'I Was Ugly Until I Spent Over $30k On A New Face, Now I Don’t Recognize Myself'

In a world where beauty standards can exert immense pressure on individuals, some people resort to altering their physical features to align with societal ideals. One woman, recently disclosed that she spent over $30,000 on facial enhancements due to her personal perception of being unattractive. 

Mia Dio/Instagram

Mia Dio reveals that her face lacks natural movement, leading to a startling realization - she no longer recognizes herself when she looks in the mirror.

In a YouTube video that garnered 819,000 views, Mia Dio openly shared the comprehensive list of cosmetic treatments she has undergone with her dedicated following of 78,000 subscribers.

Kicking off the video, Dio confidently expressed her indifference towards critics and haters, emphasizing that their opinions hold no influence over her decisions and personal journey.

“Before you judge me, I don’t really care. Because based off of this video, I am obviously my worst judge,” she said. “You cannot out-judge me more than I have judged myself in this life.”

Mia Dio/YouTube

Describing her transformation, Mia Dio characterizes her journey as a transition from a state of feeling "botched" to embodying the idealized image of Barbie.

During her YouTube video, Dio revealed that her venture into beauty enhancements began early in life. At the age of 16, she took her first step by getting lip filler. To undergo the procedure, she had to rely on a fake ID to bypass age restrictions.

After getting her first lip filler, Mia Dio became obsessed with getting more. She wanted her lips to resemble those of a Bratz doll, so she kept going back for additional treatments.

When Mia started getting lip fillers, she chose the cheapest option available. As a result, her lips became bumpy, didn't move naturally, and ended up looking too big for her face.

Mia Dio/Instagram

Despite people advising her to slow down, Mia believed that her desire for larger lips was never satisfied. She thought she had a condition called "lip-filler dysmorphia," where she always felt her lips weren't big enough.

At the age of 19, Mia decided to have some of her lip filler dissolved, which resulted in her current lip appearance. However, the dissolving process left her lips uneven, so she had to seek further treatment to achieve a balanced look after having used makeup to even them out for approximately a year and a half.

Initially, Mia primarily focused on getting lip fillers. However, after graduating from high school and saving enough money, she decided to invest $5,000 in getting her nose done, expanding her cosmetic enhancements beyond just her lips.

Mia Dio/YouTube

“The result looks so much like my natural nose, just a little bit more angular, which basically just snatched my face up,” she said of her nose job.

Following her rhinoplasty, Mia took a break from getting more cosmetic procedures for a while. However, she eventually started getting Botox injections.

Nowadays, Mia regularly gets a treatment called "baby Botox" on her forehead. Baby Botox is a type of Botox that helps prevent wrinkles from forming, while regular Botox is used to fix existing wrinkles and lines, according to the Cosmetic Skin Clinic.

Mia Dio/YouTube

Dio claims that she has a face that shows a lot of expressions and she often makes funny faces when the camera is on. She noticed some lines starting to appear on her forehead, so she got Botox injections to make her forehead smooth. Surprisingly, she also noticed that Botox lifted her eyebrows and made them look higher.

Additionally, Dio started exploring a procedure called the "fox eyelift." This technique involves placing threads under the skin and pulling them upwards to create a lifted effect, often compared to a ponytail facelift. Dio wanted to see if this technique could make her eyes look more lifted and give her a younger appearance.

“Although this was really fun to experiment with, the results don’t last long at all. At most, you’ll see the results for three months,” Dio explained. “Apparently, if you keep on doing it, the skin underneath your skin scars enough that maybe it’ll just stay like that.”

Mia Dio/Instagram

Despite acknowledging the ongoing nature of her decision, Dio openly admitted that she continues to opt for the fox eyelift procedure, reserving it for special occasions when she desires a particularly enhanced and defined appearance.

“So, clearly, it hasn’t scared me away or there’s something seriously wrong with me,” she quipped.

For her dental transformation, Dio opted for 20 porcelain veneers without the need for crowns, allowing her to avoid the process of reshaping her teeth into a jagged "shark teeth" appearance

Being an influencer, Dio received a discounted rate for the procedure. Typically, the cost would have been $5,500, which covers the treatment itself, accommodations in a hotel, and exclusive luxury transportation. However, the price does not include flights to Turkey, which Dio mentioned typically amount to at least $1,000 per person.

After her dental treatment, Dio intended to take a break from further cosmetic procedures. However, her path took a turn when she met Dr. Ron, a renowned injector based in Miami, Florida. Dio reached out to him, and when asked about her preferences, she left the decision-making in his expert hands.

According to Dio, as she followed Dr. Ron's recommendations, her face became completely numb, allowing her to undergo the procedures without feeling any discomfort or pain.

During her session with Dr. Ron, various enhancements were performed. They included touch-ups of her Botox injections, under-eye filler treatment, a small amount of filler added to her cheekbones, and the insertion of threads beneath her skin to lift and reposition her cheek fat. Dio undergoes this comprehensive treatment approximately every 10 months.

Recently, Dio received jaw Botox, a procedure that was suggested by her dentist to address her teeth grinding issue.

The final procedure Dio underwent was a surgical one, but it did not involve her face. She underwent a breast augmentation, commonly known as a boob job, which increased her cup size from an A-cup to double D's.

Dio emphasized that although she has experienced a significant boost in confidence as a result of her transformations and personally found them beneficial, she wants to make it clear that they are not a simple solution or quick fix for low self-confidence.

“I think it’s important to note that cosmetic procedures or plastic surgery aren’t meant to be a one-size-fix-all for self-esteem issues,” she said. “Although it can help.”