How Can I Get a Botox Prescription?

How can I get a botulinum toxin (also known as Botox) prescription?

The Answer: After a face-to-face assessment with a prescribing medical professional who has medical aesthetics in their scope of practice.

Now why does this even need to be stated? Sadly, because it is way too easy in the unregulated landscape of the UK to get around the above. Please make no mistake, if you are getting botox either to inject or have it injected in you without doing this, it is illegal.

So let’s break it down.

Prescription

It’s awful that this even needs to be stated, but botulinum toxin is a prescription-only medication, and procuring it without a prescription is illegal. Sadly, it is very possible to do so in the UK, and every clinician I know has been contacted by dodgy internet pharmacies over Instagram or WhatsApp, offering a toxin to buy no questions asked. Online forum show that it is all-too-easy for lay injectors to do this impunity.

Botulinum toxins licensed for use in the UK

It is also important to know which types of toxin are licensed for use here in the UK so you know when you’re encountering an unethical practitioner.

There are 6 brands of botulinum toxin type A licensed in the UK to treat different medical conditions (Azzalure, Bocouture, Botox, Dysport, Vistabel and Xeomin).

For the purposes of cosmetic treatments, the only three you are likely to encounter are Botox, Bocouture, and Azzalure.

(You can read our breakdown of the main brands in our Basics of Botox article.)

All other brands of toxin are not currently licensed for use here, so again it is ILLEGAL if you are being injected with these substances. This include brands like Innotox, Meditoxin, or Botulax.

Please note, I am not suggesting these are not “bad” products in and of themselves, as they have undergone their own licensing process in other countries.

Just that the only reason someone would be injecting you with an unlicensed product is because they are not a medical professional and were forced to use illegal methods to get their hands on whatever they could! Does that sound like someone with the ethics or professionalism to be performing medical procedures on your face?

Face-to-Face Assessment

This is an absolute legal requirement, so if you are every injected with toxin you haven’t had an in-person consultation with the prescriber ahead of time (this can either be your injector or their prescribing colleague), again, it is illegal.

That means that if you are thinking of setting up a clinic and getting someone to remotely prescribe for you, think again. You can and should be reported with potentially serious consequences. In 2012, the BBC went undercover to expose a doctor for illegally providing toxin prescriptions over the phone, who was subsequently struck off. The GMC has specifically prohibited this practice over email, fax, phone, or video chat.

Also please note that it is against all of our professional guidelines to prescribe for non-medics - whether that is a doctor, dentist, or nurse. In other words, you need to think about what is going on behind the scenes if you are ever getting a prescription medication administered from a non-medical professional.

Prescribing Medical Professional

The only person who can prescribe is a medical professional with the appropriate qualifications. There is no way around this. If you want to prescribe regulated drugs, you have to have medical training (the fact that this is controversial or surprising to some is baffling!)

Doctors and dentists are all able to prescribe and hold stock. Nurses and pharmacists who have passed a specific prescribing course are also able to do this.

The Takeaway Message

If you are a patient interested in these treatments, empower yourself with the knowledge around what is safe, ethical, and legal so you can choose and clinician who will provide you with the care that you deserve.