My session with a celebrity aesthetician left me burned, scarred and irreparably damaged

A Los Angeles female claims that a convention pinch a personage aesthetician — whose clients person included Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lawrence and Jennifer Lopez — near her look “burned, scarred and irreparably damaged.”

Victoria Nelson said successful viral TikTok and Instagram posts that she had been seeing Sonya Dakar successful her Beverly Hills session for years to dainty her acne and became “enthralled,” evening referring to Dakar arsenic her “LA mom.”

But erstwhile Dakar suggested she effort a chemic peel, things went awry. Nelson said she feels “permanently disfigured” by nan results, and a dermatologist later asked her why she hadn’t instantly been sent to a infirmary pain unit.

In April 2021, Nelson was getting a regular facial when, she claims, Dakar suggested that they decorativeness nan convention pinch a chemic peel.

Nelson said she trusted Dakar arsenic an master who “knew my tegument amended than anybody else.” She besides liked that nan peel was described arsenic requiring nary downtime and causing nary irritation.

But nan infinitesimal nan solution deed Nelson’s face, she felt an “immediate burning and stinging” and says she told Dakar she was successful pain. The solution was rinsed disconnected and Nelson was fixed a instrumentality to cool her look down.

Her ordeal was acold from over.

When she pointed her phone’s front-facing camera astatine her face, she was shocked.

“I saw what I thought looked for illustration a achromatic pick aliases a achromatic lotion, but beautiful quickly realized that that was really my tegument conscionable burned,” she said.

Nelson shared a date-stamped photograph pinch nan Post that she says she took astatine nan appointment, showing salient achromatic markings connected her cheeks and forehead.

Nelson claims Dakar assured her that she would beryllium good and that nan harm was not permanent.

Nelson described nan pursuing week arsenic “the astir unspeakable I person ever felt astir myself.”

She said she sent regular photograph updates to Dakar while fielding questions from strangers astir whether she had had acerb thrown connected her face. Text messages shared pinch nan Post showed Nelson sending images of her scabbing to Dakar, who advised her connected really to return attraction of it.

She said she continued to spot Dakar successful her clinic, hopeful that a follow-up curen would reverse nan effects.

Nelson said she did 30 sessions pinch Dakar betwixt 2021 and 2022 to nan tune of $30,000.

“These treatments often included beautiful fierce microneedling. All of these treatments were followed by diligent usage of her products, and this changeless checking successful pinch her of, ‘Are we making progress? Is it looking better?” Nelson said.

She recalled emotion “like I was permanently disfigured.”

Alarms were raised erstwhile she visited her dermatologist successful nan summertime of 2022.

“She was really confused arsenic to why Sonya hadn’t instantly referred maine to a pain portion aliases a integrative surgeon erstwhile this initially happened,” Nelson said.

The caller doc was besides concerned astir nan ingredients successful nan peel. To this day, Nelson admits she has nary thought what was successful nan solution that scarred her.

Nelson’s dermatologist recommended six sessions of laser treatment, which costs Nelson a further $8,000.

Two years later, Nelson has ceased interaction pinch Dakar but still carries nan scars of her treatments.

“It’s thing that I’m very self-conscious about. It’s nan first point I spot erstwhile I aftermath up successful nan morning, nan past point I spot earlier I spell to bed,” she said.

Nelson admitted that her surgery spot and continued insecurity person been a overmuch higher value to salary than immoderate money spent.

“On a quality level, it’s conscionable beautiful devastating to person personification you spot truthful overmuch permanently harm your skin,” she said.

Nelson hopes her communicative will service arsenic a informing to others, preventing different young women from experiencing nan symptom of disfigurement.

“This doesn’t conscionable hap astatine sketchy storefronts; it tin hap from personification touted arsenic nan Skin Jedi for celebrities,” she said.

Sonya Dakar has not responded to The Post’s repeated requests for comment.