetic procedures also poses a serious health risk.
The cosmetic procedures industry is woefully unregulated. Until earlier this year anyone, of any age, could legally seek out non-invasive cosmetic procedures like filler or Botox, unlike tattoos or piercings which have age restrictions or require parent or guardian permission. Analysis by the Department for Health estimates that as many as 41,000 Botulinum toxin procedures may have been carried out on under-18s in 2020 and more than 29,300 dermal filler procedures may have been undertaken on under-18s since 2017.
Lack of industry regulation, however, does not start and end with age restrictions. There are no compulsory qualifications needed to be able to practise non-invasive cosmetic procedures, merely recommended ones. And, since practitioners are often not trained medical professionals, there are no regulatory bodies to report botched Botox jobs or filler gone wrong to.
Due to the definition of these procedures as non-medical and non-invasive, people with cosmetic procedures that have gone wrong are often turned away from A&E or GP surgeries, as the doctors do not know how to treat them or don’t have the required drugs to correct the procedures. Girls sold the dream of a quick-fix of their insecurities are left to find a more reputable cosmetic practitioner to correct the issue at a high cost.
As for attaining the drugs required for these treatments, Botox regulations currently stipulate that the prescriber of the medicine is responsible for ensuring it is administered safely, but there are widely known loopholes. The prescriber can delegate the administration of the medicine/treatment to someone else and the required medic can be “remote” or “on call” – so not present during the treatment. Meanwhile, dermal filler is not prescription only and can be bought online with ease.
The result is a booming industry of practitioners with no prior medical or cosmetic experience sticking needles into people’s faces. Save Face, a national register of Accredited non-surgical cosmetic treatment practitioners, report over 70 per cent of the complaints reported to them are from consumers who found their practitioner on social media. According to Save Face, patients experiencing abnormal bruising, swelling or even blindness will simply be blocked on social media by the “aesthetician” if they complain or the business account will be deleted before a bad review can be left and set it up again under a different name.
Due to the unregulated nature of the industry, it is hard for organisations like Save Face to collect data on the number of cosmetic procedures being performed in the UK or the number of procedures going wrong. Much to their frustration, the NHS doesn’t have a singular code for doctors to reference patients coming in requiring medical assistance due to botched cosmetic procedures, meaning any shared data is vague and likely underestimated.
Somewhere along the way, non-invasive cosmetic procedures have been collated in our social conscience with getting your hair or nails done or getting a spray tan. This association of Botox and fillers as “no risk beauty treatments” means people do not take the time to seek out trained professionals or check accreditation or reviews. This toxic supply and demand chain, along with a lack of governance or regulation, enables more and more people to turn to the industry as a lucrative career, with little to no training.
When talking about her cosmetic procedures on her YouTube channel one Love Island contestant, 22-year-old Mary Bedford explained, “if you have an insecurity you’re best off just getting it fixed,” and when the procedures are relatively affordable and accessible, this logic is understandable. But the beauty industry relies on unattainable standards that mean no amount of makeup, hairstyling or surgery is ever enough.
Ashton Collins, director of Save Face, tells me of a 21-year-old girl who went through Save Face’s accredited list of cosmetic practitioners to spend over £20,000 on cosmetic procedures before applying to go on Love Island. When she didn’t get in, she was shocked and devastated. Social media and reality television sell the lie that a few tweakments to your appearance to fit the Instagram or Love Island look guarantees wealth, fame and success. But the reality is that if everyone looks the same, no one will stand out.