A beautician who spent £5,000 a year transforming herself into a "Barbie" realised she has "taken it too far" after she could no longer recognise herself. Emily Spence became obsessed with dermal fillers aged 18 and started opting for more and more cosmetic surgery at every appointment.
In 2018, she spent thousands getting her lip filler upped to 5ml and also got injections on top of her jaw, chin and cheeks fillers. She then took it to the next level and underwent jaw surgery to change the shape of her face, reaching the point where she no longer recognised her own reflection, the Mirror reports.
The now 28-year-old then came to the realisation that her constant desire for more cosmetic work was born from insecurities she had about her body - and came to hate her how she looked with fillers. She has since had most of them dissolved and has opened her own clinic to help others achieve their dream look - without going overboard.
But she always makes sure to chat to clients before allowing them to have any changes. Emily, a nurse and clinician, from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, said: “I was obsessed with how I looked and I could never be happy.
“I had jaw filler to make my face square and made my lips massive. I realise now it was because I was so insecure about my appearance and my body.
“I had body dysmorphia. I turned myself into a Barbie. Now I’ve had a lot of it stripped back."
She also spent £3,000 on a boob job, but is happy with the results and has never had them reduced again. Emily makes sure to warn anyone coming to her practice wanting filler.
She explained: “I won’t let clients go ahead with any filler if I can’t see the benefit. I chat to them to make sure they are doing the right thing.”
Emily started suffering with body dysmorphia as a teenager and became obsessed with her weight. She said: “I’d hardly eat and then binge at the end of the day.
"I became more self-conscious as I hit 18 and started going out. I felt fat.”
Emily started getting lip filler - and got it topped up every few months. “I just went bigger and bigger each time,” she said.
“I had jaw filler and I just didn’t look like me anymore. At that point I was spending about £5k a year on dermal fillers and antiwrinkle.
“Something twigged and I realised I’d taken it too far. I started to have therapy and realised I was struggling with body dysphoria.
"I had all the jaw and chin filler dissolved so my face looked like me. And now I just have a little bit of lip filler in."
Now Emily has set up her own aesthetic business but uses her knowledge as a qualified nurse to help women in their choice to get fillers. “I enhance peoples natural beauty whilst keeping them looking like their own identity,” she said.
“I would never let a client take it too far so that they didn’t look like themselves anymore like I did. I’ll always have an initial chat with them first and ask why they want fillers.
“I want to make sure others don’t change themselves when they are not happy within. If I don’t think it’s beneficial for them or there not doing it for the right reasons then I’ll refuse to do it.
“When I had filler done no one ever thought to do these checks or question if the reasons I was getting it done. I think it’s so important to check that clients are having fillers done for the right reasons.”
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