Private Facebook group showing people how to inject fillers taken down

A private Facebook group showing people how to inject themselves with fillers and botox has been removed after a woman followed instructions which could have resulted in her lip being lost.

The group, called Natural Kaos Tribe, featured videos of people injecting themselves and links to other sites where you can buy Botox, filler and needles.

A woman, who wishes to go by the name of Sarah, managed to block an artery in her lip with fillers after joining the DIY group, requiring emergency treatment.

“I’d had a little bit done professionally before, it just made me feel a bit better,” she told BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours programme.

“And then we locked down and I realised it was going to be months and months and months.”

The page carried a warning to members stating there “can be serious consequences, do your own research, proceed at your own risk”.

She bought a filler, along with a numbing cream, from a Korean company online.

“Initially the lips looked swollen,” she continued.

“I think I sent the first message for help about half an hour or so later.

“The middle of my lip was turning darker and darker, to the point it was black, and the sides of my lips too.”

Sarah sought the help of Susan Young, a cosmetic nurse who runs the Northern Institute for Facial Aesthetics in South Shields, who was able to treat the issue.

“Both of her lips had their main arteries injected by filler, which was blocking them,” Ms Young explained.

“So no blood supply to the lip.

“Her top lip was getting paler and paler as we watched. We had to get rid of it.”

Following the BBC investigation, Facebook took down the group, saying it does not allow content which promotes the sale or trade of pharmaceutical drugs.

“We’re sorry to hear about this person’s experience,” a spokesman said.

Commenting on the incident, Nigel Mercer from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons said: “It’s very worrying that people should go and buy stuff on the internet, stand in front of a mirror, and stick a needle in themselves.

“That’s difficult enough to do to someone else. You need to know the depth, mop up any blood that comes out. It just beggars belief.”

Natural Kaos responded saying it does not actively encourage its followers to engage in DIY procedures.

“Individuals are going to do so regardless,” it said.

“Natural Kaos believes the public should have access to the experiences of others, who have tried those procedures and shares the information whether the outcome is good or bad, and doesn’t trivialise the latter.

“Our content is and always has been compliant with each social media platform’s terms of service.”