The “terrifying” rise of illegal Botox is putting ‘young, vulnerable girls at risk’, a leading dermatologist has said. 

In 2023, there was a 400% rise in the number of Botox seizures by the Health Products Regulatory Authority and RTÉ Investigates found that significant numbers of hair salons sell the product illegally. 

Speaking on The Pat Kenny Show, Professor Catriona Ryan said it was increasingly clear the sale of “dodgy products” was “even worse” than she had feared. 

“God knows where these things are coming from but also how they’re being stored,” she said. 

“On top of that, nothing medical should ever be administered in a home or outside of a clinical setting. 

“Nobody should be going to someone’s home to do anti-wrinkle injections. 

“It’s not an appropriate setting, it’s not safe and it certainly doesn’t live up to the standards of any medical council or dental board holds us to.” 

The programme also revealed that some Botox products take three months to ship, something Professor Ryan described as “terrifying”. 

“It can’t be left outside of a fridge for any significant amount of time,” she said. 

'Absolutely alarming'

Six years ago, Professor Ryan and a colleague wrote to then-Minister for Health Simon Harris raising concern about courses that train beauticians in how to perform botox injections. 

It is something she feels should only ever be carried by someone with a proper training and qualifications. 

“We thought this was absolutely alarming [with] dangerous complications inevitable,” she said. 

“The anatomy of the face is so complex and it varies from person to person. 

“Injecting one of these fillers… into a vessel can cause death of all the tissue that that vessel supplies.

“It can cause blindness, there are so many things that can go wrong.” 

Inevitably, she believes, the victims will be those who do not have the funds to pay for an appointment with a properly qualified clinician. 

“It’s young, vulnerable girls who are typically at risk of this,” she said. 

“They can’t afford the reputable places, so this is who these scams are targeting.” 

After lockdown, demand for Botox and other cosmetic surgeries increased - a phenomenon some suggested was due to people’s  'latent dissatisfaction' at their appearance on video calls.

Main image: A woman receives a Botox injection. Picture by: PA.