A TEEN boy’s face suddenly began burning and his spot-covered skin peeled away after a filler injection went disastrously wrong.
Charlie Michael Baker was just 17 when he was lured into being illegally injected with free filler – and has now been left with lifelong damage.
The baby-faced teen wasn’t asked for any ID when he underwent the treatments in March last year.
They included lip, cheek and chin filler, with plans to move on to bum filler.
But shortly after going under the needle, Charlie noticed some worrying symptoms – which would turn out to be life-changing.
Influencer and author Charlie, now 18, from Leyland in Lancs, told The Sun: “It was an allergic reaction about four months into treatment.
“It looked like spots at first, it just grew and spread, it was awful. It’s a chronic disorder, I will have it for the rest of my life.”
Psoriasis is a condition people are born with, but it lays dormant until something triggers it.
Before getting FDA approved fillers, people should be tested for allergies, which can include a patch test.
But Charlie wasn’t tested before receiving the free treatment, nor was he asked for any identification to prove his age.
In the UK you must be 18 or over to be injected with Botox or filler, with the law having changed in 2021 from the previous age requirement of 16.
This means it is illegal to administer the treatments to anyone under 18.
The change came thanks to The Sun’s Had our Fill campaign which challenged the UK’s government to make fillers illegal for those under 18, crack down on social media sites promoting the procedures and create a UK register for members of the public to find reputable practitioners.
Charlie added: “You can patch test fillers, but she didn’t, and the lady majorly broke down my natural skin barrier by putting retinols and acids on my skin.
“This is for older, wrinkle prone skin, I was 17. They didn’t ask for any identification.”
Charlie was contacted by the business and offered an “influencer contract” which meant free procedures in return for social media promotion.
“All the treatments were given for free, she reached out to me on social media. She called it an influencer contract.
“Unlimited filler procedures for free if I do some posts for her,” he explained.
But the young teen wasn’t the only client to suffer botched jobs.
“Other people have come to me and said they’ve had problems with her,” he claimed.
“One lady went for Botox and one eyebrow was lifted higher than the other.
“When I saw a picture I couldn’t help but say ‘what the f**k has she done’.
“She’s just awful at her job. She has been reported to the CQC before for injecting minors.”
Charlie initially raised the alarm to his aesthetician when he noticed red spots appearing after treatment.
He said: “It’s been horrible, no one knew what it was.
“The lady, who was a skin specialist, told me it was a reaction to food so she told me to go on a health kick and eat salads, be a rabbit basically.
“It was awful. I was having facials, she gave me a skincare product that’s used after chemical peels, so immediately my mind was racing thinking she’s given me a chemical burn.
“I went to a GP and it was diagnosed, he gave me creams but they didn’t work. I was there pretty much every week crying.
“I didn’t leave the house for weeks at point. I would try to cover it up with makeup but it wouldn’t work.
“It’s so painful, especially on my body, it would be burning and feel like I was on fire until I dug my nails into my skin and scratched the f**k out of it. Head to toe.”
Charlie added: “I’ve been put on anti-depressants because of this. It’s very hard interacting with people, I would just hide away, it was really difficult to see people.
Had Our Fill campaign
Britain’s Botox and filler addiction is fuelling a £2.75billion industry.
The wrinkle-busting and skin plumping treatments account for 9 out of 10 cosmetic procedures.
50% of women and 40% of men aged 18 to 34 want to plump up their pouts and tweak their faces.
Fillers are totally unregulated and incredibly you don’t need to have ANY qualifications to buy and inject them.
83% of botched jobs are performed by people with no medical training, often in unsanitary environments – with devastating results.
Women have been left with rotting tissue, needing lip amputations, lumps and even blinded by botched jobs.
Despite the dangers, there is no legal age limit for dermal filler, which is why Fabulous has launched Had Our Fill, a campaign calling for:
- fillers to be made illegal for under 18s
- a crackdown on social media sites plugging fillers
- a Government-backed central register for practitioners with accredited qualifications
We’re working in conjunction with Save Face and are backed by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), British Association of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS) and British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS).
We want anyone considering a non-surgical cosmetic treatment to be well-informed to make a safe decision.
We’ve Had Our Fill of rogue traders and sham clinics – have you?
“I had to cancel everything, my last red carpet was April last year.”
The content creator was eventually referred to NHS dermatology when his GP flagged his case as a high priority after five months of torture.
Charlie was put on immune suppressants, which can only be taken temporarily, and his Psoriasis has mostly healed.
The teenager will have to go on medical sunbeds for three minutes, three times a week at hospital after he comes off his medication.
Charlies warned others of the potential dangers of injecting filler, especially without doing your research first.
“Absolutely stay away from filler or anything to change who you are naturally, he urged.
“I know you see celebrities, like Katie Price, and she’s one of the loveliest women I’ve ever met, but she has got more plastic in her face anybody than I’ve seen, in person she looks like a real life barbie doll.
“As influencers we push that, and how much of a young audience do we have? I know my stats and I have a lot.
“I’m going to have to get filler for the rest of my life now, because my skin has been stretched out it will be so wrinkly.
“It will be a different type to the one I’m allergic to, but there will always be that risk it could cause flare ups.”
Risks of FDA-approved fillers
According to the FDA
Common risks include:
- Bruising
- Redness
- Swelling
- Pain
- Tenderness
- Itching
- Rash
- Difficulty in performing activities (only observed when injected into the back of the hand)
Less common risks include:
- Inflammation such as swelling or redness may develop near the dermal filler injection site following viral or bacterial illnesses or infections, vaccinations, or dental procedures
- Raised bumps in or under the skin (nodules or granulomas) that may need to be treated with injections, oral antibiotics, or surgically removed
- Infection
- Open or draining wounds
- A sore at the injection site
- Allergic reaction
- Necrosis (tissue death)
People should be tested for allergies before receiving dermal fillers made with certain materials, especially materials derived from animals, such as collagen.
