Plastic surgery apps and games target young girls

GIRLS as young as nine are being targeted by cosmetic surgery apps, with “revolting” new tactics used to groom an ever-younger market, experts have warned.

A report by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics says under-18s should be banned from getting fillers, botox or plastic surgery except for medical reasons, and calls for restrictions on online games that promote such ideals.

An inquiry by the independent body found children and teenagers were being targeted by such games, including plastic sur- gery simulators which show them how their body could be altered.

Its experts said stringent measures were needed to protect the young from products that exploited insecurities and created new markets for surgery.

A number of apps – including Plastic Surgery Barbie – have been removed from Apple’s app stores after online petitions. But they have been replaced by other simulators. Jeanette Edwards, professor of social anthropology at the University of Manchester, who chaired the council’s inquiry into cosmetic procedures, said: “We’ve been shocked by some of the evidence we’ve seen, including makeover apps and cosmetic surgery ‘games’ that target girls as young as nine.

“There is a daily bombardment from advertising and through social media channels like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat [of ] unrealistic and often discriminatory messages on how people, especially girls and women, ‘should’ look.”

Fellow report authors said girls as young as eight were now being targeted by the games.

Prof Edwards added: “Under-18s should not be able to just walk in off the street, and have a cosmetic procedure. It’s unethical. There are legal age limits for having tattoos or using sunbeds. Invasive cosmetic procedures should be regulated in the same way.”

Plastic surgeon Mark Henley, a member of the inquiry group, said: “We would like a ban on these apps, but what we want far more is for society to recognise just how revolting they are.”

He added: “We need to overturn the belief that fillers are risk-free. I’ve seen serious and long-term injuries from fillers in my clinic. They have even been known to cause blindness and loss of facial soft tissues.”

The UK cosmetic procedures industry is estimated to be worth £3.6billion, up from £720million in a decade.

A government spokesman said: “Young people are under immense pressure on a daily basis about how they should look – it is ethically wrong for companies to exploit this.”

He said action had been taken since 2013 to improve the safety of cosmetic procedures through better training, robust qualifications and better information for those considering having work done.