Woman’s warning after botched freebie filler made her lips 'double in size'

A woman has warned anyone considering lip fillers to do some serious research first, after a cosmetic disaster caused her pout to double its usual size.

Jessica Burko, 28, was offered free fillers after winning a giveaway on Instagram, but what should have been a treat took a rather unfortunate turn.

Sharing the before and after pictures on TikTok, viewers were horrified by the painful-looking result – as was poor Jessica.

‘I started to freak out when I got back to my car and my lips were twice the size,’ Jessica, a model and office manager, said.

‘It hurt like hell, which was weird because I know it shouldn’t. My skin went extremely red practically immediately after. I knew that definitely wasn’t normal.

‘I went back up to the place, and they prescribed me a steroid which didn’t even end up working.

‘When I got home, the lips were the size in the video. My face started to swell up and drop.’


In the video, Jessica, from Los Angeles, US, shares a picture of her before the process, with her lips covered in numbing cream. It then skips to a video of her in the car after her treatment, with huge, red lips.

Jessica then shows a side angle of her face, revealing how swollen it had become.

The video garnered over 820,000 likes and thousands of comments from shocked users.

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‘The way I screamed!’ one person said.

Another added: ‘My biggest fear, I’m sorry this happened to you! Hope you’re healing well and don’t have any further complications.’

In a separate video, Jessica said she didn’t know why her lips had swollen so much and wondered if she’d had an allergic reaction to any of the ingredients used.

She later went to a different beauty parlour to have the lip filler dissolved.

‘After dissolving, my lips went down fast and my face was sagging, but after a full week I was back to normal,’ she said.

The experience hasn’t put her off fillers though, and she’s since had them again, going back to her original injector.

‘What I would tell anyone is – please do research, if you found someone you love and does an amazing job, stick with them,’ she said.

‘If you plan to go to anyone else, make sure you ask questions and be 100% sure that they can do what you ask or know how to do the work you want. Don’t just jump in because it sounds good or there is a deal going on.

‘Do your research, and stick to who you know.’

What to consider before getting fillers

If you’re thinking about having dermal fillers, be clear about why you want them. It might help to read this NHS guide, designed to help you decide if a procedure is right for you.

‘Having dermal fillers is usually safe if it’s done by an experienced and suitably qualified practitioner,’ the NHS says. 

‘Check the person doing your dermal fillers is on a register to show they meet set standards in training, skill and insurance. Avoid practitioners who have only completed a short training course. Book a consultation before you have the procedure.’

During your consultation, ask about:

  • the practitioner’s experience and qualifications
  • the name of the product and how and where it’s made
  • any risks or possible side effects
  • what will happen if things go wrong
  • what insurance cover they have

Source: NHS

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