Do it yourself Botox, Restylane, & Juvederm Disasters.
So while there are still a number of people posting on how much the love Laurie D'Alleva and her videos touting the benefits of do it yourself Botox, there are a growing number of people who still have a non-paralyzed thought or two that are coming forward to talk about the problems you might have pumping fillers into your face. Perhaps the do it yourself Botox crew are also attracted to Trepanation.
Here's a story from ABC News: Watch the video on "20/20"here.
Some consumers are ordering prescription-only cosmetic products online and injecting themselves at home. One woman who self-injected her face with filler said it caused bags and lumps under her eyes, and a hard, infected pustule on her cheek.
For millions of Americans, the solution to crow's feet, thin lips, and frown lines is at the end of a syringe, or in a bottle. A quick trip to a medical spa, dermatologist or plastic surgeon for a Botox injection, lip augmentation or chemical peel offers the promise of a youthful look.
But these cosmetic procedures -- and the medical expertise that comes with them -- don't come cheap. For a single treatment of Botox, doctors charge about $380; for lip-plumping injections, over $500; and for a chemical peel, a whopping $700.
These high prices are enough for some consumers to take their business away from medical professionals, and go instead to the Web. They are "doing it themselves," ordering prescription-only products online, and injecting themselves at home.
Laurie D'Alleva, of Mansfield, Texas, is a big fan of "DIY" beauty injections and treatments. She is the face of a DiscountMedSpa.com, a website stocked with what she claims are pharmaceutical-grade cosmetics, similar to Botox, Restylane, and Retin-A.
Self-injecting botulinum toxin might sound dangerous, but D'Alleva, 39, tries to put her customers at ease with informational videos, complete with tips and pointers on how, and where, to inject. "It doesn't hurt... It's easy," D'Alleva claims in one video, as she stands in front of a mirror and injects her face repeatedly.
Disaster isn't what "Alex," a paramedic, had in mind when she visited DiscountMedSpa.com a few months ago. In her 40s and dating, she just wanted to improve her look, and save some money. She asked ABC News not to disclose her identity.
After viewing "every one" of the instructional self-injection videos on D'Alleva's site, Alex was convinced she could do it herself, since using needles was part of her job.
"Why should I pay somebody else that got a few hours of training to do something I think I can do pretty easily?" she said she thought at the time.
Alex paid $450 for a DiscountMedSpa.com products including an injectable facial filler. She says she injected the products under her eyes and alongside her mouth.
But "the next morning, I woke up horrified by what I saw," she said. "Literally, my heart started pounding, and I thought, 'What have I done, what am I going to do?'"
Jeff, Medical Spa MD | Filed in
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Reader Comments (7)
This is so much like it
They end up hurting themselves and THEN they run to the doctor' s office to get it fixed...
Unfortunately, sometimes there just isn't "a fix"
Hi Jeff,
Regarding the pic of the extremely disfigured woman shown on this page;
The pic shown on your site does not physically match the woman in the ABC news vid (Alexis) regarding self-injection.
Please reveal your source for the pic on this page.
OK,
Here's a chance for all of us to learn something.
I MHO, the pic of the severely disfigured woman on Jeff's MEDICALSPAMD.COM is not the same person featured on the ABC News article
Jeff... Please provide us with the source of the pic in your Blog.
It's from ABC News.
You have probably heard of them.
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/cosmetic-procedures-womens-disaster-stories/story?id=9240571&page=1
Is anyone really gullible enough to think that web sites are doctoring photos for a 300 word post about an 20/20 news report? Sheesh.
Agreed. Anyone with an aesthetic eye and knowledge of facial anatomy would instantly see that's the same lady.
Jeff, I’d send you 2 emails I’ve received from Allergan, and one prelim reply from the FDA but I don’t know how to get in touch. Try not to promote (ie publically endorse) the Foreign Internet Pharmacy -posting as Dr Cross or whomever- as a supplier to US docs. It’s illegal for US doctors to import drugs sold on the net for self or pt use. From my Inbox it appears even CA is cracking down on this. I travel a lot but I promise to post each email reply I get. I travel a lot but will post them next wk, mo or next yr.
Email me at bjw2577@hotmail.com if anyone knows how to get good cheap botox from safe sources. I have no fear, dear! I'm done with doctor's. Unless the prices go down to a moral level, we'll keep looking for other sources. I can do what I want with my life. Doctor's are there to fix only if It doesn't work. Many years on medical school brainwashed them to make money, not to save lives and help people. We'll keep fighting these scambags, no matter what.