Woman reveals how a trip to the beautician ‘broke her whole life’
A woman has shared photos of the drastic changes to her face after she underwent a cosmetic procedure prompted by her boyfriend’s comments.
A woman has told how she “lost her face” in the hours and days after undergoing a beauty treatment.
Svetlana, 37, from Russia claims the procedure had the opposite intended effect which had destroyed her looks and “irreversibly aged her 10 years”.
“My skin sagged like a rag, the face completely departed from the skull,” Svetlana said.
“The connection of the skin to the skull, the so-called ligaments of the face, disappeared.”
A criminal case has now been launched into her case in Russia, but Svetlana says her love life and career has been ruined and she has spoken out to warn other women.
“It’s very scary,” she said.
“As if you were killed, you decompose – and see it every day in the mirror.
“It’s like your face is melting and you can’t stop it.
“Doctors don’t know how to treat it.”
The 37-year-old said if she had the slightest hint that this could happen, she would never have gone to a beautician at all.
Her problems started when she was advised by her cosmetologist to remove old lifting gel implants with injections of Longidaza.
It is a Russian drug with multiple uses that had been approved this year for use in many Western countries, according to Russian channel NTV.
She said she sought treatment because her then boyfriend allegedly kept “joking” that she was “old” and that he would find himself a younger model.
However, Svetlana, who is an architect, said once she undertook the surgery, he dumped her when it went horribly wrong.
She has since been advised that the drug “destroyed the collagen” on her face, causing her “skin became saggy”.
She had gone to a see surgeon in March 2020 who she claims assured her that the Longidaza would break down excess gel under the skin beneath her eyes.
She also had other treatments including having gel injected into her cheeks and into her nasolabial fold.
She received enzyme and hyaluronic filler in one procedure, she said.
“In the evening I went to the mirror and saw that my face had began to change,” Svetlana explained.
“The skin under my eyes dried up and literally fell through.
“In the morning, the volume of dried tissue under the eyes increased even more.
“Rapid changes were taking place, every hour my face was altering.
“Within three days, not only the under-eye, but also the upper eyelid, was completely dry.
“My eyebrows dropped down, the outer corners of the eyes dropped.
“I couldn’t understand what was going on.”
She has been told subsequently that the Longidaza, an allergenic anti-scar drug, was “eating away at my tissues”.
Svetlana said: “I didn’t realise at the time that it was irreversible.”
Her beautician Dr Irina Freimanis then injected more gel but also used more of the new drug, this time giving her treatment for free.
The new fillers caused her pain but did not solve the worsening problem.
“‘After all these injections, I saw another person in the mirror every day,” Svetlana said.
“It was clear that some kind of chemical process was taking place and the face was changing. This was really scary.”
Surgeons and ophthalmologists warned her that due to damage to her eye area her vision would be damaged.
“I stopped communicating with people, I shut myself away,” she said.
“Everyone asked what happened to me, why I didn’t look like myself, what was wrong with my eyes.
“I continued to swell a lot, and stopped leaving the house so as not to scare anyone.”
Covid face masks saved her from embarrassment but she also wore large dark glasses and a cap, completely covering her face.
“My face shrank like during mummification,” she claimed.
She went to the Russian Investigative Committee which is now examining the case, and was medically checked as she sought a way out.
“Some doctors told me: ’Yes, this drug has corroded your face, it is irreversible…’.”
Her cosmetologist who is contesting the case — was caught on video saying: “Go and prove I injected you with Longidaza.”
Svetlana said she bitterly regrets undergoing the treatment.
“I now look at my photos and videos before this and I see that everything was good”.
“In most cases, women do not need any procedures.
“You just need to drink vitamins, eat well and lead a healthy lifestyle, but society imposes its stereotypes on us, the cult of beauty is actively imposed on us.”
She hopes by sharing her story it will “warn other girls and women …. what might happen to them”.
“I just wanted to correct the minimal age-related changes, but I could not even think that my face would be ditched in such a way that it would cost me my whole life,” she said.
“Two years ago I was successful, everything worked out for me, my career was going in an upward trajectory, everything was fine.
“And this fatal mistake – my visit to a beautician – broke my whole life.”
Longidaza has been used widely in Russia and neighbouring countries for 15 years.
It has applications in pulmonology, urology, and has been used to treat Covid-19 patients, assisting in overcoming breathing problems.
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Its makers say it has some uses in cosmetology.
The committee is investigating the case, and assessing Svetlana’s claims.
When confronted with a claim from Svetlana, the doctor said on video: “I don’t care what you brought … goodbye, go away.”
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