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'Botox Mom' Kerry Campbell Investigated

By Cynthia Hsu, Esq. on May 13, 2011 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Would you inject a drug that essentially causes facial paralysis into your 8-year-old child? Botox Mom - and pageant mom - Kerry Campbell would.

Campbell made news last week when she went on Good Morning America and Inside Edition in an effort to defend her unconventional methods, reports SFist.

Parents, as you might imagine, express outrage at the Botox Mom's actions.

She is now going to be investigated by Child Protective Services and the San Francisco Police Department.

Campbell defended her position by saying that she was not endangering her daughter, Britney. An aesthetician, Campbell has injected Botox numerous times to herself, reports ABC News.

The source of Kerry Campbell's Botox is a "trusted" online store, according to SFist. Campbell tests the Botox on herself first before injecting it into her daughter's face in a total of 5 places, according to ABC News.

"The few times that we did it, it would lessen the lines. They wouldn't completely disappear, she's a kid. And we don't do so much to where it's going to make a big difference," Campbell explained to ABC News.

Campbell's "grooming" does not stop there - she also gives her 8-year-old bikini waxes.

Nevertheless, the Botox Mom's actions have earned her the ire of many. Child Protective Services was flooded with calls after Campbell's television appearances, reports ABC News. And, some experts are agreeing with the public outcry.

"As a doctor, if I'd seen this mother, I would be required to report her to protective services because it's maltreatment," says Dr. Richard Besser, ABC News' chief health and medical editor, to ABC News.

Besser also says that while the drug is relatively safe, there are serious risks to injecting Botox. The drug could drift to your throat, and cause paralysis which would prevent swallowing. The same could happen to the breathing muscles, causing a loss of breath. And, in young children, regular Botox injections could change a child's appearance since the muscles and bones in the face are still developing.

If after its investigation Child Protective Services finds that there is enough evidence to substantiate abuse, Campbell could potentially lose her daughter. If it appears that the 8-year-old is in imminent danger, the agency may recommend that she be placed in a foster home. The agency could also require that Campbell meet with social workers to discuss her actions in a less serious case.

Botox Mom Kerry Campbell still has a lot of explaining to do to investigators - and she still has an uphill climb against popular opinion.

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