A porn star has told how she ‘nearly died’ after an allergic reaction to lip fillers, which she believed would help her achieve the perfect pout.
Kirsty Collins, from Sheffield, feared she might die when she landed in A&E after having hyaluronidase, an acid found naturally in the body, injected in her lips.
The 33-year-old paid £300 for the treatment which is used to remove old filler by breaking it down – after which, she planned to start all over again.
But Kirsty – known as Bambi Black by fans – said:
Within minutes of having the injection I didn’t feel right at all, I started to panic and my heart was beating right out of my chest.
She then felt her lips beginning to swell – reaching four times their natural size in a matter of minutes – and was rushed to Doncaster Royal Infirmary, where doctors gave her steroids and antihistamines, to combat the extreme reaction, before putting her ‘on watch’ for seven hours.
Kirsty continued:
I knew from the get-go something wasn’t right, as within seconds of the beautician injecting my upper lip, I felt this burning sensation begin to spread across my face.
The next thing I knew, my upper lip was growing before my very eyes. I could see and feel it getting bigger and bigger.
Luckily my manager was with me and insisted on calling an ambulance, so within half-an-hour I was in the emergency room.
In the past, Kirsty has spent a whopping £30,000 on Botox injections, lip fillers, cheek fillers, two boob jobs, liposuction, and is currently on the waiting list for a £3,800 Brazilian butt-lift.
She started changing up her look when she started adult work seven years ago, after leaving her career as a glamour model to earn ‘big bucks’ in the film industry.
She said:
The industry demands that stars have cosmetic surgery, there’s no two ways about it. The porn look fans want can only be achieved one way – through plastic surgery.
If you want to stay on top of the game, you’ve got to beat the competition, and the only way to do that is by getting bigger and better – quite literally.
Kirsty’s business turns over an impressive £20,000 a month, and while her looks are intrinsically linked to the role, she also ‘completely loves the fake porn look.’
The adult star spends upwards of £300 every three months on lip fillers, as well as regular cheek fillers and Botox injections – aside from more major procedures like the butt-lift.
Still not satisfied with her pout, she consulted a new clinic about having it removed.
“For the past year or so I felt like I wasn’t getting the results I wanted from my filler,” Kirsty said.
She was advised to have a hyaluronidase injection – an enzyme that breaks down filler naturally and, now a veteran of cosmetic treatments, she did not bat an eyelid when a beautician pumped a needle full of it into her top lip.
Kirsty, who did not have a patch test done before the procedure, soon stopped being calm when her lips started to swell.
She continued:
I’d heard about people having allergic reactions to all sorts before, and I immediately began to worry that the numbing sensation spreading across my lips would reach my eyes or throat.
Luckily Kirsty’s manager, Jamie Allen, 40, of Sheffield, was with her and called an ambulance straight away.
Jamie said:
Given my line of work I know how to keep a cool head in these situations.
As soon as I saw the swelling, my first concern was making sure we had it under control before it started to spread any further.
Arriving 15 minutes later, the ambulance whisked Kirsty off to Doncaster Royal Infirmary, with Jamie following behind in his Lamborghini sports car.
On arrival, Kirsty was given two shots of adrenaline, a dose of antihistamine and steroids, in a bid to control the swelling.
“I was so frightened, I even feared I might die,” Kirsty recalled.
Discharged after seven hours, when it was deemed she was no longer in danger, Kirsty was told she had experienced an allergic reaction to the enzyme.
She said:
It really made me realise that you are putting your life in the hands of someone else every time you have cosmetic work done.
Now whenever I’m being injected with a substance I’ve never used before, I’ll be sure to do a patch test first to ensure there isn’t an adverse reaction.
Sharing her story on social media with her thousands of followers, Kirsty – whose lips went back to normal after a week – was overwhelmed by the positive response, although not everyone was sympathetic.
The adult star commented:
I was touched by all the fans offering their support. But it’s hard not to notice all the trolls out there, calling me ‘trout pout.’
At the end of the day this is how I choose to look, and I shouldn’t be judged on that.
Despite the ordeal, Kirsty does not blame the practitioner who carried out the procedure and refuses to give up her cosmetic surgery addiction,.
She said:
I love plastic surgery and I always will, I’m scheduled in for my next round of lip filler next week.
I’ve got a Brazilian butt-lift planned for later this year and I’m already looking at my third boob job.
Knowing me, I’ll be on my death bed and asking for one last nip tuck.
clearly anyone undertaking body modification of any sort needs to be sure of the associated risks before taking the plunge.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.