'At The End Of The Day, It's Your Face'

Chelsey Butler had lip fillers done at a ladies' night by an unregulated therapist. Sign our petition to stop this happening to other women

22-year-old Chelsey Butler was at a ladies' night in an Essex club when the presence of a pop-up cosmetic surgery clinic tempted her to have lip fillers.

Although she told the beauty therapist she only wanted half a vial, he quickly injected her with a second substance before asking her permission.

She had paid £150 for the lip fillers, but received no advice about aftercare. 'He seemed more worried about the long queue' she told Marie Claire, saying she was waved on quickly.

Her lips swelled up immediately, and the next morning she woke up to bruising on her mouth. After a few days, the swelling and bruising got worse. 'My lips felt like they didn't belong to me, and I had pea-sized lumps inside'. Then one of the lumps burst, leaving chemical filler dripping down her face.

She contacted the therapist, who told her to come to his home so she could have a look. Despite the hour drive, she went there and lay on his sofa so he could burst the lumps. 'When he popped the first lump, blood shot out of my lip. I was really panicking', she recalls.

Butler says the procedure has left her with long-lasting effects, and she regrets having it done. She says: 'This sort of thing is for a doctor's clinic, not a ladies' night.

'At the end of the day, it's your face you're talking about. My lips still feel horrible.'

Butler told her story to Marie Claire in the hope it would help other women who had had a similar experience or those who were considering similar surgery. At the moment, believe it or not, there are no specific training requirements for people who practice cosmetic surgery.

This effectively means anybody can buy equipment and call themselves a cosmetic practitioner.

Marie Claire editor Trish Halpin says: ‘At Marie Claire not only do we want the government to take action now, but we also want women to be fully informed so that they are empowered to make the right decisions for them. ‘If you have a procedure and something goes wrong, we want you to know where to turn to for help and not be made to feel like a silly, vain woman.’

The #TakeAGoodLook Campaign Demands:

• a register for practitioners and procedures • standardised information for patients • a ban on special offers and procedures as prizes • a code of practice for advertising • training courses for non-surgical procedures • fillers to be made prescription-only • a national breast implant registry • an impartial organisation to turn to when things go wrong

So please, sign our petition if you think women should be empowered, informed and safe about cosmetic procedures.

You can read our full investigation into plastic surgery in the latest issue of Marie Claire – out now.

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