After realizing that it’s not only wrinkles that make us look old, but also the loss of that youth-specific plumpness, which leads to the impression of a haggard, drawn, therefore aged face, the use of fillers has increased considerably. There are countless variants of this non-surgical procedure that promises to offer the patient their very own, replaceable and convenient fountain of youth, but the one that concerns specialists the most is the permanent filler that is injected both in the face and body, as the Daily Mail says.

Permanent fillers are, as their name implies, permanent, even if they’re not a permanent solution to old age. Unlike temporary fillers and treatments, which contain substances that the body can recognize and break in a matter of months or even years, with the permanent ones, the situation is different. Because these remain in the body for the rest of the patient’s life and are made of substances that the body can attack because it considers foreign, health specialists in the UK are calling for better regulation.

Unlike in the United States, where all fillers fall under the medicines category, therefore require extensive testing and studies before being used on people, in the UK, they do not. Because of this, England has about 100 times more fillers available on the market than the US – while also more cases of facial necrosis, disfigurement, nerve damage and anaphylactic shock, to name just some of the side-effects that occur on a frequent basis.

“The problem with a permanent filler is that you’re introducing an alien substance into the body. The body is designed to try to protect itself from this sort of thing and can initiate an immune response resulting in scar tissue or inflammatory nodules, which appear as lumps under the skin.” Rajiv Grover, consultant plastic surgeon and honorary secretary of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), tells the Mail, after the BAAPS published statistics showing the number of cases of patients requiring corrective surgery after having fillers injected has increased considerably in recent times.

The fact that the fillers are now injected not only in the face but also in the backside and chest area for more plumpness has also raised concerns. If administered by someone with little experience – which is very possible in the UK since the lack of a stricter regulation enables anyone purchasing them to also administer them – these fillers can have very unpleasant effects, right up to downright disastrous, when the substance prevents screening for lumps in women who are suspected of breast cancer.

“According to the BAAPS, one of the biggest issues with using fillers is the lack of regulation. Currently, the procedure falls under legislation governing medical devices, rather than medicines themselves and, therefore, products simply have to receive a CE mark to be licensed for use in this country.” the Mail explains. “It’s just too easy for a product to come to market without any long-term testing and results. To get a CE mark, you can test your product on just ten to 20 people and only have to follow them for six months. That’s not rigorous enough when a product is being injected into the body.” Grover of the BAAPS adds.