A teen influencer has revealed how he was left with the “worst case of psoriasis doctors have ever seen” after he got fillers injected into his face at the age of 16.
Charlie Michael Baker, from Leyland, Lancashire, says doctors have recommended a form of chemotherapy to treat the painful condition.
The now 18-year-old, who has nearly 1.5million followers on Instagram, believes the severity of his case could have been avoided if the practitioner had carried out responsible patch tests and not given him such a large amount of filler within a short space of time.
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Charlie became a best-selling author after his first book detailing his experiences of having autism hit the shelves in 2022.
After growing a significant following online, he says he was offered a chance to get fillers by a practitioner online in 2023.
He claims she said the procedures would be free as she’d be able to promote her business.
Charlie says that within the space of just three months, he had a whopping 18 filler treatments.
And he quickly began to experience symptoms of psoriasis.
Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition caused by an overactive immune system.
Charlie believes his was activated by an ingredient in the filler, which he is allergic to.
“I continued going to the filler practitioner for nearly a year even after my skin began flaring up because I trusted her,” the influencer told Need To Know.
“She had worked with influencers and big TV celebrities, so I had no worries about her ability to carry out the procedures.
“I think she wanted me as a repeat customer – my agent estimates that my social media following brought her in the region of £20,000 worth of business.
“She worked on an influencer contract, so obviously I couldn’t see anybody else for filler.
“I kept on going every time I felt like I needed a top-up after the initial, larger sessions.
“My date of birth is online, so it’s easily accessible, but she didn’t ID me – she just saw money signs.”
When Charlie’s skin first began to flare up, he said he attempted to hide the problem with makeup.
He said: “It was the most awful thing that I’ve ever been through.
“I couldn’t walk down the street when my skin was flaring – and I couldn’t put makeup on my face, because it just peeled off.”
Charlie claims when he told his practitioner about the symptoms, she said it was a food allergy – but nothing in his diet had changed.
He said: “My face started coming up in a rash, and she told me it was just an allergic reaction to foods.
“But I’ve now been both private and NHS, and they took one look at it and said that’s psoriasis.
“It baffled me mostly because the lady that does the filler, she also offers facial packages to her clients for psoriasis.
“So it didn’t add up – she should have known what it was.
“With psoriasis, basically, you’re born with it, but it’s dormant until it’s flared.
“I’m allergic to a certain brand of filler, which has a certain component in it that my body just doesn’t get along with.”
Charlie’s condition eventually became so extreme that he was left with red patches on his face and all over his entire body.
He has described the experience as “soul destroying”.
He said: “I’ve been on every tablet under the sun – I’ve tried every steroid cream.
“I’ve spent about three to four grand easily on both prescriptions – but nothing has helped it.
“I’ve even been on immune-suppressants.
“I’ve got an appointment in a month with an NHS dermatology specialist, and they are thinking about putting me on chemotherapy tablets.”
Charlie now believes there should be a law in place to protect people from having filler without any prior patch testing.
He said: “There should be like a law in place to protect people like me.
“I can’t even imagine how much I’ve paid in private healthcare costs – and how much I cost the NHS from having these procedures.”
Now 18, Charlie is still having filler with a brand that he is not allergic to and has praised his new practitioner, who fully patch tested his skin beforehand.
He said: “Now when I go for filler, it is fully patch tested.
“I started working with her when I was still 17 – it was just like facials and stuff like that to kind of ease redness from my psoriasis.”
And while he is still a fan of the look, he advises young people to think twice before having this form of cosmetic surgery.
He said: “I’d advise anyone else to avoid it altogether, but most won’t listen as they’ve seen the influencers and celebrities with the look.
“With filler, you can’t just reverse it. So obviously, once you’ve had one injection, you can’t stop.
“My face got used to it, and if were to stop getting filler now, I’d be all wrinkly at just 18.
“I feel like there should be a law that you have to wait until you’re at least 21.”
