Client says celebrity aesthetician's chemical peel left her face burned, scarred and 'irreparably damaged'

A Los Angeles woman says a session with celebrity aesthetician Sonya Dakar left her face burned, scarred and “irreparably damaged,” and that follow-up care did not prevent long-term injury.

Victoria Nelson, who has posted about the incident on TikTok and Instagram, said she was at Dakar’s Beverly Hills clinic in April 2021 for what she believed was a routine facial when Dakar suggested finishing the appointment with a chemical peel. Nelson said she trusted Dakar, who has treated high-profile clients, and accepted the treatment because she was told it required no downtime and would not cause irritation.

Nelson said the moment the peel solution touched her skin she experienced “immediate burning and stinging,” and that she told Dakar she was in pain. According to Nelson, the solution was rinsed off and she was handed a fan, but when she looked at her face using her phone’s front-facing camera she saw pale, white areas that she believed were burned skin. She later shared with a news outlet a date-stamped photograph she said was taken at that appointment, showing prominent white markings on her cheeks and forehead.

Nelson said Dakar told her the damage would not be permanent. Over the following week, Nelson described severe distress as her skin scabbed and healed unevenly, and she said she sent daily photo updates to Dakar and received advice on care via text messages. She continued receiving care in Dakar’s clinic in hopes the treatments would reverse the damage.

Nelson said she underwent about 30 sessions with Dakar between 2021 and 2022, including aggressive microneedling and follow-up use of Dakar’s products, and that the sessions totaled roughly $30,000. Nelson said she ultimately stopped seeing Dakar but continues to live with scars she describes as disfiguring.

In the summer of 2022 Nelson visited a dermatologist, who, Nelson said, was “really confused” about why she had not been referred immediately to a burn unit or a plastic surgeon after the peel. Nelson said the dermatologist raised concerns about the unknown ingredients in the peel solution and recommended six sessions of laser treatment, which Nelson said cost about $8,000.

Two years after the initial procedure, Nelson said she remains self-conscious about the scars. "It's the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning, the last thing I see before I go to bed," she said in social media posts. Nelson has said she hopes sharing her experience will warn others and prevent similar injuries.

Sonya Dakar has been described in media accounts as an aesthetician whose clients have included multiple celebrities. Nelson named several high-profile figures in posts about Dakar’s client list. Nelson said she had considered Dakar a trusted provider and called her an "LA mom" before the peel.

Nelson told a news outlet that she does not know the chemical composition of the peel that caused the injury. She said she pursued what she described as appropriate channels before publicly posting her account, and that she has since cut off contact with Dakar.

A representative for Dakar did not respond to requests for comment from the news outlet cited by Nelson. The cited outlet reported it made repeated requests for comment from Dakar.

Medical professionals and dermatology societies generally advise that chemical peels and other cosmetic procedures carry risks including burns, scarring and infection, and that providers should inform patients of possible side effects and provide clear aftercare and referral to appropriate medical care when complications occur. Nelson’s account raises questions about the management of an acute reaction to a peel and about documentation of the peel’s ingredients and concentrations.

Nelson said the human cost of the experience — the ongoing self-consciousness and loss of trust — has been as consequential as the financial cost of additional treatments. She said she shared her story to encourage caution among anyone considering in-office cosmetic procedures and to press providers to prioritize patient safety and medical follow-up when complications arise.