Body piercings at home lead to disfigurement, experts say.

There is no minimum age for professional ear piercing in the UK, but studios generally enforce their own minimum age rules.

Intimate piercings such as nipple, genital or tongue piercings are illegal in Wales. Anyone under the age of 18.

There is no age of consent for body piercing in England and Scotland, but many studios usually enforce an 18 and over policy.

Items for sale online can be bought for as little as £1.50 on various online sites.

When contacted for a response, some retailers selling the kits online mention that there are no restrictions on selling these products in the UK.

An Amazon spokesperson said they want all products to “comply with applicable laws, regulations and Amazon policies” and “not sell products to children.”

Action may be taken if these rules are not followed, he added.

eBay, which sells the kits, said they were “widespread” and “unrestricted” on the platform because there were no restrictions in the UK “restricting the sale of home injectables”.

Maddie played a big role in her decision to buy the Tick Tock Algorithm kit and get herself pierced.

“I saw people promoting the kits and I wanted to make it,” she says.

She says social media companies need to do more to warn users after seeing the craze lead to complications.

“Maybe they should put a warning on some of the videos that involve the use of guns, so people are aware of the danger,” Maddy said.

TikTok has been reached for comment.

Professional piercer Rhian Mansfield, 42, is part of UKAPP, an organization that worked with the Welsh Government to implement the UK’s first mandatory national licensing system for body piercing.

The risk of piercing in unsanitary areas can lead to infection and contamination, she said.

“The jewelry (used to pierce the instruments) is not very sharp and is causing significant damage to the tissue cartilage,” she said.

“We as UKAPP want to see these guns, contrarian, banned completely.”

The Welsh Government said: “The safety of these products cannot be guaranteed, particularly if purchased online.

“We always advise people not to use DIY kits for piercing, but to go to a professional piercer who is fully licensed and operates from an approved premises.”