Is current regulation doing enough to protect people from unsafe hair and beauty products and treatments?
The Science, Innovation and Technology hold the final session of its short inquiry into the science and regulation of hair and beauty products and treatments, hearing from professional associations, regulators and government.
MPs will examine how effective oversight of these products and treatments is, and whether current regulation and proposed reforms are doing enough to protect people from harm.
In the first panel, the cross-party committee will hear from representatives from Trading Standards, Environmental Health and Cosmetic Practitioners on gaps within the regulatory framework governing cosmetic products and treatments. MPs may ask about resources available to monitor and enforce regulations and the planned licencing scheme enabled by the Health and Care Act 2022.
Meeting details
Members may explore the limitations of the existing evidence base for cosmetic safety, including in relation to products primarily used by Black women, such as chemical hair relaxers.
In the second panel, MPs will question Karin Smyth, Minister for Secondary Care in the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Kate Dearden, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), alongside officials from both departments.
Questions will investigate concerns about the lack of regulation or effective action to protect consumers from harms associated with non-surgical cosmetic procedures, such as liquid “Brazilian butt lifts”, as well as how scientific evidence is used to inform regulation. MPs are also likely to ask about progress on licensing schemes for practitioners and procedures, risks and costs to the NHS from cosmetic tourism and safety of procedures like dermal fillers and products lke chemical hair relaxers.