The COVID-19 pandemic was responsible for a nationwide healthcare and economic slowdown. Surprisingly, even during months of quarantine and isolation as masks and face coverings became the norm, people continued to spend money on products to enhance their attractiveness and to seek out cosmetic procedures.

“During the lockdown, doctor-patient interactions slowly resumed largely in the form of telemedicine clinics, however many cosmetic clinics remained closed. Unable to seek professional care, many felt compelled to search for easily obtained yet riskier cosmetic options,” said Neelam Vashi, MD, associate professor of dermatology at Boston University School of Medicine and director of the Boston University Cosmetic and Laser Center at Boston Medical Center.

Now in a new article, Vashi and her colleagues discuss three patients who developed complications following home-administered cosmetic procedures due to their desire to gain benefits from cosmetically enhancing procedures without professional assistance. To date, all patients suffer from continued abnormality in the pigmentation of the skin and/or scarring, some of which may be permanent. While cosmetic procedures such as fillers have a myriad of possible complications, these procedures tend to be very safe with no to minimal side effects when performed by licensed professionals.

According to the researchers there is a vast pool of misinformation readily available on the internet in the forms of how-to-videos and instructional web pages that teach one how to self-administer these cosmetic procedures that is factually incorrect information and often is spread by self-proclaimed and unverified “experts”.

“The existence of e-commerce websites has made procurement of heavily regulated products such as dermal fillers and hazardous compounds like trichloroacetic acid and many more, exponentially easier, with many retailers selling counterfeit products of unknown quality, containing banned ingredients. This engenders a situation that predisposes vulnerable patients to be taken advantage of and suffer unintended and undesired consequences,” explained Vashi.

While people’s desire to look beautiful and their attractiveness-seeking behaviors are unlikely to change, the researchers believe the availability of illegally traded products and cosmetic procedures can be diminished with regulatory efforts carried out both by law enforcement and the communities themselves. “Dermatologists should educate patients on the importance of performing cosmetic procedures in a safe environment with trained professionals, especially during the pandemic.”