By 21, Jess Pendrey had spent an estimated £8,000 on cosmetic procedures, and she says she now regrets the transformation she once chased. The bartender, from Brighton, began with lip filler at 18 and went on to have chin, jaw, cheek and nose filler, masseter Botox, composite bonding in Turkey, a £4,500 breast augmentation and non-surgical body contouring.
Speaking to the Mirror, Jess said she became addicted to treatments and spent virtually every penny of her waitressing wages on appointments. She is now preparing to have her lip filler dissolved as she tries to return to a more natural look.
'I was never happy'
Jess described a cycle of booking one treatment after another. "I was never happy," she said. "I was always waiting for the next thing. I was spending all my money. All my wages were going on these appointments."
Her mother opposed every procedure, but that did not stop her. "My mum hated everything I had done, ever, but I just kept going back for top-ups," she said. "It was so easy. You can see something online, book it the day before and completely change your face."
Love Island influence
Jess said she became fixated on the polished look promoted by influencers and former Love Island contestants, especially Lucinda Strafford. "Lucinda was a big one when I was 18 or 19," she said. "Looking back now, she's a very pretty girl, but she's her. She's obviously spent money on what she looks like. But that's not me."
Social media made each new treatment feel normal, she said, with before-and-after videos, clinic promotions and discounted packages everywhere. "You see exactly what they've had done and how they've managed to look a certain way," she said. "Every day you're seeing a new offer. There are packages on offer. I even bought a 4ml tweak package where they did my nose, jaw and cheeks all in one day. I went straight back to work afterwards."
She also believes influencers post heavily edited images that do not reflect reality. "Creators post the best photos of themselves," she said. "That's not what they actually look like. No-one is perfect."
Online cruelty and comparisons
Her obsession spilled into daily life, and she would compare herself with other women even on nights out. "I would look around the room and fixate on what everyone else looked like," she said. "The only thing I thought I had going for me was the way I looked."
Jess received cruel criticism online for the amount of work she had done. "I'm lucky that I don't really care what people say, because if I'd been in a bad place it could have really affected me. But I was shocked by how people were hating on me for getting work done. Anyone who commented something bad was on a private account."
Reversing procedures
Jess now wants to reverse some of the changes. She is due to have her lip filler dissolved and says modelling has helped her appreciate the features she once wanted to change. "I'm building up my modelling portfolio now, and they actually love unique faces," she said. "I miss what I used to look like. I look like a completely different person. People don't even recognise me anymore, and that really stressed me out."
Dissolving filler can cost between £150 and £300 per area, using an injected enzyme called hyaluronidase to break down hyaluronic acid-based fillers. If filler has migrated, the process can cost thousands and be painful, with some describing intense burning sensations as the solution spreads.
Despite everything, Jess says she does not regret her decisions because they helped her grow, but she hopes other young women think carefully before following beauty trends online. "It didn't make me feel any better," she said. "I think everything happens for a reason, and I was always going to try it. But I don't even really look at social media anymore because it's so toxic."
