By Athena Stavrou

A woman could be scarred for life after using a fake tattoo numbing cream - which caused "excruciating" pain and put her in A&E.

Abbie Smith, 27, from Tonbridge, used the bogus TKTX Yellow tube to prepare her chest ahead of an ink appointment.

She rubbed the cream in and covered it with clingfilm as per the instructions.

But when the tattoo artist peeled if off 90 minutes later, he refused to work - as Ms Smith’s skin has started to blister.

She then went home, but when the numbness began to wear off, she was in agony.

Ms Smith ended up in A&E and is now warning others about the risks of using the cream from an untrusted supplier.

Describing the pain, she said: "It was like hot oil had been poured on my skin. It was absolutely excruciating.”

"I've never had acid burns, but I can imagine it's similar to that."

Ms Smith, a video editor, now wants others to be wary when buying online.

She said: "It's so hard to tell which site is legitimate as there's so many. I know there will be loads of people out there in a similar position.

"All of the sites claim to be legit so it's important for people to know the risks before they purchase the cream.

"It would be nice to get some regulations on the product and where it can be purchased.”

"This whole process has been a real eye opener for me."

Ms Smith went in to get a tattoo on July 18.

She had used the genuine numbing cream before without issue, and so applied the fake one as normal.

She said: "It immediately started to burn, but because I had used it before and had done a patch test I assumed it was fine.

"I couldn't feel anything at first, but I could see the blisters starting to form.”

"When I was walking home, the numbing cream wore off all of a sudden. I was doubled over in pain - I can't explain how bad it was.

"It felt like my skin was crumbling away it was horrendously painful.

"My friend came and picked me up and took me to A&E. I was expecting to wait seven hours, but I got taken straight through.

"I was told to take a shower for 20 minutes. I could feel the blisters popping in the shower. It was excruciating."

Nurses then attempted to pull Abbie's blisters off her chest, before putting on a soothing gel and wrapping her in bandages.

They also took photos of her injuries to send to colleagues at a nearby specialist burns hospital.

Ms Smith was sent home and spent two days "unable to move" before going to the specialist burns unit at Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead.

At her appointment, doctors asked to see the cream that caused the burn.

She said they were shocked to see “and so on” stated as part of the ingredient list.

At Queen Victoria, the chemical burns were redressed and she was even considered for a skin graft.

I try to make light of it, but it's been so gross

She missed two weeks of work due to her injuries..

She added: "At that point, I didn't know if I was ever going to get my chest back.

"I was sent home after being told how to redress my bandages and that I couldn't do any heavy lifting.

"The healing process has been horrendous and my skin has been peeling off. It's like someone's opened a nature valley bar in my bed.

"I try to make light of it, but it's been so gross. I change my bandages every few days. The blisters have dried and fallen off now but I have dead skin and scars all over my chest.

"I can't expose my skin to sunlight at all and I have to be very careful. My chest will never look the same.

"Emotionally, it's made me very self-conscious. It's also been really hard because there's been a loss of work and that's caused a lot of stress."

TKTX said: "Abbie has bought creams from a fake site and not directly from us. There are many fake TKTX sites that sell fake creams.

"We have many warnings about fake sites on our social media and across our website including how to spot a fake. Its imperative people buy from a trusted supplier."