Woman left with second degree burns, huge scar on face after microneedling session gone wrong

Microneedling uses thin needles to make tiny holes in the top layer of skin. (Image credit: Clevelandclinic.com)

A routine beauty treatment took a nightmarish turn for 24-year-old Melia Nielsen, who now bears the scars of a microneedling session that left her with second-degree burns and permanent disfigurement.

“I wanted to feel confident without makeup,” Nielsen told Kennedy News, recalling her once-vibrant skin now marred by a “huge scar across my face.”

The Lincolnshire-based finance worker had invested nearly $100 in a microneedling procedure, aimed at enhancing her complexion, only to find herself grappling with a severe chemical burn and the psychological toll of her experience.

After an initial session had seemed successful, Nielsen returned for a second, but the procedure took a disastrous turn when the provider over-treated the same area. “At the time, she never said anything about it, but I was actually bleeding,” she explained, revealing that it wasn’t until days later that the provider acknowledged the severity of her condition.

In an alarming oversight, the provider attempted to clean the wounded area using a product that Nielsen suspects was toner. “At the time, it was stinging quite bad, and she kept asking, ‘Are you okay?’” Nielsen recalled, now understanding the implications of that seemingly innocuous question. Instead of receiving the immediate care she needed, she was left with a patch of skin that had begun to weep. “I thought, ‘Surely this isn’t normal,’” she added.

When she voiced her concerns to the provider, her messages were met with silence until she threatened to visit the emergency room. The next morning, the severity of the situation became evident: “The whole thing looked bruised. It had gone all horrible and purple,” she said, describing a painful swelling that extended across her cheek and near her eye.

After consulting with hospital doctors, Nielsen was diagnosed with a chemical burn. “They said that if she thought something wasn’t right, she shouldn’t have continued with the treatment,” she recounted, expressing disbelief that a provider she had trusted since November 2023 would allow her to leave with her skin in such a compromised state.

Nielsen also claimed that the aesthetics provider attempted to shift the blame onto her, which only deepened her distress. “It absolutely wasn’t anything I’d done. All of the skincare products that I was using were what she’d recommended for me,” she stated.

Instead of offering support for her medical expenses, the provider proposed complimentary services, which Nielsen rejected, opting instead for care from a medically trained professional.

Reflecting on her experience, Nielsen expressed regret for seeking treatment at all. Despite her struggles with hormonal acne, the ordeal has led her to abandon harsh skin treatments entirely. “Even now, if I rub my finger over it, it’s a completely different texture to the rest of my face. It’s never fully going away,” she said.