Love Island star Faye Winter was 'devastated' by botched cosmetic procedure that left her 'forehead fully collapsed'

The TV star and influencer told LBC News' Steve Holden that she had "a really bad experience with botched Botox" where it "basically" made her "forehead fully collapse".

She said: "I had no eyelids, my eyebrows were straight across my forehead. I couldn't move it, which I know Botox you're not meant to be able to move, but you're also meant to get like a brow lift and it's meant to make you feel good."

The star's cosmetic work was a topic of focus during her time on the ITV dating show.

She said: "Just before I went into Love Island, I had botched filler, as many people did see who do watch the show. It was a big talking point of my experience and my journey, how terrible my lips were."

The influencer had undergone the procedures before "and they were fine", she said. But she was tempted to cheaper services online when her regular providers were not available for appointments.

She said: "This was a couple of years ago, we didn't even have the option of being able to check people's backgrounds, what they've done before.

"And it wasn't until afterwards I found out the guy that done my Botox was actually a property developer.

"And the girl that had done my lips had done a one day course and was in hospitality working in a fast food restaurant before she turned to filler.

"So obviously that was too late for me at that point. And again, that's why I wanted to make a bit of noise about it."

Read more: Hundreds of women 'maimed' by botched cosmetic procedures since 2023, but no criminal charges

Read more: Ministers announce plans to tackle ‘cowboy’ cosmetic surgeries as people left ‘maimed’ by procedures

Ms Winter said that she took a lot of responsibility for the issues at the time, as she "should have done more research".

She said: "I was devastated. I hid myself away. But actually it wasn't just my fault. Everyone was going to these people and getting work done.

"I don't think that it's fair for individuals to take on such a stress and such a high pressure.

"But I think being able to talk about it now publicly, openly, not being ashamed of it, because I was really ashamed, has actually really helped me grow and also be okay with the situation and scenario that I put myself through.

"Also, the fact that there were no rules and regulations to help me or safeguard me when I was younger."

Ms Winter, who has been campaigning for a change to cosmetic procedure accessibility for four years, welcomed the government's plans to cut down on “cowboy” cosmetic procedures by introducing new restrictions on who can access and provide treatments.

She said it is a "huge step in the right direction", but added: "We haven't had the finer details of what those licences are going to like.

"Is it going to be that you'll get a licence even if you've just got UK ID? Or is it going to be if you've got a UK address? A good credit score? You never know with these kind of things."

"So I will be more interested once we see what those licences will look like for sure. But it is a huge step in the right direction to safeguard the public and younger people that are thinking about getting it done with little or no experience," she added.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has urged medics and the public to be alert to the signs and symptoms of botulism among those who had received cosmetic procedures involving botulinum toxin.

It comes after the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said that steps will be taken to protect people from “rogue operators” with no medical training who often provide “invasive” procedures in homes, hotels and pop-up clinics.

The move will also reduce the cost imposed upon the NHS to fix botched procedures, DHSC added.