From filler to CoolSculpting: Woman ranks 10 best cosmetics procedures and reveals which to avoid

An aesthetic industry professional has ranked all the cosmetics procedures she’s had done and revealed which to get and which to avoid.

Lacey is a 27-year-old content creator living in Los Angeles, California, who shares fashion and beauty advice to her 17,000 followers. Most recently, the cosmetics industry worker went viral on TikTok when she shared all the treatments and cosmetic work she’s had done, ranking them from “worth it to never again”.

“Life’s good working in the aesthetics industry,” she captioned the TikTok video, which has been viewed more than 650k times since it was posted in December last year.

First, Lacey began by revealing she had platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections in her under eyes. She ranked the overall treatment a nine out of 10 because it left her under eyes “swollen” for the first day and gave her a “really weird feeling” during the treatment. Still, the injections “naturally brightens and fills under eyes” once it’s fully healed.

PRP treatments have grown in popularity in recent years. More commonly known as the “vampire facial”, the unusual treatment involves drawing a person’s blood and placing it into a machine that separates the platelets from the rest of their blood. Then, the part of the blood that contains a high concentration of platelets is re-injected into the skin.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, PRP has been used as a possible treatment for hair loss. Some dermatologists have also used the treatment to give patients younger-looking skin, such as reduced wrinkles, acne scars, or deep creases.

For her second cosmetic procedure, Lacey shared that she had a brow lamination and keratin lash lift, which she ranked an “100000/10”. She said: “[I’m] obsessed with it and it lasts for at least 12 weeks. Bye, mascara.”

Brow lamination is a relatively new chemical treatment to help make the eyebrows appear neater and fuller. It’s done using different chemical solutions to coat the brows, before brushing the hair upward to remove any curls. Laminated eyebrows can last anywhere from six to eight weeks.

Meanwhile, a keratin lash lift is a semi-permanent treatment that uses keratin to enhance the natural look of eyelashes. A keratin lash lift can last from four to six weeks and typically costs $100-$200.

Another cosmetic procedure Lacey recommended was a microneedling treatment using PRP therapy and exosomes, which helps stimulate growth factors using collagen. Microneedling is done using small needles to prick the skin – mainly on the face – to generate new collagen and skin tissue. This helps create smoother, firmer, more toned skin while minimising scars, wrinkles, and large pores.

Lacey gave the microneedling treatment a 10 out of 10 ranking, saying that she’d get it “all day everyday”. While she warned her followers that you will “smell like you’re rotting on the first day” of the treatment, she added: “I swear it’s worth it”

The cosmetics industry professional has also had some injectable fillers placed in her lips and chin. Lacey said she loved getting her lip filler with Restylane Kysse, which is “designed with XpresHAn Technology” for natural-looking lips lasting up to one year. Lacey said the fillers made her lips appear “much more natural” and gave the injections a 10 out of 10.

As for her chin filler, Lacey said the treatment can be used for “a temporary fix” and is “amazing for facial balancing”. Chin filler is a non-surgical procedure that involves injecting temporary dermal filler into the chin to help its shape and firm the surrounding area of the skin. Lacey gave her chin filler treatment an 8.9 out of 10 and said a “chin implant may be better for those who prefer a more long-lasting option.”

After Lacey revealed her favourites of the cosmetic procedures she’s had done, it was time to go through the ones she’d never do again. Beginning with a lip filler treatment using Juvederm, which is a popular injectable gel containing hyaluronic acid, Lacey gave this procedure a -20 out of 10.

“Looks nice for, like, three months then migrates like crazy,” she said.

The next procedure that she disliked was called Morpheus 8, a microneedling treatment that combines radiofrequency with the microneedling technique. During the treatment, tiny needles that emit radiofrequency energy are stamped into the skin to create a controlled injury to boost collagen and elastin production. Lacey gave this treatment a zero out of 10 for its high pain level but “minimal” results.

CoolSculpting was another cosmetic treatment that Lacey simply gave a one out of 10. CoolSculpting, which is the brand name for cryolipolysis or “fat-freezing,” is a non-invasive cosmetic procedure that uses cold temperatures to break down fat cells. It uses cooling paddles, which are applied to areas on the body to suction the skin to break down fat cells. Although Lacey said that the CoolSculpting procedure “works for some”, it made her “body proportions really weird” after the treatment.

Although the last two on her list weren’t exactly cosmetic procedures, Lacey said that applying sunscreen and retinol to her face made it “so smooth and bright”. Meanwhile, the one that received an “infinity” out of 10 ranking was having a “reputable provider who can recommend what you need based on your goals”.

With any cosmetic surgery, invasive or non-invasive, a patient must be made aware of the risks that are involved. Recently, model and TV personality Blac Chyna documented the process of removing her facial filler and silicone implants due to their “physical dangers”.

“The physical dangers of getting illegal fillers are many,” said Blac Chyna’s plastic surgeon, Dr David Matlock, after spending more than eight hours removing the injections from her butt. “You can have infections, abscesses, sepsis, sepsis patients can die from that.”

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has previously warned against injectable silicone and dermal fillers for “large-scale body contouring” due to risks such as “long-term pain, infections, and serious injuries, such as scarring and permanent disfigurement, embolism (blockage of a blood vessel), stroke, and death”.