Rachael Knappier has become the new face for how informally administered facial injections could go horribly wrong. The 29-year-old from the UK was attending a 'Botox Party' -- which are reportedly quite common in the country -- when she allowed a friend to inject her lips with fillers.
Botox parties are held in non-medical settings, usually at someone's house, and unregulated botox injections are administered to people, along with alcohol and drugs. While Botox injections are supposed to leave only a tiny prick of blood, alcohol thins the blood and hence, people at these parties often end up with bruised faces.
Rachael, who had initially agreed only to a filler injection on her forehead, complied to her friend's suggestion of a lip filler to fix a lump she had got from a childhood accident.
In a few hours, the woman's lips became enormously swollen. She said that she immediately contacted her friend -- also a beautician -- who had administered the injection, who advised her to use an ice pack.
According to reports, Rachael was left traumatised by the incident and said she "would not wish it on her worst enemy."
She finally got the lip fillers dissolved at the Consultant Clinic in London and 72 hours later, her lips were back to normal.
Social media petition
Rachael took to social media to highlight the dangers of getting unregulated lip injections and raise awareness.
She started a petition calling for aesthetic medical treatments to be undertaken only by doctors, nurses and dentists. Rachael is now petitioning for dermal injections to be a prescription-only medication.
Dr Marc Pacifico, a consultant plastic surgeon with the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), said dermal fillers are a "complete wild west in the UK".
"There have even been cases of blindness. It was really about time stronger regulation was brought in," he added.