A leading surgeon has warned that unregulated cosmetic procedures could put the public at serious risk.
Amar Ghattaura, an aesthetics practitioner and surgery consultant, has raised concerns about the lack of regulation for cosmetic injectables in Wales, which has left it the "least regulated part of the UK" for such treatments.
A licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures was introduced in England in July 2026, and similar legislation is progressing through the Scottish Parliament, but no equivalent rules are planned in Wales.
Mr Ghattaura said: "There's been a real spike in demand for these kinds of treatments, but not everyone does their research, and those could have damaging consequences."
He warned that without regulation, patients in Wales are left vulnerable to poorly trained practitioners.
Botulinum toxin (Botox) is a prescription-only medicine, while dermal fillers are regulated as medical devices.
In Wales, there is no legal requirement for the person administering these treatments to hold a medical qualification.
Mr Ghattaura said: "In the absence of regulatory standards, patients in Wales are effectively acting as their own regulator, so my advice would be to treat the consultation as an interview."
He advised patients to ask whether the practitioner is a regulated healthcare professional, who is prescribing the product, what is being injected, the emergency plan in place, and whether the treatment location is a clinical setting.
He said none of these questions are rude, and a good practitioner will be happy to answer them.
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