I spent $4K on my filler addiction — now he warns…
True confidence comes from within, not from a syringe.
At just 25, Christopher Sharratt, from Staffordshire, UK, is opening up about his journey through the world of excessive beauty procedures — and the life-changing choice to undo it all. In a collection of stunning before-and-after images, Sharratt shares how years of lip and facial fillers led to exaggerated options and facial swelling, before he determined to reverse the results and reclaim his natural look.
Christopher Sharratt, from Staffordshire, UK, is opening up about his journey through the world of excessive beauty procedures. Instagram/chrissharratt_
Twenty-five-year-old Christopher Sharratt, who initially underwent his first filler injections at age 17, estimates he spent around £3,500 (roughly $4,400) on beauty enhancements.
It all started after he lied about his age to get the therapies, and what began as a small step shortly snowballed into a full-blown addiction to injectables.
“The amount of money I spent on that is like half a house deposit, for God’s sake,” Sharratt, from Staffordshire, UK, told Newsweek, reflecting on how a lot money he spent.
Sharratt, who initially underwent his first filler injections at age 17, estimates he spent around £3,500 (roughly $4,400) on beauty enhancements. Instagram/chrissharratt_
The real kicker, however, was the instant satisfaction he acquired from the swelling that adopted each injection. “You have a mil [millimeter] and your lips swell up or wherever you have it on your face. And you’re like, oh my God, this swelling looks so good. And a week later, the swelling goes down and you’re like, oh c***, I need to go and get another mil,” he confessed.
Dr. Cali Estes, a psychologist and addiction professional, explained that while fillers will not be chemically addictive, they will grow to be psychologically addictive. “Each injection gives an instant confidence boost, and the brain starts chasing that dopamine hit again—just like checking likes on social media,” Estes said.
For Sharratt, the cycle was all too acquainted, main him to lose sight of how a lot he had altered his look.
Dr. Estes calls this phenomenon “aesthetic blindness,” where people who start utilizing fillers stop noticing the modifications as they accumulate. “The brain recalibrates so quickly that what once looked dramatic now feels normal. They stop seeing the enhancements and keep chasing more,” she said.
For Sharratt, the tipping level got here during the COVID-19 lockdown, when he was unable to access filler therapies. Looking at images of himself from the past, he had an epiphany: “I actually didn’t look that bad. I should have been a bit nicer to myself,” he mirrored.
Sharratt’s choice to undo years of facial modifications wasn’t simple. It took 4 rounds of dissolver injections — painful and time-consuming — to take away the filler. “I had four rounds of dissolver because I had so much filler in my lip,” he said.
“Cheeks and jaw were easy to get rid of, but I actually had to start pulling my lips out and putting it in the back because there was nowhere else to fill out,” he said. “It did take four whole rounds of dissolving to get rid of it.”
But the method wasn’t just bodily draining — it was emotionally taxing too. Sharratt now hopes that sharing his story will raise awareness about the dangers of beauty procedures and inspire a push for stricter laws.
One of Sharratt’s greatest issues is the shortage of oversight in the UK, where fillers are often administered in salons without medical supervision. “There needs to be so much more regulation in place,” he said. “No 17-year-old should be going to get fillers. Nobody.”
It all started after he lied about his age to get the therapies, and what began as a small step shortly snowballed into a full-blown addiction to injectables. Instagram/chrissharratt_
In the United States, dermal fillers are regulated by the FDA, which has set age restrictions and tips for their use. In normal, fillers are accepted only for adults, with sure merchandise cleared for people aged 21 and older. Licensed medical professionals, including medical doctors and nurses, are the only ones allowed to administer these injections in most states.
Unfortunately, Sharratt said that sufferers are hardly ever informed about the long-term dangers related with fillers. “Nobody tells you that it doesn’t dissolve completely… It moves around your face,” he famous. “You don’t get told that if you overstretch your lips, parts of your face can remain stretched.”
Dr. Estes emphasised the medical dangers of fillers, which may embrace problems like blindness. She also identified the hazard for people with physique dysmorphia or addiction tendencies, urging that there wants to be more psychological screening and moral limits in place to defend susceptible people.
Now that he’s filler-free, Sharratt says he feels more assured and approachable than ever before. “More people come up to me now than ever,” he said. “People wouldn’t come up and say hello before.”
He hopes his story will serve as a cautionary story and spark a broader dialog about the hazards of beauty procedures. “Hopefully I can be one of the few people to put their hand up, say I’ve made a mistake, and we need to do something about this,” he said.
In a world where the stress to look “perfect” is ever-present, Sharratt’s story affords a reminder that sometimes, less is more.
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