The woman behind a viral video which showed pus leaking from her lips has spoken out to warn other women against the dangers of cheap beauty treatments.
Jessica Bennett, 24, from Sandiacre, Nottinghamshire, hit headlines with the shocking video, which was then shared by Body Fixer’s celebrity practitioner, Dr Esho, who offered to help the distressed patient.
The mother-of-one told how disaster struck after she had a 1ml injection of filler relatively soon after her previous treatment.
Now Jessica wants to highlight the importance of ‘shopping around’ for responsible practitioners to make sure the procedure is done properly.
Jessica Bennett, 24, from Sandiacre, Nottinghamshire, caught celebrity practitioner Dr Esho’s attention with the shock video, who offered to help her before posting the video himself as a warning to other women (seen after suffering a reaction to her filler)
Jessica, a trainee accountant, said: ‘My lips just blew up. I looked like a duck. It was hot and tingly, and really hard. I was taking anti-inflammatory tablets.’
She said she was told that some swelling was normal following the treatment done recently, but then she discovered she had an infection.
‘One morning I woke up and all this yellow stuff was coming out my lip. I knew it was infected.’
Her lips were swollen for around a week, and she posted footage of her oozing lip on Facebook, where it was seen by celebrity practitioner Dr Tijion Esho, who appears on E4’s Body Fixers programme.
The mother-of-one said her own problems had occurred when she received a one millilitre injection of filler relatively soon after her previous treatment (seen just before her most recent treatment)
He stepped in to help her, and Jessica has now had the filler removed from her bottom lip, and will have it removed from her top lip next week, once she has finished a course of antibiotics.
She added: ‘He is amazing. I believe that if it wasn’t for him, it would have been a lot worse.’
Jessica said she first started having lip fillers when she was 18 or 19, and had been having three or four treatments a year ever since.
Jessica says she wouldn’t go as far as advising women not to have the treatment done, she has highlighted the importance of shopping around to make sure the procedure is done properly (seen before she started having fillers 3-4 times a year aged 18 as she ‘didn’t like her top lip’)
‘I had no top lip, and everyone was having it done,’ Jessica, who is no stranger to cosmetic enhancements, said.
Jessica previously had breast surgery at 20, having breastfed her daughter who she had when she was 18, and a ‘Brazilian Bum Lift’ (or BBL) which involved transferring fat from her stomach, back, side and arms to her buttocks and hips.
Her treatments have taken place at different places in this country and overseas.
Speaking about her treatments, she said: ‘I don’t regret having any of the work done. And I wouldn’t say no to more fillers. But girls just want it done there and then, and as cheaply as they can.
Jessica previously had breast surgery at 20, having breastfed her daughter who she had when she was 18, and a ‘Brazilian Bum Lift’ (or BBL) which involved transferring fat from her stomach, back, side and arms to her buttocks and hips
‘I’m not saying ‘don’t do it’, I’m just saying, ‘be careful who you go to.’
‘It could be anybody doing it who just has some good photos on Instagram.’
Revealing that there are 160 different types of fillers on the market in the UK, The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons said its advice is to check any potential practitioners on the General Medical Council website to see what their specialism is.
A spokesperson said: ‘Non-surgical procedures like this are not regulated, so people need to be careful about who is injecting something into their face. Even if it is non-surgical, the possible repercussions can include nerve damage, bruising and infection.’
Dr Tijion Esho, a surgeon on Channel 4’s Body Fixers, shared the clip of Jessica squeezing the thick yellow liquid from her top lip after it became infected following a cut-price procedure
‘It’s not about who injects it, but about who can deal with the consequences. People can call themselves cosmetic surgeons and unlike plastic surgeons it doesn’t really mean anything.
Speaking to FEMAIL on Wednesday, Dr Esho revealed he is inundated with patients who need help after having fillers administered by unqualified or unregistered practitioners in a bid to save money.
He warned such procedures can lead to infections, tissue dying and even disfigurement.
Describing the dangers of ‘cheap filler’, Dr Esho told Femail: ‘Risks include bleeding, bruising, infection, and allergy.
‘In some rare but most concerning cases, this can lead to tissue necrosis where the blood vessel is blocked by preventing blood to that area of tissue which can then die, leading to disfigurement.’
The celebrity doctor, pictured, revealed he is inundated with patients who come to him after having fillers by unqualified or even unregistered practitioners in a bid to save money
Dr Esho explained infection is a risk of any procedure but that this is increased when the product or filler used is unregulated or incorrectly administered.
He said: ‘Elements that put you at high risk are the use of unregulated products, an unsanitary clinic, poor aftercare and sharing syringes.’
The cosmetic doctor urged anyone interested in having the procedure to ensure the practitioner is registered, correctly insured, and operating from a clean environment.
‘This is so important as medical professionals undergo several years of medical training,’ he continued.
‘The training is not just to perform the treatments but also to recognise medical problems and independently treat medical adverse events like tissue necrosis or allergy. This is paramount for your safety’.
Lip enhancements have become increasingly popular with the likes of Kylie Jenner, who recently had her own fillers reduced, sparking a huge increase in demand for the treatment.