In late 2019, when Victoria Nelson (@victoria.nelson) was 26 years old, she started seeing Sonya Dakar, one of the most well-known and expensive celebrity estheticians in Los Angeles.
At the time, Victoria was feeling insecure about her acne. Before booking with Sonya, she began using her products at home first.
When she finally went to her clinic in Beverly Hills, she was convinced that Sonya would be able to help clear her acne. But instead, Sonya ended up permanently ruining her face.
“Pretty much from the moment we started working together, I was posting online about my experience and how she did end up clearing my acne,” said Victoria.
“I was telling people to buy her products and go see her in her clinic in Beverly Hills. I even called her my L.A. mom at the time and actually took my own mom to her clinic for a session.”
Obviously, Victoria was a strong supporter of Sonya, and it felt like they were family. In April 2021, Victoria went into the clinic for a routine facial, which she had done plenty of times by this point.
Everything was normal at first, but then Sonya insisted that they finish the appointment with a facial peel.
Victoria trusted her because she was the expert and knew her skin better than anyone else. So, Sonya applied the liquid solution from a dropper to her left cheek, forehead, and right cheek.
A small drop landed just below Victoria’s left eyebrow, and she immediately felt a stinging sensation. Her eyes started watering. After saying that it hurt, Sonya rinsed away the treatment and gave her a fan to cool her face.
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“It was still just really on fire, and I was kind of confused as to why this hurts so badly,” Victoria said. “So, I opened the front-facing camera on my phone to use as a mirror, as any millennial woman probably would, and saw what I thought looked like a white cream or a white lotion, but pretty quickly realized that that was actually my skin just burned.”
She snapped some photos of her face and sent them to her friends. They began freaking out right away. Sonya insisted that everything would be fine and that her face would be perfectly fixed in one month.
That week was rough. Every morning, Victoria sent photos of her face to Sonya for advice on what to do. At the end of the week, Victoria met up with her brother, who urged her to pursue legal action.
But the thought of going through another legal battle was way too draining because she had just finished up a legal issue with an ex-boyfriend.
Someone even asked her if she had gotten acid thrown on her face while she was out with her brother. Victoria really trusted Sonya’s abilities.
She did 18 sessions with her in 2021 and 12 sessions in 2022. These treatments often included aggressive microneedling, followed by diligent use of her products and constant check-ins.
Victoria couldn’t help but feel like she was permanently disfigured. During 2021 and 2022, she spent around $30,000 with Sonya. In July 2022, Victoria went to see her dermatologist for a routine appointment.
Her dermatologist was confused as to why Sonya hadn’t referred her to a burn unit and was really concerned about what ingredients had been in the peel.
“To this day, I still have no idea what was in that liquid,” said Victoria. “The dermatologist recommended a different treatment plan, which was six sessions of a laser.”
“Again, felt kind of like an empty promise of six sessions and you’ll be good, and that was another $8,000 out of pocket down the drain.”
In January 2023, Sonya reached out to her, and she let her know that she was seeing a dermatologist instead. Sonya insisted that she come back for treatment, so she did return for another 10 sessions, spending roughly $10,000.
She hasn’t spoken to Sonya since 2023. She has sought the advice of numerous medical professionals, who told her that the liquid was probably medical-grade or at least something an esthetician shouldn’t have access to.
She was also informed that the microneedling treatments were not covered by the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, under which Sonya’s license was.
Today, Victoria still has marks on her face that she is self-conscious of. Over the years, she has spent about $60,000 with Sonya and another $30,000 on other treatments with professionals in the hopes of restoring her face.
There has been no legal resolution with the board that holds Sonya’s license. The board has actually publicly recorded issues with Sonya in the past and has put her license on probation before.
Former clients and former employees have also spoken out. Even with a mountain of evidence, there has been no form of resolution or accountability taken.
Her services are still being performed unchecked. Some of her recent clients were teenagers! Victoria wants to warn others about what can happen when you go to an esthetician and bring more transparency to an industry that so many young women have put their trust in.
“Not everyone offering services should be offering them,” she concluded. “This doesn’t just happen at sketchy storefronts or places that offer these hacky deals.”
“It can happen from someone touted as the Skin Jedi for celebrities in the corner of Beverly Hills, and the board that is supposed to be looking out for the consumer might not actually follow through for you.”
In a follow-up video, Victoria explained that she had decided to sue. In partnership with her and the board, the Attorney General’s office officially filed a complaint against Sonya’s establishment on November 18.
She is dedicated to seeking justice for herself and others who have been wronged and improving the industry’s regulations.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
