Not to the public, no. Botulinum toxin is a prescription-only medicine, and in the UK prescription-only medicines cannot be advertised to the public. That covers a clinic’s website, its Instagram, its leaflets and every hashtag on every post.
What you can advertise is the consultation, the clinic and the practitioner. This guide sets out where that line sits, based on published guidance from the ASA and the MHRA, and where licensing stands in England as of October 2026. It is general guidance, not legal advice. If you are unsure about a particular ad, the ASA’s sister body CAP runs a copy advice service that will look at it before you publish.
Why can’t you advertise Botox?
Botox is a brand name. The medicine is botulinum toxin, and it is sold under several brands. The ASA’s guidance applies the rule to all prescription-only botulinum toxin injectables, whichever name is on the box.
The law sits in the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. Under the heading “Advertising to the public”, regulation 284 says a person “may not publish an advertisement that is likely to lead to the use of a prescription only medicine”. The MHRA, which enforces it, puts it more plainly: you cannot advertise prescription-only medicines to the general public. The ASA applies the same rule through rule 12.12 of the CAP Code, the advertising code that covers websites and social media.
Can you advertise Botox on social media or Instagram?
No, and this is where most clinics get caught. The ASA treats a clinic’s own posts as advertising. Its guidance says any reference to Botox on a clinic’s social media pages, hashtags included, is likely to be seen as an implied ad for a prescription-only medicine.
Nicknames do not get round it. CAP’s guidance names indirect references such as “wrinkle-relaxing treatments” and tags like #brotox as breaches too. The ASA has also said that client selfies and photos “fresh off the needle” are still ads when a clinic posts them.
Nor do other people’s accounts. CAP’s guidance is that a celebrity or influencer promoting Botox still counts as advertising, and rule 12.18 of the CAP Code stops health professionals and celebrities endorsing any medicine.
What can an aesthetic clinic say on its website?
A clinic website gets a little more room than a sponsored post, but only away from the front door. The ASA’s guidance on clinic websites draws the line like this:
- Advertise the consultation, not the medicine. “A consultation for lines and wrinkles” is the ASA’s own example of acceptable wording. “A consultation for botox” is its example of a breach, because it promotes the product.
- Keep the medicine off the homepage. No reference to it on the homepage, in the logo, in testimonials, in hover text or in sponsored ads.
- Inner pages can give information, but only as a possible treatment option following a consultation.
- A price list can include it, off the homepage, with no claims about the product and nothing that encourages someone to choose it on price.
- Promote the rest of the clinic. CAP’s guidance says you can advertise your clinic and services that are not prescription-only, such as dermal fillers, within the normal rules.
Can you run offers on Botox?
No. CAP’s guidance is direct: do not advertise promotional offers on Botox, because promotional marketing is still advertising, and that is not allowed for any prescription-only medicine. Calling the offer something else does not help, for the reason above. If you want to promote something close to the line, ask CAP’s copy advice team first.
Can you post before-and-after photos of Botox?
No. The ASA’s guidance on before-and-after photos says that such imagery of a prescription-only product, “even in isolation without any accompanying claims”, is very likely to be seen as an implied ad for it. A photo of a smooth forehead with no caption still counts.
For treatments you can advertise, such as fillers, skin treatments or laser, before-and-after photos are allowed but held to a standard. They must be genuine, they must not be retouched in a way that affects the apparent result, and the ASA expects you to hold signed and dated proof that they have not been manipulated. They must not exaggerate the result a client can expect, either.
What are the age rules?
There are two, and they do different jobs.
The first is about treatment. In England it has been an offence since 1 October 2021 to give botulinum toxin, or a filler injection for a cosmetic purpose, to anyone under 18. That is the Botulinum Toxin and Cosmetic Fillers (Children) Act 2021, and a business can commit an offence by arranging such an appointment as well as by carrying it out. The Act makes room for treatment by a doctor, or by a regulated health professional acting on a doctor’s directions, and gives a defence to anyone who took reasonable steps to check a client’s age.
The second is about advertising. Since May 2022, ads for non-surgical cosmetic interventions must not be targeted at under-18s. CAP’s guidance says that in non-broadcast media they cannot appear where under-18s make up 25% or more of the audience. On a website, that means stating your age policy plainly, saying you will ask for ID, and not aiming pages or posts at teenagers.
Is there an aesthetics licence in the UK?
Not yet in England. The Health and Care Act 2022 gave the government the power to create a licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures. In August 2025 the Department of Health and Social Care published its response to the 2023 consultation. It said botulinum toxin, lip fillers and facial dermal fillers would come under a local authority licensing scheme, with licences for practitioners and for the premises they work from. The highest-risk procedures, such as non-surgical Brazilian butt lifts, would be limited to qualified healthcare professionals working in providers registered with the Care Quality Commission.
At the time of writing, in October 2026, none of that is in force. The government’s August 2025 response said the high-risk restrictions would be consulted on first, that further consultation on the licensing scheme would follow, and that both would be made through secondary legislation, which has to pass through Parliament before anyone needs a licence. Until then, the advertising rules above are the ones that bite. This section is about England only, and the scheme is moving, so check the GOV.UK consultation page linked below for the current position.
What does this mean for your clinic’s website?
- Homepage: the clinic, the practitioners, the concerns you treat and a button to book a consultation. No medicine names.
- Treatment pages: named after the concern, such as lines and wrinkles, with the medicine mentioned only as a possible outcome of a consultation.
- Social posts: no brand names, no nicknames, no hashtags for the medicine, and no before-and-afters of prescription-only treatments.
- Price list: off the homepage, plain, with no claims.
- Galleries: genuine, unretouched, with signed and dated proof on file.
- Practitioners: introduce them, with their qualifications and registrations, but do not have them endorse a medicine.
- Age: a clear 18-plus policy and a line about ID checks.
The rest of a good clinic site, from treatment pages to booking on a phone, is in our guide to aesthetic clinic website design.
Where to check the rules yourself
Guidance changes, and this post is a summary. Go to the source before you publish anything you are unsure of:
- The ASA’s advice on botulinum toxin products: asa.org.uk
- The ASA’s advice on clinic websites and prescription-only medicines: asa.org.uk
- CAP’s short guide to the rules for advertising Botox: asa.org.uk
- The MHRA on advertising medicines: gov.uk
- The licensing consultation and the government’s response: gov.uk
Where Onlineify fits
Onlineify builds websites with published prices, designed for the business rather than bought as a template. Every build includes a first draft of the copy written for you and Sanity, an editor where you change any page yourself, so a treatment page can be reworded the day the guidance moves rather than the week a developer replies. To see what a search engine makes of your current site, run our free website audit. For pricing, read what a website costs.