The path to beauty has never been more unsettling, as recent revelations about New York City’s medspas reveal a shocking underbelly to these trendy venues. While they promise transformative treatments like Botox and Brazilian butt lifts, many operate without the essential safeguards of medical licenses, sanitary practices, or even qualified medical professionals.

A thorough investigation by city and state authorities examined 15 medspas across New York’s boroughs from June to September last year, unearthing disturbing violations in every single one. The findings paint a picture of an industry where glamour masks a troubling absence of regulation and hygiene.

Manhattan Councilwoman Gale Brewer shed light on the probe’s alarming results during a press conference held at Sutton Wellness NYC in Midtown, one of the implicated locations. “We’re talking about expired prescription drugs and individuals posing as doctors to administer Botox,” she stated, emphasizing the risk to public health. “No, thank you,” she added, underscoring her disapproval.

Brewer described a grim scenario where unsanitary conditions, including improperly handled needles and general filth, were prevalent. In some cases, employees lived in the basement of these establishments, further highlighting the dire conditions. Her revelations serve as a stark warning about the hidden dangers lurking behind the pursuit of beauty in these unauthorized medspas.

“You have sanitary conditions all over the place in terms of needles and filth. There was one situation where people who worked there lived in the basement. It goes on,” she said.

The medical spa industry has boomed in recent years, with more than 10,000 across the nation, according to a 2024 industry study.

But the craze comes with potential dangers, as swanky Upper East Side moms who’ve flocked to shady clinics for off-brand Ozempic and Botox-seeking clients of a Hell’s Kitchen aesthetician have allegedly learned.

An investigator involved in the probe estimated there are hundreds of medspas in New York City, meaning the 15 inspected are only a fraction of those clinics.

The probe by the City Council’s Oversight and Investigations Division — conducted alongside state agencies — dovetailed with other reports that found medspas often skirt safety requirements as they peddle cheap fillers, IV therapies and other trendy beauty treatments.

“At every location inspected, investigators found the business to be offering medical procedures without the required licensure,” the City Council report titled “Moving the Needle” states.

Inspectors also found:

• The unlicensed medical treatments included Botox, fillers and other injectables.
• 86% of medspas missed required safety records.
• 73% operated without any medical professional present to oversee medical procedures.
• 63% had chemical or fire safety violations, such as improper storage of hazardous materials.
• 60% lacked proof of liability insurance altogether.
• 53% had sanitation and hygiene failures.

Most medspas inspected were unnamed in the report, but investigators revealed Sutton Wellness had been dinged for having a nurse illegally administering beauty injections, IV drips and other procedures in the back room without oversight of a doctor, as required by state law.

Brewer called for “massive” and “constant” inspections of the medspas, and for authorities to “close them down if they don’t follow the rules.”

“Because it’s people’s lives,” she said, “they could be burned. I don’t know what happens if you get illegal Botox, God help you.”

Jimmy Tam, 65, a beautician who works at Sutton Wellness, said the medspa now has a doctor who oversees injections, but railed against the inspections as “not fair.”

“It’s poison. It’s putting poison in your face,” he said of Botox, before telling a Post photographer that he should get the injection.