Warning for Kim Kardashian’s beloved ‘vampire facials’ after four women contract HIV at New Mexico salon, CDC confirms
- By spring 2023, five patients had been identified, including four women
- The fifth was a man who slept with one of the women but never went to the spa
- READ MORE: ‘Vampire Facials’ at New Mexico Salon Linked to Three More HIV Cases
Four middle-aged women became infected with HIV while receiving “vampire facials” at a New Mexico spa, the CDC has confirmed.
The official statement marks the first known cases of HIV transmitted through cosmetic injections.
VIP Beauty Salon and Spa in Albuquerque offered “vampire facials” and was closed in 2018 after an investigation found unwrapped needles and unlabeled syringes scattered throughout the salon.
“Vampire facials,” popularized by celebrities like Kim Kardashian, involve extracting blood from elsewhere on the body and injecting it into the face in the hopes of stimulating new, rejuvenated skin cells.
The owner of VIP Spa, Maria Ramos de Ruiz, 62, pleaded guilty in June 2022 to five felonies of practicing medicine without a license and is serving a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence.
VIP Beauty Salon and Spa in Albuquerque (pictured in April 2017) offered “vampire facials” and closed in 2018 after two cases of HIV were linked to it. In 2023, a further three cases among previous clients were identified
It is thought that HIV could have been spread through shared needles used by the spa.
The first woman tested positive for HIV in the summer of 2018 after receiving a vampire facial. She had no history of injectable drug use, recent blood transfusions, or recent sexual contact with anyone with HIV.
The second and third women also had a vampire facial treatment in 2018. One was diagnosed with HIV in 2019, the other in 2023, when she was taken to hospital with severe symptoms.
A separate woman and man also tested positive for HIV. The woman got a vampire facial at the spa, while the man contracted the infection from having sex with her. He never received any services from the spa.
The patients ranged in age from 40 to 60 years old, the CDC said.
The CDC and Health Department researchers determined that up to 59 spa-goers may have been exposed to HIV, and of those, 20 had undergone vampire facials.
In June 2022, the spa’s 62-year-old owner, Maria Ramos de Ruiz, pleaded guilty to five felonies of practicing medicine without a license and was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.
Maria Ramos de Ruiz (pictured in 2021) was charged with more than 20 crimes after two clients claimed they contracted HIV from a ‘vampire facial’ at her salon
Kim Kardashian popularized the ‘vampire facial’ when she posted a selfie of her face covered in blood in 2013
The spa, at 809 Tijeras Avenue, closed in September 2018 after an inspection by the New Mexico Department of Health and the CDC discovered unwrapped needles scattered in drawers, on counters and discarded in trash cans, as well as a rack of unlabeled blood tubes.
The vampire facial procedure was made popular by celebrities and is said to reduce fine lines and wrinkles, plump sagging skin and improve skin tone.
Blood is usually drawn from the arm and separated into ‘youth-boosting’ platelet-rich plasma, which is then applied to facial skin that has been pricked with microneedles.
Inspectors also found fake certificates for a cosmetic medicine degree on the wall and a fake diploma from the University of Phoenix. The Albuquerque Journal reports this.
Ramos de Ruiz’s beautician license had expired in 2013.
Inspectors discovered numerous health code violations, including unwrapped needles, blood dumped in the sink and unlabeled syringes next to food in the refrigerator, The Albuquerque Journal reported.
Ramos de Ruiz told inspectors she did breast and butt sculpting, cellulite treatments and ‘vampire facials’
She was ordered by the The New Mexico Medical Board will end its unlicensed medical practice in the state in December 2018.
According to inmate records, Ramos de Ruiz is currently serving her sentence at the Springer Correctional Center.