An Instagram model says she "might not recover" after an eyelash extension appointment went wrong.
Conny Hawk, 29, has been getting eyelash extensions regularly for many years and says she has never experienced any issues.
However, last month she had to be rushed to hospital after getting the extensions done at a beauty salon in her home town of Vienna, Austria.
The seemingly harmless beauty treatment led to an infection in her eye, which caused huge swelling, and saw her rushed to hospital.
She said: “I’ve been to this beauty salon twice before and, even though the people aren’t very friendly, I never had any issues with my eyelashes which is why I went back there.”
“The eyelashes were applied in the same way they usually are but once they were done, I felt a little burning sensation on my right eye but then an hour later, everything seemed fine again.”
Conny said she went home and woke up the next morning only to find her eyelid slightly swollen, but wasn’t too concerned.
“I thought it was a bit weird but wasn’t very concerned but then during the day it got drastically worse and worse,” she said.
Conny then admitted herself to hospital a day later after her eyelid became even more swollen and had become infected.
“The doctor said some lash glue must have gotten in my eye and infected my entire eyelid from underneath. They had to give me antibiotics from a drip. I was allowed to go home but had to take medication and cortisone eye drops at home for the next week.”
Conny fears full recovery may take a while and admits there is still some residual swelling, even weeks after the treatment.
“The worst thing is that the hospital told me things like this can go on for a long time and might not fully disappear unless I have surgery," she said.
The model claims that while she has been in communication with the salon about the extensions, they are refusing to take any responsibility.
“I spoke to them [the salon] on the phone and also sent them pictures but they are just trying to take the responsibility off of themselves saying some people are prone to getting infections etc., which is ridiculous as I never had anything like that before.”
After her terrifying experience, Conny is warning others to do their research before getting eyelash extensions.
“Don’t underestimate the fact that somebody is working very closely on your eyelid which is a highly sensitive area,” she added.
