Costhetics loves the idea of self-reliance, but not when it comes to injecting prescription beauty preparations into your face.
During the pandemic, there’s been an alarming uptick of people purchasing dermal fillers and muscle-relaxers online and acting as their own injectors.
NO!
Despite the fact that a prescription is needed for legitimate fillers and wrinkle relaxers here in Australia, it’s distressingly easy for people to order on the Internet across international lines. The problem is they may not know what they’re paying for…and the problem isn’t all that new.
As far back as 2017, an editorial in the British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery reported on a “noticeable increase of patients presenting with adverse reactions to dermal fillers self-administered.” In one instance, a woman who believed she had purchased hyaluronic acid injected herself with a foreign material that “caused large lesions to develop on the woman’s lips” say researchers.
Other consequences of injecting fillers incorrectly can be devastating and may include:
- Blindness
- Tissue necrosis
- Tissue death
- Deformities
- Seizures
Where Did You Get Your Degree?
The importance of being trained and experience in the use of fillers and muscle-relaxing injections cannot be overstated. Professionals spend hours learning the art and science of their craft. They understand anatomy and are familiar with the effects of different types of fillers.
Most people who attempt to self-inject get their education from YouTube videos and generic facial maps that indicate where fillers should be injected. A New York dermatologist reports, “I have had several patients buy Groupon or other discount filler treatments from non-licensed providers who then come in with disfiguring complications, ranging from nodules to vascular occlusion [in which] filler is injected into a blood vessel and causes death of the surrounding skin,” she told technology site OneZero.
When It Comes to Injectables, Skip the Party
“These days, there seem to be too many unqualified people sticking needles in other people’s faces,” reports the Huffington Post. The article cites ‘injectable parties’ where non-licensed people offer filler and wrinkle-relaxers “while patients sip cocktails.”
Cosmetic injections are a medical treatment, and liquor should never be part of the equation for the practitioner or the patient. Because of the effect of alcohol on circulation, a patient who is drinking is more susceptible to:
- Bruising
- Bleeding
- Disrupted blood clotting
What about a House Call from a Professional Injector?
For your own safety, it’s wiser to undergo treatments in safe, sterile, licensed practice rooms. There, a board-certified physician who specialises in medical aesthetic treatments can administer your injections and/or oversee the work done by nurse injectors to ensure that every safety and health protocol is being observed.
Complications can arise during the administration of cosmetic injectables, though they are rare. Should something go wrong, for example an allergic reaction, you will be in the care of an expert doctor and staff with the knowledge, experience, and equipment to take care of you.
The pandemic isn’t going to last forever, but the disfigurement caused by poorly administered cosmetic injectables can. Costhetics recommends you sit tight and wait it out. When the time is right, you can dive back in with both feet.