Project Title: #CleftLipTransformation: Examining the Use of Dermal Fillers for Cleft Lip within the Beauty Industry.

For many adults living with a cleft lip, concerns about appearance don't disappear after childhood treatment ends. Scarring, asymmetry, and lip volume are issues that can persist into adulthood - and for a long time, the options available on the NHS to address them have been limited and inconsistently offered across the country. It's estimated that around 90,000 people in the UK were born with a cleft lip and/or palate, and adults now make up the largest group of people with cleft. Many don't even know they're still entitled to NHS cleft care.

Into that gap has stepped the commercial aesthetics industry. Dermal fillers - injectable treatments that can alter lip shape and reduce the appearance of scarring - are increasingly being sought out and advertised to people with cleft. And therein lies the problem.

Unlike medical treatments, dermal fillers in the UK are largely unregulated. Anyone, regardless of training or qualification, can legally offer them. There are no mandatory standards for safety, no requirements for proper patient assessment, and the industry has been widely described as the "Wild West." There are also issues around how these procedures are marketed. Providers in the aesthetic procedures sector have been shown to make bold claims about the benefits - often with little evidence to back them up.

For someone with a cleft seeking treatment they haven't been able to get elsewhere, this is a concerning landscape to navigate.

That's why a new research project led by Dr Nicola Stock, Associate Professor of Psychology, and Dr Kirsty Garbett, Senior Research Fellow - both based at the Centre of Appearance Research at the University of the West of England in Bristol - is taking a closer look. The research will map out who is currently offering these treatments and what qualifications and experience they have. It will then analyse a sample of Instagram posts targeting people with cleft, examining the language and strategies used to attract prospective patients. Finally, it will assess how well - or how poorly - this advertising lines up with the UK's own advertising standards guidance.

The researchers would also like to acknowledge the support of collaborators Mr Khurram Khan and Mr Neil Brierley.

The findings will be used to inform policy and to help protect people in the cleft community from misleading or harmful marketing.

CLEFT is proud to support this work. Adults with cleft deserve access to safe, evidence-based care - and when that care isn't available on the NHS, they deserve to be able to make informed decisions without being misled. This research is an important step towards making that a reality.