Flight attendant, 21, claims that a £100 filler treatment left her lips so swollen

A flight attendant has revealed how filler treatment left her with a pout so swollen it looked like she had ‘baboon bottom’ lips, but would still go under the needle again.

Olivia McCann, 21, from Chorley, Lancashire, revealed how her lips were massaged so hard during a dissolving procedure that they ballooned to triple their size and ‘looked like they were about to pop’. 

The beautician reportedly assured her that swelling was normal, but Olivia was so horrified with the result that she hid at home for four days and declined her boyfriend’s video calls. 

After undergoing a successful lip filler at another salon in 2019, Olivia then decided to try a different filler elsewhere, and was told she would need to have residual product dissolved first.

It was during this £100 procedure, in March, before lockdown, that her lips were injected with dissolver and vigorously massaged, a combination that Olivia claims caused her lips to rapidly expand.

After the treatment, self-conscious Olivia donned sunglasses to avoid people recognising her and was forced to miss two days of work due to her super-sized pout.     

The painful experience is just one of several filler-related disasters Olivia’s experienced at different salons over two years including swelling, lumpiness and uneven distribution of filler.

Now Olivia is sharing pictures of her latest ordeal to inspire others to do proper research before having invasive cosmetic treatments after lockdown. 

Olivia said: ‘The woman massaged my lips so hard after putting the dissolver in that they went white, they looked like they were about to pop.

‘My lips were triple the size they should be. When I went into the reception to pay the people sitting there waiting to get their lips done were probably looking at me and thinking ‘oh my god’.

‘I was embarrassed driving home and I had to put my sunglasses on, my lips looked like a baboon’s bottom.

‘I didn’t feel like I could go out looking like that, so I just stayed at home, it was awful.

‘I didn’t even want my boyfriend, Harry, to see me. He was FaceTimeing me and I was declining him.

‘I thought, “If you see me like this you’ll never fancy me again”.

‘I rang my friend and she was in tears laughing, saying “I can’t believe you look like tha”‘.’

Self-conscious of her ‘gummy’ smile and wanting a fuller pout, Olivia first treated herself to lip fillers in April 2018 and went to a place recommended by a friend who was thrilled with the results.

Olivia plumped for 1ml of filler, spread across her top and bottom lip, and was initially pleased with the £230 procedure.

After getting a £150 0.5ml top-up six months later, Olivia claims her lips developed pea-sized lumps that wouldn’t clear no matter how much she massaged them.

As a gesture of goodwill the beautician offered to dissolve the product for free, a process Olivia described as ‘painful’.

However Olivia claims the beautician didn’t fully dissolve her lips, instead merely injected the lumps themselves.

Olivia said: ‘I’d asked for my top lip to be a bit fuller but instead of trying to create a cupid’s bow shape, she just sort of jabbed it straight in all over the place.

‘The pea-sized bumps came up a few days later. My lips were a lumpy mess, they didn’t look right at all.’ 

She continued: ‘I cried when I looked at myself in pictures because I thought my lips looked silly, they looked like they’d been stung by a bee.

‘I’m a girl getting lip fillers to try to look nice, and then it went the opposite way. No amount of massaging would shift the lumps.

‘Two weeks later I went back, but instead of dissolving the full lip she just stuck the dissolver into the lumps, then told me to massage them when I got home.

‘She tried to blame it on me and said they were lumpy because I hadn’t massaged them, which I had.

‘People think lip fillers are painful, but if you’ve had them dissolved it’s a whole different pain.

‘I’m good with pain but when I got them dissolved my eyes were streaming, I think it’s the worst thing I’ve ever felt.’ 

Speaking about her latest procedure in March, she said: ‘When I went to them [the salon] they said they couldn’t use [it] on my lips and give me what I wanted unless I had my lips dissolved.

‘She put the dissolver in and she massaged my lips so hard – it was the worst out of all dissolvings I’ve had pain-wise.

‘They went so massive I couldn’t do anything for days and when they did go down they were really lumpy and uneven – a proper mess.

‘I emailed work a picture and they agreed I couldn’t go in looking like that.’

However, Olivia, whose lips are currently filler and lump-free, plans to undergo the needle again at a salon that regularly posts examples of their work, has good reviews from customers and is carried out by medically-trained staff.

Olivia said: ‘Even though I’ve had all the bad experiences, I still feel more confident in myself having them done.

‘Recently I find myself over-drawing my lips, I don’t feel as comfortable with my lips [now] because I’m used to them when they’re a bit plumped up.’

Olivia now wants to share her experiences to urge people to do their research before having lip filler treatments.

She said: ‘After what I’ve been through, I wouldn’t trust my face with anyone apart from someone who’s medically trained and who’s been doing it a long time.

‘My advice is to make sure you go to someone who’s going to take the time out of the appointment to sit you down, and talk to you about what you’re getting done.

‘They should have good work they can show you, and people who you can speak to who have had a good experience.

‘Make sure it’s a reputable price. There are all these places advertising on social media where they aren’t medical nurses and offering to do treatments at silly prices. It’s scary.’