DIY plastic surgery. Bad idea.

UPDATE: We ran this post on Mamamia a few months ago, but the story of people buying DIY botox products online and injecting their face at home has since resurfaced in the media. So we’ve updated this post and we want to hear your thoughts.…

If I could bestow any wisdom on the women of Australia, it would be this: NEVER cut your own hair. Or do your own Botox. Or collagen. Write that down. No seriously, because some women are actually doing this. At home. With needles. And products they bought online. Possibly from Mexico.

That’s right, apparently you can order Botox kits via the Internet and fix your face from the privacy of your own home. Just follow the instructions on the how-to DVD, inject your face and you’ll have with less frown lines – and the possibility of death or disfigurement.

According to an article in The Herald Sun:

People buying cheaper injectable substances online had treated themselves, with hideous results, said Cosmetic Physicians Society of Australasia president Dr Gabrielle Caswell.

“We’ve had certain cases where people have actually injected stuff from the internet … I think there’s a lot of internet spruikers; it’s a cautionary tale (and one) that’s been going on for quite a while,” she said.

“Injecting something that’s obviously not sterile and you have no idea what’s in it … the money that you tried to save ends up costing an awful lot when you have to visit a round of doctors to try to fix it.”

One woman last year suffered grotesquely ballooned lips after a friend jabbed her with a dodgy dermal filler bought online, she said

Earlier this year, Perth Now reported:

The Cosmetic Physicians Society of Australasia is warning people about the dangers of buying injectable substances over the web after a woman suffered horrific and painful side effects.

The Australian woman, who asked not to be named, has bravely released photos of her freakish fat lips and infected blotches on her face after getting a friend to jab her with products bought online.

Her recent experiment with a dermal filler designed to pump up her lips went horribly wrong as they grotesquely ballooned two weeks later. Abscesses appeared on her face six weeks after the injection.

The woman, who is in her early 30s and is being professionally treated with antibiotics and drainage, has asked for the graphic pictures to be released as a public health alert.

It is unclear at this stage whether she will fully recover.

Check out this video, the DIY trend is wrecking similar havoc in the US:

Hey, I’m all for DIY wedding invitations or making your own potpourri. But I think anything beauty related is best left to the professional. It’s just not worth the risk. Or the exploding lips.

Have you ever screwed up a DIY job?  Ever had a beauty disaster in the bathroom?