A shocking investigation has uncovered that beauticians across Britain are capitalising on the country's booming weight loss market by illegally selling potentially lethal 'skinny jabs' to unsuspecting clients from their salons.
The Dangerous Trade in Experimental Drugs
Undercover reporters discovered one 'advanced aesthetics practitioner' operating from a Chelmsford, Essex salon who was openly selling Retatrutide, an experimental drug being promoted as the 'King Kong' of weight loss injections. This medication remains in clinical testing, has not been approved anywhere in the world, and is illegal to sell in the UK.
Lucy Moss, the beautician running the Essex operation, sold investigators a ten-week supply of knock-off Retatrutide for £200 - equivalent to just £20 per injection. When collectors arrived at the salon, Moss was busy 'injecting a client' in a backroom and instructed a hairdresser colleague to hand over the pen without any packaging.
Shortly after, Moss conducted a video call providing a complete walkthrough on administering the powerful, unapproved drug. When questioned about potential side effects, she simply shook her head and mentioned only feeling 'a bit sick', advising to 'drink plenty of water'.
Widespread Availability of Unprescribed Medications
The investigation revealed multiple practitioners flouting regulations. In Northampton, Debbie Andrews of Deora Aesthetics sold a four-week course of Mounjaro injections for £100 from her home salon annex. Operating without proper medical oversight, she couldn't initially remember what the undercover reporter had come to collect.
Andrews boasted about her clients' results, claiming: 'I've had people lose stones on them with absolutely no side effects whatsoever.' She also admitted she could source illegal Retatrutide through her son, joking nervously: 'You're not a policeman are you?'
Meanwhile, in Birkenhead, Merseyside, Alex Filson Aesthetics provided a four-week supply of Wegovy for £170 without any proper medical assessment. The online form required no weight, height or BMI details - essential information for legitimate prescriptions. The medication was simply left in a cooler box outside her home among multiple other packages.
Tragic Consequences and Regulatory Response
The black market trade has already had fatal consequences. Karen McGonigal, 53, died just days after receiving an illegal £20 'skinny jab' at a local beauty salon, becoming the first publicly acknowledged fatality linked to counterfeit weight loss injections.
Ashton Collins, director of Save Face, warned: 'Purchasing drugs from illegal sources is like playing the lottery with your life. There is no way of determining the exact contents of these products or guaranteeing safe and consistent dosages.'
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has been alerted and will investigate. Andy Morling, Head of the MHRA Criminal Enforcement Unit, stated: 'Where breaches of the law are identified in the UK, we will not hesitate to use the full range of our enforcement powers to protect public health.'
The investigation comes just weeks after the first illegal weight loss medicine factory in the UK was dismantled in Northamptonshire, where authorities found tens of thousands of empty weight loss pens ready for filling and over 2,000 unlicensed Retatrutide and Tirzepatide pens destined for customers.
