A “vampire facial” at a New Mexico spa has been linked to a new HIV infection, years after the spa closed, state health officials said on Wednesday.
The patient’s just self-detailed HIV risk openness was a vampire facial they got at celebrity Spa in Albuquerque back in 2018, the New Mexico Branch of Wellbeing revealed.
The client of the spa tested positive in 2023, but the spa was closed in September 2018 after state inspectors discovered practices that could potentially spread blood-borne infections to clients, including HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. At the hour of the underlying examination, two different clients had tried positive for HIV.
A patient’s blood is drawn during a vampire facial, and then micro needles are used to inject parts of the blood back into the face. It has been reported that the treatment can rejuvenate the skin by reducing the size of pores and reducing fine lines.
More than 100 former VIP clients were tested as part of the initial investigation in 2018 and 2019, but health officials stated that former VIP clients should be retested, even if they initially tested negative. The health department is urging former clients who had any type of injection-related service, including a vampire facial or Botox injections at the VIP Spa, to get tested for HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C.
“We really should get the message out and remind individuals who got any sort of infusion connected with administrations gave at the celebrity Spa to come in for nothing and classified testing,” Dr. Laura Parajon, appointee secretary for the wellbeing division, said.
The health department reported on Wednesday that it had discovered additional HIV infections that had a “direct or indirect connection with services provided” at VIP Spa. The number of HIV-positive individuals tested by the department has not been disclosed, nor has it specified what constitutes an indirect connection. CBS News has sought clarification from the health department.
Vampire facials acquired ubiquity when Kim Kardashian posted an Instagram photograph of herself in the wake of going through the facial in 2013 at an alternate spa office. She has since openly opposed the strategy.
Previous celebrity Spa proprietor Maria Ramos de Ruiz conceded in June of 2022 to five crime counts of rehearsing medication without a permit, CBS member KRQE revealed. She received a prison term of three and a half years.