A British teenager was left with her eyes “glued shut” after suffering a severe allergic reaction to an eyebrow treatment at a local shop in Colchester.
On Christmas Eve, mum-of-five Rhia Vikki West rushed her 14-year-old daughter, Cheyanne, to hospital for urgent treatment.
A day earlier, the young girl had received a henna eyebrow and eyelash tint which had led to disastrous results.
Cheyanne spent Christmas Eve in hospital with her mum, receiving steroids and pain medication for severe swelling, but was later sent home – however her condition deteriorated overnight.
The teenager’s throat soon began to swell up and her eyes were so swollen she couldn’t see anything.
On Christmas Day, Rhia took her daughter back to A&E, where she was told Cheyanne was lucky to be alive.
“It was absolutely horrible,” Cheyanne told Jam Press.
“I got my eyelashes and eyebrows tinted and I was really excited because I was going to a party and it was Christmas.
“I woke up and my whole face was swollen and I couldn’t see anything, I was so scared and upset.
“The doctors told me I could have lost my eyesight and that I could have died. It’s been a horrible experience.
“I was screaming in pain.”
Cheyanne remained in hospital for most of Christmas Day, before being sent home to recover.
However, she has since developed painful blisters “that keep popping” on her eyebrows and the hair has begun to fall out, with the teenager fearing it will never grow back.
She said: “I’m starting to feel alright now but my eyebrows are still in a lot of pain and keep falling off and my eyes keep weeping yellow.
“I have loads of blister that keep popping too.”
The experience ruined the family’s Christmas plans, leaving Rhia distraught at almost having lost her daughter.
Meanwhile, two of her older children were stuck at home with Covid, both isolating in separate bedrooms.
With New Year’s Eve around the corner, the mum wants to warn fellow parents to take care when it comes to beauty treatments and make sure salons do a patch test.
She was not present at the time of the visit to the Colchester salon and claims the owner rang to ask for her permission to tint Cheyanne’s eyebrows and lashes.
However, when the mum didn’t answer her phone, the salon allegedly settled for getting her grandmother’s permission instead.
“It has caused us so much distress and ruined our Christmas,” Rhia told Jam Press.
“Cheyanne won’t be able to wear makeup for a long time, can’t get tattoos and her eyebrows have started to fall out, she’s starting to lose the hair.
“The shop owner tried to phone me for permission but I didn’t answer, so she phoned Cheyanne’s nan instead and then went ahead and did the treatment.
“I told them she’d had a reaction – this was before it got really bad – and they offered us a refund and a free treatment and the shop owner has been contacting us non-stop.
“I want to warn other parents.
“Always get a patch test but more importantly, remind your children they are already beautiful and don’t need treatments like this.
“The heartbreaking thing is that I could have lost my daughter, just for having an eyebrow and eyelash tint.
“I’ve never had a beauty treatment and I never would have thought this kind of thing could happen.
“She’ll never have anything done again, she’ll have to wait until she’s 21.
“We’re just lucky she’s alive and hasn’t lost her vision.”
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