On March 20, 2026, in Villeurbanne, a 38-year-old woman went to an aesthetic appointment made on TikTok and organized in an apartment rented via Airbnb. The procedure, intended to reshape her buttocks, is not carried out by a doctor. The syringe is held by an “influencer” presenting herself as an aesthetic expert, followed by tens of thousands of subscribers on social networks. Subscribers who do not realize the danger.
The first illegal injection that kills a person in France
But this time is one too many for the false expert: during the injection, the victim goes into cardiac arrest. Emergency services, which quickly intervened, were unfortunately unable to resuscitate her. An investigation is now open for involuntary homicide and illegal practice of medicine. Three people were indicted, including the clandestine practitioner.
This drama, unprecedented in France, nevertheless reveals a well-established system. Behind these low-cost services offered by people with no knowledge of medicine, lies a structured organization, fueled by sometimes counterfeit products and distributed massively on social networks. Professionals talk about tours in several cities, quick appointments and unbeatable prices. A seemingly attractive model, but which is based on dangerous practices, carried out without training or supervision.
Professionals on alert for months
Faced with this situation, the reaction of the medical world was not long in coming. The Circle of Good Practices in Aesthetic Medicine, which brings together more than 200 doctors, directly points to a regulatory void that allows these abuses to flourish. According to his estimates, a significant proportion of aesthetic procedures are today carried out outside the medical framework. In the field, practitioners are all seeing a clear increase in complications, sometimes serious, requiring complex treatment.
The National Union of Reconstructive and Aesthetic Plastic Surgery has also been sounding the alarm for several years. In a press release, he recalls that these clandestine practices represent a major risk to public health. This death is only part of a context already marked by numerous serious complications, including several hospitalizations in intensive care. For surgeons, this tragedy was unfortunately predictable if no strong measures were taken.
“An illegal injector is powerless in the face of complications“
So it’s no surprise. Already in 2024, as the reports continued to mount, Dr. Fatya Assadi, an aesthetic doctor, insisted on the extreme dangerousness of these illegal injections.
“It takes a minimum of training, and several years of study to know the anatomy, the gestures, and to be authorized to perform this type of act”she recalled.
And underlined an essential difference between a doctor and an “illegal injector”: the ability to anticipate and above all to manage complications. “An illegal injector will be completely powerless in the face of these complications, because she does not have the knowledge to react.”she explained.
The risks are what “clients” are not sufficiently informed about;
“A bad injection will not only not give the expected effect… it can kill”she warns today. The complications can be dramatic: necrosis, vision loss, severe infections, septicemia, and now, death.”
The very bad influence of social networks
Contacted again today, Dr. Assadi takes an accusatory look on social networks, playing a determining role in this drift.
“On TikTok, everything looks beautiful and easy. Unbeatable prices, spectacular results… but that’s not the reality”she laments. It describes a well-established mechanism, which targets a young and impressionable audience, attracted by promises of rapid and accessible transformation.
“You are 18 or 20 years old, you see these results, it’s quick, cheap… if you are not at least informed, you go for it”she explains.
Results ? In medical practices, professionals now receive patients every week who have tested these methods at a discount. At best dissatisfied with their illegal injections, at worst injured.
A turning point expected after this first death
Beyond the drama, this death could however mark a turning point. “I still have the impression that this death is the climax. A death is something terrible. I hope this will lead to much more incisive regulation.”hopes Dr. Assadi.
She mentions a real traffic in illegal injections, constantly growing, and denounces a lack of resources as well as still insufficient sanctions. “Even when these people are caught, the sentences are not always commensurate with the harm. This all needs to be rethought.” she insists.
Among the avenues mentioned by professionals is the question of access to products. Because hyaluronic acid remains relatively accessible, which directly fuels these clandestine practices. But the problem goes far beyond just the question of the product. It also concerns the regulation of social networks, prevention and public information.
This death is not only a tragic news item, it is the symptom of a system which partly escapes the control of the authorities. And now the question is no longer whether these practices are dangerous, but how long it will take to put an end to them. And before other deaths.