Today’s beauty standards for women are absolutely brutal. We are expected to have perfect hair, skin, nails, and bodies, and above all else, we are not allowed to age. Wrinkles? No. Looser skin? Absolutely not. Gray hair? Don’t even think about it! This is why there are so many cosmetic procedures marketed towards women all day, every day. Unfortunately, they are not always safe. This woman in the UK learned that the hard way after a beauty treatment left her with devastating scars.
Beauty Treatment Leaves Women With Permanent Scars
59-year-old Jayne Bowman paid £500 GBP (approx. $685 USD) to have what is called a fibroblast procedure to tighten the skin on her neck. Not only did the beauty treatment not accomplish what the practitioner told her it would, it left her with hundreds of red blotches and scars. Though the scars and marks have seen some improvement, she says she is now afraid to leave her home without covering her neck entirely, she says she prefers to just stay inside.
“I don’t go out without a scarf on. In fact I don’t like going out at all, I’d rather go out in the rain where I’ve got a hood up and nobody can see me,” she explains. “I’m not slating all beauticians because they’re not all the same, but there are many of them out there that are bad. Stick to professional people.”
Bowman certainly regrets who she chose to go to for this beauty treatment. She is sharing her story because she wants other women to realize how careful they need to be when selecting practitioners. Some are qualified and have the right education and knowledge, however, there are many who don’t. If you see a price or deal that seems too good to be true, it likely is.
Read: College Dropout Invented a Surgery To Cure Himself After Being Bedridden For 11 Years
What Is Plasma Fibroblast Therapy?
According to Healthline, Plasma fibroblast therapy is a beauty treatment that targets fibroblasts. These are collagen – the cells in the skin responsible for wound healing, tightening, and elasticity. This therapy uses a device that discharges a high-frequency electric current to small areas of the skin. It creates tiny holes in the skin that are supposed to heal without issues if done correctly. The treatment is supposed to:
- breaks down proteins in the skin
- encourages tissue regeneration
- stimulates fibroblast activity
- causes tissue contraction (tightening)
Fibroblast therapy is for treating acne scars, age spots, and wrinkles. In a controlled environment with a qualified practitioner, this beauty treatment can be quite beneficial. Recovery time for the tiny scabs it causes is usually about one week. Done improperly, however, and it can cause scarring.
Be Careful Who You Go To
With all beauty treatments, it is important to be highly selective with who you go to. You should be leery of highly cheap deals and ads on social media. Research accredited clinics and their practitioners. Make sure that your practitioner is insured.
When you are at your first appointment, ensure they ask you about your medical history, inform you of possible complications, and provide a consent form. Ask questions and make sure you know all what products are being used.
“I’ve seen people who have gone blind, I’ve seen people who are permanently disfigured. There was one young lady who I spoke to where the actual end of her nose had dropped off,” says Welsh Labour MP Carolyn Harris, the Co Chair of APPG on Beauty, Aesthetics and Wellbeing. “We need to make sure that when somebody is having a procedure, there is a medically trained person in the building.”
A Call For Beauty Treatment Regulation
Beauticians and other qualified practitioners are calling on their governments for tighter regulations of their field. First and foremost, they are concerned for the safety of the patients. Secondly, they fear that unqualified and uneducated “practitioners” are giving the entire industry and all practitioners a bad reputation.
“To poke a needle into somebody’s face you need specific, underpinning knowledge, qualifications, regulations and to be accountable. The marketplace is full of unregulated, unqualified, unaccountable, non-medical professionals,” says dentist and qualified cosmetic doctor Jeremy Isaac. “There should be a mandatory qualification that everyone who practices cosmetic medicine should have to differentiate themselves from the lay person.”
They are all calling on the government to put more safeguards in place. In the meantime, practitioners are reminding us that we need to be vigilant. We need to put the time in and do our research. Finally, we need to ask questions and not be naive.
“They want to look like the Kardashians and their favourite reality TV stars and they are quite willing to take the risk. When they see a lip-filler for £99 they think it’s a bargain.” says Ashton Collins, chief executive of industry watch dogSave Face.
Just like you wouldn’t book a doctor for a medical procedure off of Instagram, you probably shouldn’t book a cosmetic one, either.
Keep Reading: An Olympian Sold Her Silver Medal To Fund A Boy’s Surgery. The Buyer Let Her Keep It
Sources:
- “Woman left with dozens of scars after botched beauty treatment now struggles to leave her home” itv News.
- “What Is Plasma Fibroblast Therapy?” Healthline.