A New Mexico salon that was shut down in 2018 after it was linked to two cases of HIV has been connected to a further three cases, according to state officials.
VIP Beauty Salon and Spa in Albuquerque offered ‘vampire facials’ and was closed after an investigation revealed unwrapped needles scattered in the salon and unlabeled syringes.
In June 2022, its owner Maria Ramos de Ruiz, 62, pleaded guilty to five felony counts of practicing medicine without a license and got three-and-a-half years in prison.
On Wednesday, five years on from its closure, the New Mexico Department of Health said it identified a new HIV case earlier this year, and after that a further two cases.
The owner of VIP Spa, Maria Ramos de Ruiz, 62, pleaded guilty in June 2022 to five felony counts of practicing medicine without a license and is serving a three-and-a-half-year sentence
VIP Beauty Salon and Spa in Albuquerque (pictured in April 2017) offered ‘vampire facials’ and was closed in 2018 after two cases of HIV were linked to it. This year, a further three cases among prior clients were identified
In response, it is now asking any members of the public to have visited the spa get tested, expanding the original testing it did in 2018, and hosting free walk-in tests for former clients of the salon.
‘The state’s Infectious Disease Bureau received a 2023 report regarding a newly diagnosed case of HIV whose only self-reported HIV risk exposure was a vampire facial received at VIP Spa,’ read a statement from the department.
It is now recommending that anyone who received an ‘injection-related service including a vampire facial or Botox injections at the VIP Spa’ get HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C testing.
The vampire facial procedure was made popular by the likes of Kim Kardashian and involves the extraction of blood from elsewhere on the body and its injection into the face.
Blood is usually taken from the arm and separated into a platelet-rich plasma, which is then applied to facial skin which has been pricked with microneedles. It is meant to rejuvenate skin and remedy issues like wrinkles, sun damage or acne scars.
‘It’s very important that we spread the word and remind people who received any kind of injection-related to services provided at the VIP Spa to come in for free and confidential testing,’ said Dr. Laura Parajon, deputy secretary for the state Department of Health.
The spa, at 809 Tijeras Avenue, closed in September 2018 after an inspection by the New Mexico Department of Health that month.
The New Mexico Department of Health, the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department and deputy director of Boards and Commissions discovered unwrapped needles scattered about and unlabeled blood tubes.
Maria Ramos de Ruiz (pictured in 2021) was indicted on more than 20 felony counts after two clients claimed they contracted HIV from a ‘vampire facial’ at her salon
Kim Kardashian popularized the ‘vampire facial’ when she posted a selfie of her face covered in blood in 2013
Inspectors also found fake certificates for Botox and ‘vampire facial’ training hanging on the wall and a fake diploma from the University of Phoenix, The Albuquerque Journal reported.
Ramos de Ruiz’s cosmetologist license had expired in 2013.
Inspectors uncovered numerous health code violations, including unwrapped needles, blood being dumped into the kitchen sink and unlabeled syringes beside food in the refrigerator, The Albuquerque Journal reported.
Ramos de Ruiz told inspectors that she did breast and buttocks sculpting, cellulite treatments and ‘vampire facials’
She was ordered by the New Mexico Medical Board to stop her unlicensed practice of medicine in the state in December of 2018.
In February 2019, a second client was found to have contracted HIV from the ‘vampire facial’.
The client allegedly got four of the facial treatments, including one at Ramos de Ruiz’s home. Both clients – who have not been identified – were said to have contracted the same strain of the HIV virus.
A spokesperson for the New Mexico Department of Health confirmed to NBC News that as of July 5, 2023, there were a total of five HIV infections linked to the clinic.
Ramos de Ruiz is currently serving her sentence at Springer Correctional Center, according to inmate records.
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