I quit the beauty industry after I saw what it did to teen girls who think they're too ugly to go outside

Radiant and fresh-faced, nan girls who sat chatting to maine had nan flawless complexions that older women effort truthful difficult to emulate pinch costly fillers.

I was gathering them to investigation my caller book astir nan modern beauty manufacture and its effect connected young women.

You mightiness ideate that, successful their early teens, they were excessively young to beryllium successful nan thrall of companies trading wrinkle-smoothers and plumping injections. Sadly, however, nan very other was true.

These girls had already been brainwashed by a pernicious — and lucrative — modern beauty artistic that insists you cannot beryllium genuinely charismatic unless you've had immoderate benignant of artificial enhancement.

Mia*, 14, softly admitted: 'I don't really spell extracurricular aft schoolhouse because I don't want group to spot my existent look immoderate much than they already person to.'

Her 7 friends, besides 14, agreed that until they were aged capable to correct their perceived 'flaws' via room aliases injectables they would alternatively group saw heavy filtered images of them connected societal media.

They were truthful convinced their people beautiful faces were ugly, they wanted to hide distant until cosmetic procedures made them fresh to beryllium seen successful public.

Hearing this was surely upsetting — but I wasn't shocked. Until a fewer years ago, I worked successful a trading and branding occupation successful nan beauty industry. I had seen first-hand nan irresponsible methods utilized by immoderate firms to promote specified tragic insecurity among young women earlier they ruthlessly cashed in.

So cynical did I consciousness parts of nan manufacture were becoming successful their exploitation of young women, that I resigned from my job.

It whitethorn sound dystopian, but I judge immoderate beauty companies are efficaciously inducing an addiction to tweakments done clever trading and a weaponising of advertisements connected Instagram and TikTok, wherever these young women walk truthful overmuch of their time.

The consequence is that whereas erstwhile young women longed for nan latest handbag, now they are terrified of being bullied for having unfashionably earthy lips aliases cheeks.

Once hooked connected specified tweakments, these girls will spell done life believing they request to perpetually travel nan latest 'face trend' — which is immoderate nan marketers opportunity it is. Noses that person been fixed neat small tips acknowledgment to fillers, for example, could quickly go 'so past year' and tills will ringing crossed nan onshore arsenic girls request nan latest look pinch small thought of nan semipermanent consequences for their quality and self-esteem.

And, of course, dissimilar a caller lipstick aliases mascara, it's costly — hundreds of pounds for injectables and thousands for surgeries.

I've worked pinch charities supporting young women who are struggling emotionally, arsenic good arsenic financially, arsenic a result, who show maine they prioritise paying for beauty treatments complete eating 3 meals a day, believing it basal to unafraid jobs and moreover to simply 'be respected arsenic a quality being'.

For immoderate girls, immoderate motion of a people malleable, moving look is now considered an imperfection.

I said to cosmetic surgeons and aesthetics doctors who reported an alarming number of young women asking for injections to region perfectly earthy nasolabial folds — nan lines that tally from nan sides of nan lips to nan chemoreceptor — and 'creases' astir their eyes.

These teens and 20-somethings opportunity they consciousness 'old' erstwhile they grin aliases laughter because of nan wholly earthy activity of their skin. Many person been 'unhappy' pinch these lines since first noticing them, aged conscionable 8 aliases nine.

One interrogator into early years acquisition told maine of shocking responses she received from young girls aged 8 to ten, while penning her PhD thesis connected nan gender disagreement successful beauty standards.

E very azygous small woman talked astir needing to look 'perfect', 'contoured' aliases 'chiselled'. They said of perpetually emotion they were being monitored and watched by imaginary voyeurs. None of nan boys said thing for illustration this.

When I said to Mia and her friends, I wasn't amazed to perceive that galore desired chemoreceptor jobs — successful photos taken connected telephone cameras, noses look up to 30 per cent wider than successful existent life.

I was shocked, though, by nan very circumstantial 'imperfections' these girls were hyper-focused on.

They told me: 'This portion of my chin isn't right.' 'This perspective of my jawline isn't rather really I want it to be.' 'My buccal fat (the fat betwixt nan cheekbones and nan jawline) makes maine look truthful ugly'. And 'I dislike my hep dips (minor indentations betwixt nan hips and thighs).'

They had learned astir these 'imperfections' connected societal media, wherever influencers would guideline them to cosmetic treatments to 'fix' them.

Reputable cosmetic surgeons I said to opportunity they effort to thief young women understand that soma is designed to concertina — what these girls picture arsenic wrinkles — aliases dimple aliases crook because it's elastic and it's surely not a motion they look aged aliases request 'correcting'.

But location are unscrupulous practitioners retired there, happy to return youngsters' money.

W hile it is forbidden to administer Botox aliases fillers to a kid nether 18, galore teens now walk years readying and redeeming up for their first treatments erstwhile they scope nan ineligible age.

Others find achromatic marketplace beauticians who will springiness them risky procedures without stringent property checks — exposing themselves to dangers including infection and disfigurement.

I'm not proud to admit that, successful nan past, I unwittingly played a portion successful our toxic cosmetics culture, helping to build an app connected which beauty professionals advertised their services.

The clients, almost each women and girls, could scroll done a carousel of images of nail art, colourful braids and statement make-up, past prime nan look they liked and book an appointment.

I had nary problem pinch this benignant of point — it was fun, non-invasive and lifted our customers' spirits. I've ever been a girly woman — my mum is simply a manner designer and I would screen our family location successful Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire, successful glitter and sequins.

I moreover insisted connected going to schoolhouse successful a tutu and pinkish wellies.

But soon nan products we offered began to change. 'Aestheticians' joined our level — nan fame of tweakments was growing.

Our subscribers could now bargain noses, lips, chins and a super-smooth forehead, each achieved by injectable fillers and Botox.

I wanted nary portion successful encouraging anyone — fto unsocial nan galore teenage users of nan app — to frost and distort their faces.

I knew I had to time off successful nan mediate of 1 convention pinch colleagues. As we planned nan early of our technology, we were asked to ideate nan worst imaginable scenario.

Colleagues said of imaginable information leaks, nan package getting hacked, losing clients' slope details. But I worried aloud that our app's algorithms — which arsenic good arsenic recommending celebrated aliases caller treatments besides followed which beauty treatments you liked past recommended much of nan aforesaid to promote you to support shopping — would person a nefarious effect.

That specified blase search devices would promote users to sculpt their faces and bodies, spending hundreds aliases moreover thousands successful nan process.

Then each it would return would beryllium for america to alteration nan algorithm's codification and show it to urge different treatments, and successful a flash these girls' surgically altered features would beryllium retired of fashion.

I thought astir each nan young women I'd met who had their lips inflated, 'recessed' chins injected to create a stronger jawline aliases rhinoplasty to execute a smaller nose, and I realised I couldn't beryllium a portion of this immoderate more. My colleagues conscionable moved nan speech connected but, weeks later, I resigned.

Today, I'm not yet 30, but astir of my friends person had Botox successful their foreheads aliases chin filler.

One friend exemplifies my past fears: she's connected her 3rd chemoreceptor job. Having made it slimmer, she past wanted her nostrils made smaller and yet nan extremity turning up.

Once you commencement tweaking, location is an endless conveyor loop of treatments connected connection and it's each excessively easy to beryllium seduced into reasoning you request a 'nose update'.

Taylor Lyttle, 20, is simply a keen repetition personification of Botox and fillers. She says: 'Even arsenic a young teenager, I was wished to get articulator fillers nan 2nd I was aged enough. I wanted my lips done astatine 16 but had to hold until my 18th.

'Influencers and celebrities who person these treatments look astonishing — and they look to lead unthinkable lives, too.

'I tin spot why it influences younger teenage girls who want to lead that benignant of life.'

Taylor, who lives successful Belfast and useful for a cleaning company, sees this arsenic portion of her self-expression: 'I don't deliberation it's a shame that women consciousness nan request to alteration their looks truthful dramatically. We tin do immoderate we for illustration to our ain bodies.'

But she admits procedures tin beryllium addictive. 'Once you commencement pinch injectables and spot nan quality it makes to your face, it's really difficult to springiness up. I must person spent much than £2,000.

'All my friends do it, too, though I'm proud to opportunity I person nan biggest lips. I had fillers a mates of months agone to springiness maine a much defined jaw. I'm reasoning of having Botox and getting my cheeks done, too. I'd moreover for illustration to person bum implants 1 day, but they're really costly truthful I'll person to prevention up.'

Beauty marketers connection cut-price deals to entice young women to effort caller treatments.

Another friend of mine, aged 24, had articulator filler utilizing a discount codification she recovered connected Groupon. It only costs her £35. But while astatine nan clinic, she was persuaded by unit that she should besides commencement 'Baby Botox' — mini amounts injected into her forehead and astir her eyes — to forestall wrinkles. She ended up spending astir £100 and continued having regular treatments until I convinced her to extremity a twelvemonth ago.

I've mislaid count of nan number of women I cognize for whom articulator filler turns retired to beryllium a 'gateway drug' to different treatments.

A caller survey, commissioned by cosmetic pharmaceuticals institution Teoxane, revealed that complete a 3rd of 18 to 25-year-olds scheme to person an artistic treatment, pinch 53 per cent citing 'confidence' arsenic nan cardinal reason.

One idol of galore of these girls is reality TV prima Kylie Jenner, younger sister of Kim Kardashian, who started getting articulator filler astatine 17. So galore young women and girls I person met aspire to look for illustration her. But I discarded nary clip telling them astir nan clip I met her successful 2018, while I was managing nan societal media promotion for a mag photoshoot.

Far from projecting an image of empowerment aliases confidence, she seemed skittish and anxious, virtually moving for screen erstwhile nan model blinds accidentally changeable up during nan shoot, terrified she'd beryllium seen by nan photographers waiting outside.

Her assemblage — to my eyes truthful evidently augmented — intelligibly had done small for her confidence.

Yet young girls proceed to radically alteration their bodies successful an effort to declare some her looks and her evident self-belief.

Hannah Jaques, a receptionist from West Yorkshire, spent her teenage years clinging to nan dream that having fillers astatine 18 would magically boost her confidence.

Now 22, she recalls: 'I started readying my first fillers erstwhile I was 13, moreover though I had to hold until I was 18. I sewage them successful my lips, chin and jaw.

'I was truthful wished to get fillers because of nan images I'd seen of beautiful influencers online. It convinced maine I was ugly. I constricted going retired pinch my friends, I missed parties and days retired because I conscionable didn't consciousness bully enough. The assemblage dysmorphia engulfed my life. I held connected to dream that nan time I was aged capable to make changes to really I looked I'd beryllium freed of anxiety.'

But that dream proved predictably illusory. 'Once I'd had fillers I didn't consciousness an contiguous consciousness of happiness aliases confidence.

'It doesn't activity for illustration that. I still felt insecure truthful I kept going backmost to person much and much activity done. Lips, jaw, cheek, nose… until I ended up pinch 'filler blindness' wherever I simply couldn't spot that I'd had excessively overmuch done.

'I must person spent astir £2,000. I've since had immoderate of nan filler successful my look dissolved and I've had therapy, too.'

But contempt master thief nan addiction has proved difficult to kick.

'I still get fillers. I can't springiness them up. Today, though, I cognize young girls look astatine maine connected societal media and because I person fillers, I'm now portion of nan problem.'

• Mia's sanction has been changed

• Pixel Flesh by Ellen Atlanta is published by Headline, disposable astatine each bully bookshops.

As told to Helen Carroll