Beauty really IS pain! A bizarre new wrinkle-fighting trend that involves paying £400 to have salmon sperm injected into your face is causing women to bruise (and it takes up to six months for the effects to kick in)

A new beauty trend involving injecting salmon sperm into your face can leave your skin bruised and covered in bloodstains.

That’s according to proponents of the wrinkle-defying adaptation.

As well as Botox-like effects, polynucleotides – which can cost around £400 – are said to give customers a ‘baby face’ and rejuvenated skin.

But TikTok videos posted by women who have had the injections show them with bumpy skin that resembles “bee stings.”

Others have shown photos of themselves with bruises and dried blood, saying the old saying “beauty is pain” is really true.

Aesthetic nurses who offer the treatment insist the bruising is only temporary.

A TikTok user with almost 10,000 followers said she “looked like an absolute fool while eating.”

She showed her face after the injection was administered, which was covered in small bumps, spots of dried blood and small bruises.

“Essentially, salmon sperm is the same as a baby’s face and this is what I have to go through for now,” she said.

‘I have little bumps and bruises on my face. But beauty is pain, right?’

An aesthetic nurse from Surrey with just over 1,000 followers also posted her face moments after receiving the treatment under her eyes.

Although the video showed her eyes were visibly swollen, she said the treatment caused “minimal” pain and she could “barely feel it.”

She added that she had a “little swelling” that went down that evening and disappeared completely by day three.

Another TikTok video, posted by someone with more than 4,800 followers, showed her getting the shots at a clinic.

Afterwards, her face was lumpy and covered in blood. However, at the end of the video, she shared that her flawless skin was completely healed.

Proponents say polynucleotides offer a “natural” alternative to other traditional “touch-ups” such as Botox and filler.

Some doctors claim it is safer than other cosmetic injectables, which have been linked to a host of complications, including clogged blood vessels, bumpy skin and infections.

It typically uses purified and sterilized DNA molecules extracted from salmon or trout sperm, known as polynucleotides, which have anti-inflammatory effects.

The South Korean aesthetic industry has been using the treatment for more than a decade, but it is now gaining popularity among Western celebrities, including Jennifer Aniston, who told The Wall Street Journal she reaps its skin-rejuvenating properties.

When polynucleotides, DNA molecules extracted from fish sperm, are injected into human skin, fibroblasts are activated.

Fibroblasts are stretchy molecules found in the skin that help maintain the structural framework of the tissue. As we age, these fibroblasts decrease.

So when the polynucleotides are injected under the eyes, into the cheekbones or into the neck, it theoretically ‘rejuvenates’ the skin.

Although they are ‘safer’ than getting fillers or Botox, they are still painful and cause bruising, experts warn.

Emma Wedgwood, an aesthetic nurse who works at a Harley Street clinic offering the treatment, likens the initial side effect of bumpy skin to ‘bee stings’.

But she told MailOnline that this bumpy swelling goes away within a day or two.

“Sometimes you get bruising depending on where you inject,” she said.

‘It is usually the more delicate areas, such as the eye, that are more sensitive.

‘But it’s not in the same way as filler, where you would pretty much expect bruising from filler and it’s a bonus if you don’t, with polynucleotides it’s the other way around.’

Once the swelling has subsided and the skin begins to heal, it may take months before the full wrinkle-reducing effects are visible.

Ms Wedgewood said: ‘It can be frustrating for the patient because they have to wait.

“You’re looking at about three to six months to see the full effects.” So it’s not an overnight job.’

Aesthetic nurse Amanda Azzopardi also offers polynucleotides at her clinics in London, Liverpool and North Wales. She explains that the injections will damage the skin just like any other injection.

Because a very fine needle is used and the product is not thick, “the bruise should not be large,” she says.

But patients should be warned that the area will sting for about a minute and that it may take a week for the bruising to heal.

‘It’s still an injectable treatment,’ she told MailOnline.

‘So you will have minor side effects, such as redness, bruising and inflammation, which will last for about a week. There is no risk of vascular occlusion.’

However, there is always a risk of an allergic reaction. Ms Azzopardi said you should ask about allergies during your medical consultation and report if you have a fish allergy.