Coronavirus: No Botox and no fillers under lockdown

Iwan Steffan, Sara James, and Mared Parry all use cosmetic beauty treatments - but Mared has welcomed the break lockdown has brought

"Not being able to have treatments has really affected my mental health negatively."

Iwan Steffan relies on cosmetic treatments such as Botox injections and facial fillers to look and feel good.

The 30-year-old is also one of those who has been unable to get cosmetic treatments during the coronavirus lockdown.

But those missing out are being warned they risk fines - and their health - if they access treatments illegally.

"For me, looking good and feeling good is essential," said Iwan, who hails from Bangor, Gwynedd, but lives in Liverpool.

"I haven't cut my hair for weeks, I haven't had fillers since March, I haven't had anything and I feel horrible.

"I can't go to the shop with my friends, if I go to the shop I wear sunglasses and a hat over my head."

Iwan is not alone.

Sara James from Cardiff also gets beauty treatments regularly.

"At 27 years old I had my first child, so the body starts to go then with the lack of sleep. So then I started getting Botox.

"When you're used to looking one way, it's really hard to look in the mirror and see that you don't look like that.

"I'm quite lucky I got my Botox around mid-March, but when that definitely runs out. Oh my gosh, I'm sure I'll really start to hate myself then."

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The anxiety experienced by individuals, and its impact on their sense of self, is understandable under the circumstances, sociologist Dr Sara Louise Wheeler, from Glyndwr University in Wrexham said.

"I can't imagine how I would feel, if you have these treatments regularly, but then suddenly you can't have them. I have a lot of sympathy for that," said Dr Wheeler.

"As the sociologist Michael Bury says in his work on the concept of Biographical Disruption, we see our lives as a novel, with a narrative, and the future that we envision. And then if something happens that changes that, and we can't do what we think we need to do to continue as normal, it stops us, and that's hard.

Sociologist Dr Sara Louise Wheeler says anxiety over missing cosmetic treatments is natural

Swansea East MP Carolyn Harris co-chairs the all-party group on beauty, aesthetics and wellbeing at Westminster, and had been vocal on the matter.

"The beauty industry plays a vital role in many people's lives - it's not just about looking good - being able to get our beauty or hair treatments done plays a big part in supporting our mental and social wellbeing," she said.

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The Labour politician also warned: "While we all look forward to a day that the industry can reopen, it is vital that members of the public do not take unnecessary risks by having procedures carried out unsafely or by buying kits online to try at home."

Welsh Government officials said beauty salons, hairdressers and tattoo parlours all remained closed to help "reduce the spread of coronavirus and save lives".

"If the regulations are being breached, those offering such services illegally, and those receiving them, could be fined," a spokesman added.

Mared Parry is happy to be taking a break

For some, the lockdown has become a welcome break.

Mared Parry, 23, from Blaenau Ffestiniog, has had treatments for her lips, jaw-line, chin and eyes, as well as Botox for her forehead in the past three years.

"To be honest it's nice to have a break," she said.

"It doesn't really make a difference to me, it's still my skin. It's not as if it reaches a year and it all disappears. It's just slowly, the effect starts to wear off.

There is another bonus, she added: "It's nice for my bank account to have a break."