People performing DIY facelifts are dicing with disaster—even death, a medical expert has warned.
According to Cosmetic Physicians Society of Australasia (CPSA) president Gabrielle Caswell, people are buying cheaper injectable substances online and treating themselves, with hideous results.
"Injecting something that's obviously not sterile and you have no idea what's in it ... the money that you tried to save ends up costing an awful lot when you have to visit a round of doctors to try to fix it," Caswell said.
One woman last year suffered grotesquely ballooned lips after a friend jabbed her with a dodgy dermal filler bought online, she said.
The CPSA said spending on non-invasive procedures had increased 15 percent in 12 months to about $663 million annually in Australia.
Skin-plumping and volumizing treatments, including muscle relaxants such as Botox and Dysport, were most popular.
Australian Medical Association president Steve Hambleton said the rise in healthy patients receiving Botox was disturbing.
"People need to realize you can have rare adverse affects like heart attacks and sometimes even fatal outcomes," he said.
"Some people are allergic to it [Botox] and anaphylaxis has been reported. Even in good hands things [can] go wrong."
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