As Love Island returns to our screens, we have joined forces with Save Face to issue a warning this January: resist the allure of discounted cosmetic procedures to achieve the Love Island ‘look’.

Many businesses slash their prices in January in order to encourage consumers back into the shops after an expensive festive season, and the cosmetic industry is no different. However, ‘tweakments’ such as Botox and dermal fillers come with risks, and should not be undertaken on a whim because the price is cheaper.

Save Face and Cosmetic Surgery Solicitors have chosen to issue this warning after data from Google Trends shows that searches for ‘dermal fillers’, ‘cheek fillers’ and ‘lip fillers’ spike at this time of year, indicating a surge in interest from savvy beauty enthusiasts looking for a bargain cosmetic procedure.

Searches for ‘filler’ related terms in 2019

Michael Saul, partner at Cosmetic Surgery Solicitors, said, “Cut-price deals can encourage people to make a snap decision and undergo a procedure that they are not necessarily ready for, from a practitioner who may not have their best interests at heart.

“As botched dermal fillers can cause vascular occlusion (blockage of a blood vessel), nerve damage and even permanent loss of vision, this January we decided to team up with Save Face to raise awareness of this issue and encourage customers to resist January-sale offers.

“This is particularly important if the deals are being advertised on social media, an arena where rogue beauticians can easily set up shop and then quickly disappear if things go wrong.”

The dangerous combination of social media and cosmetic procedures is an issue that is frequently flagged by Save Face. Ashton Collins, director of the government-approved register of accredited cosmetic practitioners, said: “Botox and dermal fillers are often advertised on social media as risk-free beauty treatments by unscrupulous practitioners, which leads to an increase in demand and consequently an increase in the number of people who suffer botched procedures.”

“Sadly, the number of unethical social media posts advertising these procedures increases significantly in the new year and are designed specifically to target vulnerable people into making snap decisions about undergoing cosmetic treatments using hashtags such as #januarysales #newyearnewme.

“Decisions to have a treatment must be based on careful research, consultations and proper planning - never on cost alone and never made impulsively based on a special offer at a time that may not be best for you with a provider you may not have chosen, had you not been enticed by a special offer.”

Last year, we launched a petition with Save Face in order to improve the safety of young people on Instagram. Since then, adverts for cosmetic procedures on the platform are now age-restricted, so they cannot be seen by users under the age of 18. However, there is still a long way to go to protect young and vulnerable people from accessing inappropriate images on the platform. Find out more and sign the petition here.