Tulisa Contostavlos has revealed she’s going to get ‘fat transfer’ in the future to help bring down the bruising in her face which makes her ‘paranoid’.
The singer, 36, took to Instagram on Saturday to point out the bruising on her right cheek, which she claimed appeared after years of taking steroid injections to control chronic cysts.
Tulisa has had 10 cysts in total removed from the inside of her mouth in the last few months, after constantly feeling like her ‘cheek was on fire’ and suffering with the sensation of ants crawling in her face.
Before finding out the root cause of her 12-year health battle, Tulisa was getting steroid injections to bring down the pain and discomfort – which has now caused permanent bruising.
Tulisa, who was also diagnosed with Bell’s palsy in 2020, said: ‘Hi guys, some of you may know I recently opened up in an Olivia Attwood interview So Wrong It’s Right, talking about my face and the experiences I’ve had with the chronic infection that I was unaware of and Bells Palsy attacks.
Tulisa, 36, has revealed she’s going to get ‘fat transfer’ in the future to help bring down the bruising in her face that makes her ‘paranoid’, she told fans on Saturday
The singer took to Instagram to point out the bruising on her right cheek, which she claimed appeared after years of taking steroid injections to control chronic cysts
Tulisa has had 10 cysts in total removed from the inside of her mouth in the last few months, after constantly feeling like her ‘cheek was on fire’ and suffering with the sensation of ants crawling in her face
Read More Tulisa Contostavlos reveals she’s finally discovered root cause of 12-year health battle
‘I’ve just had so many people in my DMs reaching out and asking me about my experiences and what’s going on, which has made me really happy about opening up because it has let a lot of other people know that they’re not alone.
‘I had my first operation a few months back, that was before the Olivia Attwood interview, where they opened up the ear and went in here [pointing to her jaw] and they took about five cysts that I had in the lower part of the face.
‘And then three weeks ago, I had my latest and final operation where they removed the five last cysts.
‘He [surgeon] went in under the mouth, made an incision from here all the way round to here [pointing to her lower cheek] but underneath, so there is absolutely no scaring.
‘I literally only had the sтιтches out about a week ago, so my face is actually still quite swollen.
‘I have noticed that where I have been having so many steroid injections into this cheek when it would blow up because of the inflammation.
‘As the swelling is going down, I am left with a lot of indentation in this cheek. I’ve covered it with makeup, it does make me really paranoid. I hate it, no one likes having dents in their cheek or discolouration or things wrong with their face.
‘But I will take a bit [of makeup] off so you can see it. It’s literally like a bruise, this is the indentation.
Before finding out the root cause of her 12-year health battle, Tulisa was getting steroid injections to bring down the pain and discomfort – which has now caused permanent bruising
In the meantime, before getting fat transfer, Tulisa revealed she’s undergoing profhilo treatment to bring down the bruising
WHAT IS BELL’S PALSY?
Bell’s palsy is a condition that causes temporary weakness or paralysis of the muscles in one side of the face.
It is a rare condition which is believed to affect around one in 5,000 people each year.
It is is believed to occur when the nerve that controls the muscles in your face becomes compressed.
The exact cause is unknown, although it’s thought to be because the facial nerve becomes inflamed, possibly due to a viral infection. Variants of the herpes virus may be responsible.
Around seven out of 10 people with Bell’s palsy make a complete recovery, with or without treatment.
Most people notice an improvement in their symptoms after about two to three weeks. However, a complete recovery can take between three and six months.
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‘One of the more permanent things you can do is get a fat transfer, which I will do in the future, when I’ve got time but for now what I’m going to do is a treatment called profhilo.’
A surgical fat transfer is cosmetic surgery to move fat from one part of the body to another. It’s also known as a “fat graft” or “lipomodelling”.
In the meantime, before getting fat transfer, Tulisa revealed she’s undergoing profhilo treatment to bring down the bruising.
Treatment with Profhilo improves skin tone, texture, hydration and overall radiance. It can help to increase firmness and elasticity and promote healthier and softer-looking skin.
After being diagnosed with Bell’s palsy in 2020 the N-Dubz singer continued to have growing issues which would see her face become inflamed and swollen, with the star regularly taking steroids to help control the symptoms.
She said the problems were particularly bad around the time she reformed with the trio in 2022, ending their 11-year hiatus from the music scene with a new tour and single release.
Tulisa admitted she would ask herself “What the hell is going on with my face?” before a doctor did a crucial ultrasound, which finally exposed the underlining issue.
During Olivia Attwood’s podcast interview, where Tulisa also confirmed she is taking a ‘breather’ from N-Dubz, the performer detailed the moment she realised having cysts in her cheek had been the hidden cause of over a decade of chronic stress.
The former X Factor judge pleaded for help from doctors across the country after constantly feeling like her ‘cheek was on fire’ and suffering with the sensation of ants crawling in her face
After being diagnosed with Bell’s palsy in 2020 the N-Dubz singer continued to have growing issues which would see her face become inflamed and swollen (pictured in 2012)
Tulisa opened up about her health battles on the latest episode of Olivia Attwood’s So Wrong It’s Right podcast ahead of her stint in the I’m A Celeb jungle
She also believes the painful cysts had contributed to a long list of medical concerns she has battled with for years such as sarcoidosis and immune disorders.
Tulisa said: ‘My doctor said my ultrasounds showed these dark shadows and he said what I’m going to do, if you’d allow me, is to go in for an explorative op and just see what I can find. I was like, please do it. I’ll do anything. Please. I can’t take it any longer.
‘So, he went in and found three chronically infected cysts. So I basically had these cysts that were sat all around my cheek, swelling up with infection, one of them actually popped as he went in that’s how infected it was.
‘And I’ve had all these health problems for years – sarcoidosis, immune disorders and this explains all the symptoms that I was getting and could have been causing Bell’s palsy because in total there was, I think, six of them. They could have been growing over the years, actually triggering the Bell’s.’