DIY Botox Kits Are A “Catastrophe Waiting To Happen”

Today, from the Common Sense News Desk: ordering do-it-yourself Botox and similar treatments online and using them on yourself is a terrible, terrible idea. Color us shocked.

NBC has the special report, which exposes not only numerous risks of amateurs injecting less-expensive off-brand fillers into their own faces–but also how many companies are willing to put these products into the hands of novices.

In the report, dermatologist Dr. Tracey Favreau (who, not to judge, but from her expressionless visage during the interview looks like she knows her way around a Botox needle) explains that not only do the “bootleg Botox” kits available online pose many, many health risks from potential contaminants (because, you know, they’re not regulated and could basically contain anything), they’re also difficult to maneuver for those with no medical training. Not only could you get a staph infection, some gnarly blisters or lesions, or even a blood infection that could kill you–Dr. Favreau warns that you could also get a droopy mug from injecting too much of the stuff on one side of your face and not the other. So you won’t even look pretty and wrinkle-free when you slip into a coma.

Is this at all surprising? No. Not even remotely. What is surprising is that this is something that people need to be told, because, apparently, they keep trying it.

No forms of the toxin in Botox, which is designed to soften wrinkles by filling them in and paralyzing the muscles underneath, are approved for sale to non-medical professionals, which is probably a good indication that it’s not smart for you to try it. And while DIY Botox kits may be a step up from injecting hot beef fat into one’s face (at least the kit comes with instructions), taking the hypodermic needle filled with anything to yourself to get rid of wrinkles is pretty absurd.

And besides, cosmetic procedures and plastic surgery are on their way out, anyway.  Listen to the wisdom of Kirstie Alley on this matter, who recently told reporters at Fashion Week, “I don’t think it makes you look younger. I like it can make you look weirder.”