Every year, Americans shell out over $11 billion for various cosmetic procedures such as collagen injections and Botox treatments. Increasingly, these procedures are being performed outside of traditional medical facilities and doctor’s offices. Instead, people are getting them done in salons and spas — and treatment parties.

Doctors usually frown on these practices, viewing them as unsafe and dangerous. It is even possible that the person doing the procedure is a fake doctor. Two women in Clovis, Calif. found out the hard way that doing this is fraught with risks and could even lead to permanent damage.

In preparation for getting remarried, the women thought they should look their best (as any bride does). They got tempted by offers of $100 collagen injections at a salon where they were regular customers. The women knew the salon owner well, and when the owner presented the doctor as a visiting physician from San Diego they decided to take the offer.

One of them had a lip plumping, the other a forehead crease filler. At $100 apiece, it looked like they had a real bargain. Things went awry after only a few days.

Instead of removing the creases, the filler injected into the forehead caused a swelling that went from the mid-cheek and upwards past the eyes. On her wedding day, the woman’s forehead was still swollen. Instead of a stately march down the aisle, she rushed through so people wouldn’t see her forehead. To this day, there is a bulge between her eyebrows.

For the other woman, bright red welts began forming around the mouth. Her lips are permanently disfigured, no longer symmetrical, and the swelling around them feels as hard as a rock.

The women felt excruciating pain soon after they underwent the procedures. They don’t know what was injected into them but a dermatologist suspects it was industrial-grade silicone, which means it will remain in their bodies permanently. It has already migrated under the skin and a biopsy has shown infiltration of surrounding tissues by a white substance.

Aside from fake collagen, the doctor who performed the procedure was also bogus. There were 16 other women in the Clovis who were also victimized by the same person. He faces 29 felony charges including fraudulently posing as a medical doctor and also practicing medicine without a license.

Bogus cosmetic procedures like these are happening all over the country. They are absolutely dangerous. A woman in Florida died because of fake cosmetic injections. Other women have died because of botched cosmetic procedures.

Safety Tips:

• Avoid having cosmetic procedures done in a salon or spa, or treatment parties. Cosmetic procedures are medical procedures, not spa treatments. They should be performed in a medical environment.

• A licensed doctor should perform or supervise the procedure.

• Check the licenses of the doctor and the facility.

• Check the legitimate price of the procedure. If an offer is $100 for a procedure that typically goes for $500 or higher, there is reason to suspect something.

• Check the packaging. Genuine collagen or fillers are in prepackaged tubes bearing a sticker that’s supposed to be removed and placed in your medical chart.

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