It's easy to jump on every beauty fad there is when seeking the perfect skin, but one woman learnt the hard way that vacuuming your skin will not get rid of blackheads.
Safia Hartwell, 24, was drawn in by a 'blackhead removing' vacuum tool she saw on Instagram, but said it looked like she had been "beaten up" after using it.
She'd purchased Bellevia's blackhead remover vacuum device for £20, but was left with so much bruising that it was 'horrible looking in the mirror'.
Safia claims that she copied the videos she saw online instructing how to use the tool, but after applying its lowest suction setting for just three minutes, large painful bruises emerged all over her face.
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She subsequently contacted Bellevia explaining that she was "absolutely devastated" by the ordeal, which had left her praying there would be no permanent damage to her face, but says they haven't responded.
Now her bruises have finally healed, the student is speaking out to encourage others to do their research before racing to buy celebrity-endorsed products.
"I brushed it over my face as that's what I saw in the advertising videos online," she said. "I had it on the lowest suction and wasn't using it for long at all - just enough to go across my skin and vacuum the blackheads.
"The bruises came out instantly - I just thought it was redness from the product and that it would go down in five minutes.
"Then within 20 minutes I realised that it had bruised all my face - it looked like I'd been beaten up really badly.
"I was so shocked, I just couldn't believe it - it was horrible looking in the mirror seeing that."
Rather than achieving the 'perfect skin' promised by Bellevia's blackhead remover, Safia was left terrified that the product may have caused her permanent damage.
She added: "I was seriously horrified and worried about the state of my face - I thought 'Oh my god what has happened, that can't be normal.'
"My mum said it looked like I had loads of burns all over my face and was so shocked.
"She was like 'what have you done?'
"Nothing like this has happened before - I go to my dermatologists quite a lot for botox, fillers and skin treatments, but this is the first thing I've really used at home.
"It bruised the skin all around my face and was so painful the first few days as it was tender and swollen."
Safia had spotted the device on Katie Price's Instagram, however her manager said that she was just one of many celebs promoting the product, and the reality star couldn't be held responsible for a "user error".
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After posting on Facebook, Safia discovered that many women, including some of her friends, had suffered comparable experiences with similar products.
Safia said: "My friends have been so shocked and asking if I'm ok. Some girls said the same had happened to them - I don't know whether it's to do with skin types, but it's literally awful.
"I thought it looked like love bites all over my face, but other girls have said theirs looked the same - I think it's quite common with it."
Safia was going to contact the doctor, but after doing some research she realised the result was just temporary bruising.
Still, she is keen for others not to have to go through what she did.
"If someone used that before they had something really important the next day, like a wedding or a prom, could you imagine how bad that would be?," she said.
She was forced to cancel outings with friends for an entire week until her face healed.
Safia said: "I've been using a lot of makeup to try and even remotely cover it. I thought I can't go out like this as it was really bad - it ruined all my plans.
"It's been so hot I've been wanting to go to the beach without having to worry. It was just horrible - I thought everyone was going to look at me and think 'what is wrong with her face?'"
Safia posted her experience on social media to encourage others to think twice about purchasing blackhead remover vacuums, and has a couple of takeaway messages.
Safia said: "It's made me more wary about buying products online, especially when celebrities are endorsing them.
"Don't be fooled and believe everything, because celebrities were raving about it so much and then it's done that to my face.
"Before you buy products, do some more research into them and leave it to the professionals - I'd hate for someone to have something really important the next day and have to go through that."
Bellevia.us were contacted for comment but failed to respond.