A parliamentary committee is calling on the Government to ban Brazilian butt lifts after some resulted in deaths, saying a lack of regulation has created a ‘wild west’ in the cosmetics industry
28-year-old Bonnie-Louise Cooper thought she made the right choice when she decided to have a Brazilian butt lift (BBL) in England, but the procedure almost killed her and now, she has been left with PTSD.
She’s sharing her story as the Government has been told to immediately ban BBLs after some resulted in deaths. A powerful parliamentary committee says lack of regulation in the cosmetics industry has led to a “wild west” where patients are receiving procedures such as Botox and fillers in garden sheds, hotel rooms and public toilets.
Ministers have been accused of “not moving quickly enough” in introducing a licensing system for non-surgical cosmetic procedures by the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC). It comes after the Mirror launched the campaign to Ban the Cosmetic Cowboys to stop the Wild West in cosmetic procedures such as BBLs as well non-surgical fillers and Botox.
READ MORE: Government to stop cosmetic cowboys calling themselves ‘nurses’ in major win for MirrorREAD MORE: ‘I nearly died from botched BBL – it left me with a huge hole in my bum’
Bonnie-Louise, who came within an hour of death, has welcomed the news that MPs are waking up to the situation. She told the Mirror: “Too many people have been hurt or permanently damaged by this procedure. I am absolutely relieved the MPs have finally taken this matter seriously.”
A BBL is a non-surgical buttock augmentation where dermal fillers are injected to increase volume and shape the buttocks.
Bonnie-Louise from Swanage in Dorset, thought she was being sensible when she opted to have the cosmetic procedure in England instead of jetting off to Turkey. But she spent weeks in hospital because she suffered a deadly sepsis infection following a liquid BBL.
The mum, who has a six-year-old son, now has PTSD because of her ordeal and is still having physio because her legs go numb all the time. She said: “The people who did it to me knew I was a mum and he could have been left an orphan.
“I was not taken seriously and I don’t think the other girls were either because we chose to do it. But we were misled by who we thought were medical professionals. It’s taken a medical and physical toll on me. I don’t trust medical professionals now. I still have pins and needles and numbness in both legs.”
The Mirror has highlighted how hundreds of unregulated clinics offer cut-price and often dangerous surgical treatments by unqualified staff, sometimes with just hours of training. Rogue outlets have caused life-changing injuries and even cost lives.
We reported in 2024 that mum-of-five, Alice Webb, 33, had become the first person to die following a liquid BBL in a UK clinic. Another mum ended up in a coma after a liquid BBL. Sasha Dean, 54, from Bedfordshire, was in a coma for five days and spent over a month in hospital following complications and said her practitioner was not a qualified surgeon.
The new WEC report states: “High-harm procedures such as the liquid Brazilian butt lift (BBL), which has resulted in fatalities, should be banned immediately without further consultation. A licensing system for lower-risk procedures, in which only those suitably qualified can perform them, should be introduced within this Parliament. The Government is not moving quickly enough in introducing such a system.”
There is no regulation as to who can perform non-surgical cosmetic procedures such as injectables, including fillers or botulinum toxin injections, often referred to as Botox, laser therapy or chemical peels.
The Mirror’s Ban the Cosmetic Cowboys campaign has already been backed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer. It is calling for beauty clinics offering potentially dangerous procedures including liposuction to be licensed by the Quality Care Commission.
We are also demanding that clinics are legally bound to ensure procedures are surgically safe and carried out only by medical professionals. And it should be a legal requirement for practitioners who offer non-surgical interventions to have malpractice insurance. Spain and Australia have similar laws.
