2 people who underwent through the “Vampire Facial” from a VIP spa in Albuquerque, New Mexico have contracted HIV. The spa was shut down in 2018 and customers who underwent the same procedure from the same spa are being required to get tested for hepatitis and HIV.

The VIP spa offered the “Vampire Facials” that was popularized by Kim Kardashian, the procedure requires a person to get injected with their own blood into their face, the procedure makes you replenish your skin.

The VIP spa was closed in September after health inspectors said that the services they are offering “could potentially spread blood-borne infections”.

Both customers contracted the same strain of HIV and both of them underwent the “vampire facial” procedure at the same spa between May 2018 and September 2018.

But it is still not clear if they contracted the virus through the treatment.

The spokesperson of the NMDOH (New Mexico Department of Health) said, “The NMDOH investigation has not identified potential exposures for HIV transmission other than the injection-related procedures at the VIP Spa. Additional laboratory testing on specimens from the two clients indicates recent infection with the same HIV virus – increasing the likelihood that the two HIV infections may have resulted from a procedure at the VIP spa.”

The Cabinet Secretary of NMDOH, Kathy Kunkel, urged everyone who underwent the procedure of getting tested.

Kathy said, “While over 100 VIP Spa clients have already been tested, NMDOH is reaching out to ensure that testing and counselling services are available for individuals who received injection-related services at the VIP Spa. Testing is important for everyone as there are effective treatments for HIV and many hepatitis infections.”

The “vampire facial” or the platelet-rich plasma facial requires a person’s blood to be taken out from them and injecting it in the skin of the face, this will fill out the wrinkles in the face.

Kim Kardashian, the person who made the treatment famous, said that she regrets doing it as she was unable to take pain killers during the procedure, this was because of her pregnancy.

In a statement, Kim said, “It was really rough and painful for me. It was honestly the most painful thing ever! It’s the one treatment that I’ll never do again.”