Today we have published two reports on our work to tackle irresponsible ads for non-surgical liquid Brazilian Butt Lifts (BBLs) and cosmetic surgery abroad.
Societal demand for surgical and non-surgical procedures has increased in recent years, influenced by prevailing beauty ideals and celebrity endorsements. This has been accompanied by a rise in advertising for these procedures. In the case of cosmetic surgery, we also see many services based abroad targeting people in the UK, and it is becoming increasingly common for people to travel abroad for treatment.
Both surgical and non-surgical procedures carry several risks for consumers. Non-surgical liquid BBLs are an unregulated procedure in the UK and can carry significant health risks such as infections, sepsis and embolism, while pre- and post-operative standards of care abroad may differ from those in the UK.
Non-surgical liquid BBLs
Between April and December 2025, we collected over 900 ads for non-surgical liquid BBLs using our Active Ad Monitoring system, which uses AI to identify potentially problematic ads at scale.
Our sweep identified 353 ads from 15 advertisers containing irresponsible claims.
The main issues identified included:
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Time-limited claims, such as “limited slots available – don’t sleep on it!”
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Claims that trivialised risks associated with the procedure, such as “0% infection rate” and claims describing procedures as “safe”
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Claims that exploited women’s insecurities around body image, including linking cosmetic work to confidence, such as “transform your body effortlessly”, “take the first step toward your dream silhouette” and “boost your confidence”
As a result, we instructed six clinics to amend or remove ads that were not in line with the rules. Three clinics did so, while three others were referred to the platform (Meta), which removed their ads.
Alongside this, we contacted a further nine advertisers who were no longer running ads but had previously made irresponsible claims and provided guidance on advertising non-surgical liquid BBLs to UK consumers responsibly.
It is a serious concern that, as of December 2025, only 11.5% of assessed ads complied with the social responsibility rules of the Advertising Code.
This is highly unsatisfactory and points towards a broader issue with the current lack of regulation around this unlicensed procedure. However, government measures due to be introduced in 2026 will allow only suitably qualified, Care Quality Commission-registered healthcare professionals to administer high-risk procedures such as non-surgical liquid BBLs. We believe this will strengthen protections for consumers and contribute to raising advertising standards in this area.
Cosmetic surgery abroad
Conversely, compliance rates among overseas cosmetic surgery providers have improved following our year-long monitoring and enforcement activity.
More than 4,000 ads were assessed across two phases of monitoring and 24 clinics contacted.
Recurring issues included time-limited offers and “mommy makeover” packages, which risk exploiting body insecurities among new mothers and reinforcing harmful body image stereotypes.
As of December 2025, compliance rose from 61.4% to 86.9% at the conclusion of phase one and from 41.7% to 70.6% in phase two.
Next steps
Public concern over the risks associated with non-surgical liquid BBLs and cosmetic surgery abroad continues to grow. While recent improvements in compliance among overseas clinics are encouraging, high levels of non-compliance persist in the liquid BBL sector.
We will continue to work closely with advertisers in both sectors to resolve outstanding issues and drive sector-wide improvements.
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