Cassidy Valentine YouTube vlogger who suffered from cosmetic lip augmentation surgery Date of Birth: . Country: Dive

1. YouTube Vlogger Suffers From Botched Lip Filler Procedure
2. Overcoming Bullying and Health Struggles
3. Influence of Plastic Surgery on Social Media
4. Denying the Self-Promotion Offer
5. Cosmetic Surgery Gone Wrong
6. Hours after the procedure, Valentine's lips swelled and felt wrong.
7. Warning to Others

YouTube Vlogger Suffers From Botched Lip Filler Procedure

YouTube vlogger Cassidy Valentine, with a following of nearly 300,000 subscribers, shares her story about trying lip fillers and warns others considering the procedure.

Overcoming Bullying and Health Struggles

Valentine has endured depression and anxiety since middle school due to bullying related to her appearance and heart disease. She gained weight as a coping mechanism, which further fueled the bullying. Valentine has since struggled to reclaim her self-esteem. Her anxiety has also manifested in episodes of supraventricular tachycardia, a form of arrhythmia that required multiple heart surgeries. She also experiences post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from domestic violence.

"I started my YouTube channel as a way to connect with people who are going through bullying and health issues," Valentine says. Her YouTube career has helped her regain some self-love, and she found purpose in reaching out to others who have faced similar struggles.

Influence of Plastic Surgery on Social Media

"I had gained so much weight over the past year because of depression," she adds. "I felt trapped in my house, and I felt like I couldn't go out or socialize. I was just a shell of myself."

"So it kind of came to me out of nowhere that I wanted to get lip fillers."

Valentine now recognizes how her struggles with mental health contributed to her decision. As an influencer, she developed a sense of invincibility and stopped caring about what others thought. However, her recurring depression and mental health issues made her vulnerable to images of "perfect" people on social media.

Many of these influencers promoted cosmetic surgery, and Valentine, who had never considered getting any before, found herself drawn to it.

"I was so insecure about how I looked," she admits. "I had gained weight, I had this hair loss from alopecia, and I was just like, I need to do something and see if it'll make me feel better."

Denying the Self-Promotion Offer

Valentine reached out to a company that had noticed her YouTube channel, offering her a free procedure in exchange for a promotion. She wisely declined, not wanting to influence others into making similar decisions.

Cosmetic Surgery Gone Wrong

Valentine paid for the lip filler procedure out of pocket. Midway through, she recalls questioning her decision. "What are you doing? You really don't need this," she thought. But the needle had already pierced her lip.

Hours after the procedure, Valentine's lips swelled and felt wrong.

"I kept reaching out to the company, and they kept blowing me off and telling me to take Benadryl," she says. "That's how doctors are killing people."

"I reached out to another clinic and sent them videos of my lips. They told me to come in immediately and that there was no pulse in my lip. My artery was blocked, I was hours away from losing my top lip."

Had she not sought help from the other clinic, Valentine would have lost her upper lip. The aftermath of the cosmetic surgery worsened her mental health.

Warning to Others

Valentine urges her audience: "If you're considering these procedures, please do your research and go to actual doctors, not med spas."

"Don't let influencers or people who are getting free procedures talk you into it."

"The first clinic tried to silence me," Valentine claims. "They said if I made a video about this, they weren't going to refund me."

"I was like, I will not get my money back, but I will save someone from going through what I went through."