A woman said her cheap lip fillers exploded and oozed pus after they got infected.
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Alex Oakley said her lips swelled up so much, her pout turned into a giant ‘slug’, making her feel like a ‘stroke victim’.
Have Some Pineapple for the Pain
The 27-year-old-woman paid £150 for 1ml of filler by a practitioner who was recommended by friends. She thought it was a steal because the cost was 50 quid less than what she had initially budgeted for.
Oakley has since regretted the decision after having to pay £2,000 for it to be corrected. The call centre worker was in so much pain and could barely talk, making it impossible for her to do her job.
When I went to work I knew something was wrong because I was talking and I could just feel my lips weren't moving. I started panicking because I could tell people were looking at it but weren't saying anything.
She added that as her lips begin to swell, she panicked and immediately messaged the practitioner.
My lip was triple the size it normally is. It was only one side and I kept messaging the girl [practitioner] I feel like I've had a stroke as I couldn't move the right side of my mouth. It was the worst pain, it was horrible.
Never Again
The practitioner who put the filler in her lips advised her to give it two weeks to for it to set and to ice them regularly. She was also told to sleep propped up and eat pineapple.
But after a couple of days without any visible improvement, she decided to go to A&E, where she was put on a week-long course of antibiotics. Oakley was so horrified, she decided to seek a second opinion from a private doctor that cost her £2,000.
The woman from Kent, who has had her lips filled twice in the past, has vowed never to do it again and is now sharing her ordeal with others to warn them of the potential dangers in getting cheap cosmetic treatments. She said:
I personally think you pay for quality. It's really tricky, it's appealing when it's cheap and they've got thousands of followers. The girl I originally went to only had a couple of hundreds but she was a nurse during the day.