ITV News Reporter Ellie Pitt has heard from dozens of women who all say they have suffered an adverse reaction to so-called liquid Brazilian Butt Lift treatments with physical and mental side-effects
Lift Aesthetics beauty clinic in Essex boasts the likes of Katie Price and reality TV stars Hannah Elizabeth (Love Island) and Dani Imbert (The Only Way Is Essex) among their clients.
But it is also collecting a growing number of customers who have needed life-saving emergency surgery.
Through an Instagram packed with glossy videos and reels of before and after pictures, Lift Aesthetics advertises the non-surgical Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) procedure.
It involves hundreds of millilitres of cosmetic liquid filler being injected into the bum to make it larger and achieve an hourglass body shape.
But it can have dangerous consequences if it goes wrong.
In December, ITV News spoke to Louise Moller, a customer of Lift Aesthetics, who contracted sepsis and had surgery to remove dead tissue after having the liquid BBL.
After the report, ITV News was contacted by ten Lift Aesthetics clients who all had similar experiences.
Many of them reported pain during the procedure and a serious infection afterwards, in some cases required hospital treatment.
Bonnie-Louise Cooper told ITV News that she was rushed to hospital in an ambulance after collapsing at home following her liquid BBL booked through Lift Aesthetics.
She explained that doctors told her she had contracted the life-threatening reaction to infection, sepsis, and told her. “If your sister hadn’t called the ambulance when she did, you would have been dead within the hour”.
“My son could have been an orphan, so that has really stuck with me,” she added.
Ms Cooper says she still experiences numbness, where she loses sensation in her legs and her feet change colour.
This and what she describes as “forever scarring” are side effects of the filler BBL she is still living with, “I’m still not okay.”
Several of the clients including Paygon Harris, who says she experienced “excruciating” pain while the procedure was being done, have been blocked on social media and WhatsApp after trying to complain.
Most of the women who contacted ITV News said booked with Lift Aesthetics because the company’s celebrity clients drew them in and made them think they were a reputable business.
But Lift Aesthetics have not been carrying out the liquid BBLs. They refer customers to Non-Surgical Clinics Essex or London BBL Clinic and practitioner Ricky Sawyer does the injections.
In December Lift Aesthetics told ITV News that they had cut professional ties with Non-Surgical Clinics Essex.
Lift Aesthetics have now admitted that they resumed a working relationship due to an “overwhelming influx of clients” who were “saddened to hear we were disassociating ourselves with the companies based on the unfortunate minority of clients who experienced complications following on from their treatment.”
Following ITV News’ report, Epping Forest District Council in Essex began their own investigation into Lift Aesthetics and Ricky Sawyer.
The local council has now issued Mr Sawyer with a prohibition notice, banning him from carrying out the procedure in an unsafe way in their authority area.
ITV News knows that Mr Sawyer has performed the liquid BBL in Manchester and Canary Wharf, London since receiving the prohibition notice.
We found him arriving for a day of appointments carrying his equipment in a tray and plastic carrier bag. Mr Sawyer did not answer one of the questions put to him.
ITV News Reporter Ellie Pitt found Mr Sawyer arriving in London for a day of appointments but failed to answer any questions put to him
Kate Price and Dani Imbert both said “no comment” to our request for a response to the allegations against Lift Aesthetics.
Hannah Elizabeth says: “I have always been open and honest about the surgeries I have had and want to reassure people that I would never promote a company or anything that I felt was unsafe.
“I’ve never personally had any issues with the procedure and felt I was looked after correctly. I was unaware of the allegations and didn’t know the company had been prohibited from performing any treatments.
“It’s very saddening to hear of the experiences some others have gone through. I will be looking into this and giving serious consideration about what treatments I have in the future.
“I would like to take this opportunity to send the women who have had problems my very best wishes and hope they have a speedy recovery.”
London BBL Clinic told ITV News: “As professionals within the industry, we pride ourselves on client safety and wellbeing. We have seen firsthand the issues that can arise if this treatment is completed by unqualified clinics, and as a result, we have continually corrected work carried out by other companies.
“We agree with the need for this to be highlighted to potential consumers, and if that’s by making an example of us due to our popularity surrounding the treatment and celebrity clientele who have been advocates for the treatment, then albeit.
“We believe that despite the non-surgical BBL being far less risky than surgical alternatives, it’s insulting to assume that the general public believes the treatment is without risk, and we assure you that we highlight all potential complications to our clients prior to their consent, including infection or sepsis, which can arise from a mere cut.”
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