Somewhere in London right now, a woman is sitting in a clinic chair asking a practitioner to dissolve the filler in her lips. The practitioner's first question is the one that matters: "What product was used?" And she doesn't know. It was two years ago, at a different clinic, booked through Instagram. The clinic has since closed. If it was a hyaluronic acid filler, it can be dissolved in minutes. If it was something else, it can't — and the practitioner is now guessing at what's inside her face.
This happens every day, and it's the part of injectables safety nobody talks about. Everyone tells you to "do your research" before the needle. Almost nobody tells you that your safety after the appointment depends on a record most people never receive.
Let's fix both. First, the new rules. Then the five checks.
What's changing: England's proposed licensing scheme
England is set to introduce a licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures. The enabling power sits in the Health and Care Act 2022; the government consulted in 2023, responded in 2025, and is now developing a risk-based (green/amber/red) model, with a further consultation expected in 2026 before it becomes law. Here's what it's set to mean, in plain English:
- Every injector would need a personal licence — accredited qualifications, indemnity insurance, and a DBS check. No more hiding behind a general business licence.
- Injecting without one would become a criminal offence.
- Botox prescriptions already require a face-to-face consultation with a prescriber, and remote prescribing of botulinum toxin is being tightened.
- Living-room "Botox parties" and mobile filler visits would be curtailed. Under the scheme, premises will matter, not just people.
- Under-18 injections have been illegal since 2021.
Why push for a criminal statute? Because complaints about botched procedures rose roughly tenfold in five years — and 59% of reported complications came from injectors with little or no medical background. London, with the densest aesthetics market in the UK, has seen the worst of it.
Once it lands, the law will raise the floor. But a licence is only the minimum. Here's what actually protects you.
The five checks
1. Check the register, not the Instagram
Save Face is the UK's government-approved register of medical aesthetic practitioners; the JCCP register is accredited by the Professional Standards Authority. Doctors can be verified on the GMC register in thirty seconds. If your practitioner is on none of these registers — walk.
A beautiful feed proves they can take photos. A register proves someone checked their training.
2. Ask the hyaluronidase question
Hyaluronidase is the enzyme that dissolves HA filler — the fire extinguisher of aesthetic medicine. A professional clinic answers instantly: yes, on site, here's the emergency number. A clinic that hesitates, deflects, or doesn't know what you're asking has just told you everything.
3. Meet your prescriber (for Botox)
Botulinum toxin is a prescription-only medicine. The person injecting must either be a prescriber or working with one who has seen you face to face. Ask: "Who is my prescriber?" If the answer is vague, the prescription may not be legal — and if the prescription isn't legal, the product might not be either.
4. Ask what's going in — brand, product, units
You are entitled to know exactly what is being injected: the product name, the brand, the batch number, how many units or millilitres, and where. This isn't pushy — it's the same standard as any medical treatment. Counterfeit toxin exists. Unbranded filler exists. The one thing they have in common: injectors who can't tell you what they are.
5. Keep the record yourself — because nobody else will
Here's the uncomfortable truth from the dissolving-room: when things need correcting, the single most important piece of information is what was injected, where, and how much — and it's the piece most clients don't have. Clinics keep their own notes. You move between clinics. Clinics close. Your history fragments across every chair you've ever sat in.
If you ever need filler dissolved, the treatment plan depends on knowing whether it's HA or not. If you ever have a serious reaction, the emergency response is faster when the product and sites are known. If you ever just want a top-up that doesn't overfill, the new injector needs to know what's already there.
That record is yours to keep — and keeping it is now effortless. The SAY-OS Injectable Treatment Tracker stores every treatment: product, brand, units, batch number, injection map, practitioner and prescriber, date. Your complete injectable history, in your pocket, at every appointment — including the one where something needs fixing.
The one-screen summary
Before any injectable appointment in London, you should be able to tick all five:
Related: Botox aftercare do's & don'ts · Injectable Treatment Tracker — why you need a record of every unit · Contraindications & medication guide