A woman who has spent thousands of dollars pumping her face with dermal filler has undergone further injections to enhance her extreme look, with some fans claiming she has achieved "the world's biggest cheeks".
Anastasia Pokreshchuk, originally from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, said she has spent more than NZ$3000 on dermal filler since she began administering the injectable to her face seven years ago.
The 33-year-old has since undergone a string of cosmetic procedures including Botox, chin and jaw reshaping, liposuction and veneers.
In a clip shared to her Instagram Story last week, Pokreshchuk filmed a practitioner injecting additional filler into her face - a procedure she said she will frequently perform on herself by following an online tutorial.
The footage showed the beautician administering the filler into a friend's face before injecting a top up into Pokreshchuk's cheek, who proudly modelled the results to the camera.
According to reports, Pokreshchuk began her journey to achieving "the world's biggest cheeks" when she was 26 in order to boost her confidence.
During a previous appearance on the UK television show This Morning, Pokreshchuk claimed she has "no regrets" about her cosmetic procedures, adding the surgeries have transformed her into a "more confident" woman.
"I love this look. I was a grey mouse before," Pokreshchuk said. "Now I have lips and cheeks and it looks okay."
She explained that she typically follows online tutorials to administer the filler herself, claiming she sterilises her equipment and injects the substance "like a doctor" would to a patient.
"This can be dangerous, but… I am learning online," she said. "[I won't] die, no… an infection is not good, but everything is sterilised when I'm doing this."
The 33-year-old also said she has received more romantic attention since achieving her extreme look, claiming it's all to do with her new-and-improved confidence.
"My mum thinks this is a little bit crazy, but what can she do? No regrets, never any regrets - I'm happy with my cheeks," she added.
Dermal fillers are used to enhance and augment features by adding volume, improving symmetry and lifting specific areas of the face. The procedure has increased in popularity over recent years, which commentators have partially attributed to the rise of "influencers" on social media. In the US alone, the use of fillers soared from 1.8 million procedures in 2010 to 2.6 million in 2016, according to data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
According to research published in the journal Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology in 2020, self-injecting filler can result in multiple complications.
"As shown by common internet searches, it looks as if a large number of patients are looking up how to self-inject," the researchers wrote.
"According to these patients, they can inject the materials just as well as a physician, and at a reduced cost. They are fearful about government restrictions on purchasing these products.
"Moreover, most of the patients in previous self-injection case reports of various substances, had a history of psychosexual problems and had engaged in frequent, repeated self-injections.
"It is [considered] extremely unusual for an individual without any history of psychological illness to self-inject for rejuvenation purposes."
