Beauticians are exploiting Britain's exploding weight loss market by selling life-threatening illegal skinny jabs to unsuspecting clients from the back of their salons, a Daily Mail investigation reveals today.
We found one 'advanced aesthetics practitioner' selling Retatrutide, an experimental drug which those pushing it call the 'King Kong' of weight loss injections - but which, critically, is still in clinical testing, has not been approved anywhere in the world and is illegal to sell in the UK.
A second beautician operating without regulation out of her home salon sold us a four-week supply of Mounjaro with no prescription and admitted she could get also hold of 'illegal' Retatrutide before joking: 'You're not police are you?'
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And a third aesthetician sold us - without a health assessment - a Wegovy weight loss pen, which she left wrapped up in a cooler box outside her house with multiple other packages for clients.
Beauticians, who typically only hold qualifications in cosmetics and aesthetics, are not authorised to prescribe or sell weight loss jabs and campaigners have warned potential clients not to 'play lottery with their lives'.
In the UK, weight loss injections including Mounjaro and Wegovy can only be obtained with a prescription - and only registered healthcare professionals such as GPs can legally dispense them.
In a fresh crackdown in February, online pharmacies were also banned from dispensing weight loss jabs to patients who have just completed online questionnaires and must now independently verify the person's weight, height and/or body mass index in person or via video.
Last month, the family of Karen McGonigal, 53, revealed she had died just days after she was illegally administered a £20 black market 'skinny jab' in the back of a local beauty salon.
Beauticians are exploiting Britain's exploding weight loss market by selling life-threatening illegal skinny jabs to unsuspecting clients from the back of their salons, a Daily Mail investigation reveals today. Pictured: The salon in Chelmsford, Essex, where we collected Retatrutide from a hairdresser while Lucy Moss was 'injecting a client'
We found one 'advanced aesthetics practitioner' selling Retatrutide, a drug still in clinical testing - and illegal to sell in the UK. Pictured: The Essex salon, where the practitioner told us over the phone to collect it off one of the hairdressers she works with
Operating out of a salon in Chelmsford, Essex, beautician Lucy Moss (pictured) targets clients who are unable to afford recognised weight loss drugs like Mounjaro. Pictured: The backroom Moss was operating out of when she told us she was busy 'injecting a client'
Moss video called us (pictured) shortly after our reporter walked into the salon and was swiftly handed the pen with no packaging. On the call, she gave a complete walkthrough on how to administer the powerful and illegal drug
The beautician (pictured) told us the best way to inject the jab and how to up the dosage. When asked if there was any side effects, she shook her head
They became the first family to speak publicly about a death linked to fake weight loss jabs and the Mail can today reveal that dozens of beauty salons are brazenly fuelling the black market.
Operating out of a salon in Chelmsford, Essex, beautician Lucy Moss targets clients who are unable to afford recognised weight loss drugs like Mounjaro which have skyrocketed in price since September.
When the Daily Mail posed as a customer, Moss responded within minutes and sold us a ten-week supply of knock-off Retatrutide for £200 - the equivalent of £20 per jab.
When we arrived to collect the 40mg weight loss pen from Moss's salon, she told us over the phone to collect it off one of the hairdressers she works with as she was busy 'injecting a client'.
Our reporter walked into the salon and was swiftly handed the pen with no packaging.
Moss, who was working from a backroom, video called us shortly after and gave a complete walkthrough on how to administer the powerful and illegal drug.
She told us the best way to inject the jab and how to up the dosage. When asked if there was any side effects, she shook her head and said: 'Apart from feeling a bit sick, that is literally it. Drink plenty of water.'
Selling the jabs through her Instagram, she wrote: 'Lots of clients have been asking me about weight loss injections since Mounjaro went up. I can get Retatrutide 40mg pens which last around 10 weeks are £200.
'They are the strongest weight loss injections available as it targets all 3 hormones.'
Our investigation comes as the first illegal weight loss medicine factory in the UK was dismantled in Northamptonshire last week.
Investigators found tens of thousands of empty weight loss pens ready to be filled, raw chemical ingredients and more than 2,000 unlicensed Retatrutide and Tirzepatide pens about to be sent to customers.
Despite the publicity around this, we found that the sale of Retatrutide is rife on social media, fuelled by TikTok fitness influencers and Telegram sellers who can make commission by handing out discount links to clients.
The fat-burning drug, developed by US drugmaker Eli Lilly, targets three gut hormones - GLP-1, GIP and glucagon. But it is still in clinical trials and has not been approved anywhere.
We were also easily able to purchase Semaglutide - under its brand name Wegovy - the weight loss jab which Ms McGonigal paid £20 for before she died, from a beautician in Birkenhead, Merseyside.
When the Daily Mail posed as a customer, Moss (pictured) responded within minutes and sold us a ten-week supply of knock-off Retatrutide for £200 - the equivalent of £20 per jab
It comes just weeks after the family of Karen McGonigal (pictured), 53, revealed she had died just days after she was illegally administered a £20 black market 'skinny jab' in the back of a local beauty salon
Meanwhile, in Northampton, our undercover reporter was able to buy a four-week course of Mounjaro injections for £100 from a salon called Deora Aesthetics.
Within minutes, we were told we could come and collect the jabs which they said give 'fantastic results' and 'suppresses appetite'.
Operating out of a home salon in an annex, the beautician, Debbie Andrews, couldn't even remember what we had come to collect.
Stood in her salon with a young child, she asked: 'What have you come for by the way?'
She then handed us over the Mounjaro 'starter kit' and declared: 'It's absolutely brilliant.'
Later, the beautician - who said she had been selling the injections for 18 months - boasted: 'I've had people lose stones on them with absolutely no side effects whatsoever.'
When speaking about whether she could get access to Retatrutide, she admitted it 'isn't even legal yet'.
But when asked if she had any in stock, she laughed and added: 'My lad sells it. Dodgy deals. He does them in the pens. I'm not sure how much they are but if you message me later, I'll ask him. He's just had a big delivery. They are really good. They are good for men because they strip the fat from the muscle.'
She then joked: 'You're not a policeman are you?'
In Northampton (pictured), our undercover reporter was able to buy a four-week course of Mounjaro injections for £100 from a salon called Deora Aesthetics
Within minutes, we were told we could come and collect the jabs which they said give 'fantastic results' and 'suppresses appetite'. Pictured: The Northampton home salon
The beautician, Debbie Andrews, who operates out of a home salon in an annex, handed us over the Mounjaro 'starter kit' (pictured) and declared: 'It's absolutely brilliant'
When speaking about whether she could get access to Retatrutide, the practitioner (pictured) admitted it 'isn't even legal yet'
When we approached Alex Filson Aesthetics in Birkenhead for weight loss jabs, they sent back 'informative pictures' and told us to fill out a medical form so that a weight loss consultant could prescribe the medication.
The online form we were asked to fill out did not even ask our weight, height or BMI - vital health details that are required for a genuine prescription.
And without ever meeting or even speaking to her or the consultant, we were able to simply collect a four-week supply of Wegovy - a brand of semaglutide - for £170.
She boasted that her 'pharmacy can't keep up with my orders' and told us: 'Please ignore the appointment, this is just so I can send the form [it's] not a physical appointment with me.'
A personal assistant for Filson, who was messaging us on Instagram, told us to pick up the Wegovy from a cooler box at the beautician's home.
When we arrived, it was wrapped in pink on top of several other packages.
We asked for advice on how to use the jabs but were simply directed to a TikTok video posted by Filson where she runs through how to use the pen.
Earlier this year, a crackdown saw prescribers banned from dispensing weight loss jabs to patients who have just completed online questionnaires - like we did with Filson.
When approached after we purchased the potential harmful fat jab from her, Ms Filson denied she was a prescriber or seller despite us paying her for the Wegovy and picking it up from her cooler box.
She insisted that she acts as a 'third-party facilitator' - and that the jabs are prescribed by a 'third-party prescriber and pharmacy'.
However, the form we filled out did not even ask us our weight, height or BMI. To be prescribed Wegovy, your BMI must be equal to or more than 30 but no one asked or verified this at any stage.
The Mail was able to contact dozens more beauticians through social media who were willing to sell knock off weight loss jabs including Retatrutide.
We also found several Telegram and WhatsApp channels were selling the jabs and sharing discount codes.
We caught another 'elite brow technician' with '15 years' industry experience' selling three different weight loss jabs - Semaglutide, Tirzepatide as well as Retatrutide - through her Instagram account, The Brow Diaries.
The beautician actively promotes Retatrutide as 'the newest and best peptide medication for weight loss' and falsely claims that is is 'now FDA approved'.
In an FAQs section, she lists side effects of Retatrutide, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea [sic], constipation, headache, skin sensitivity and increased heart rate. But she then adds: 'Don't let this list scare you away, this medication is very well tolerated overall!'.
She was not only illegally selling weight loss jabs, but operating as a scammer who refused to answer further questions once she had received payment.
Alex Filson (pictured), of Alex Filson Aesthetics, was another aesthetician who was more than happy to sell us weight loss jabs
Without ever meeting or even speaking to her, we were able to simply collect a four-week supply of Wegovy (pictured) - a brand of semaglutide - for £170
When we approached Filson for weight loss jabs, she sent us details (pictured) about prices and dosages
Ashton Collins, director of Save Face, a register of accredited practitioners for cosmetic surgery, said: 'Save Face has collaborated with the Daily Mail to highlight the widespread issue of practitioners selling illegal weight loss injections without valid prescriptions.
'Over the past 12 months, we have observed an alarming rise in reports regarding these unauthorized products being sold online, we are now receiving several reports every week. These products are being distributed by individuals with no medical qualifications, which means that they are unable to prescribe prescription-only medicines.
'Often, they are sold in unlabelled vials and sent with loose syringes and saline, instructing users to mix and administer the injections themselves. This practice is extremely dangerous.
'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.
'Tragically, there has already been one death linked to illegal weight loss drugs in the UK, and given the alarming scale of this issue, more fatalities will undoubtedly follow unless the government clamps down on this dangerous practice.'
The Mail has contacted all three beauticians selling jabs for comment. Moss did not respond to us.
We have also alerted the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency who will now investigate.
Andy Morling, Head of the MHRA Criminal Enforcement Unit, said: 'Buying any medicine from illegal online suppliers significantly increases the risk of receiving falsified or unlicensed products. We work closely with law enforcement partners, and social media platforms to remove illegal medicines from sale, block harmful websites, disrupt payment routes, and delist offending domains from search engines.
'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, including, where appropriate, prosecuting those who put people at risk.'