The owner of a New Mexico spa that specialized in “vampire facials” is now facing two dozens charges after at least two clients contracted HIV...
Maria Ruiz’s charges, which were filed Friday, range from illegal practice of medicine all the way to tax evasion, according to the Attorney General’s Office. They come three years after authorities shut down her Albuquerque-based vampire facial spa.
For those who aren't familiar, a vampire facial is a non-surgical facelift that involves drawing a person’s blood... then injecting it back into their face using microneedles. Sounds relaxing, doesn't it?!
But doing so requires a medical license, which Ruiz doesn’t have, says Attorney General Hector Balderas.
“We knew we had to shut the business down,” Balderas says. “These are procedures that should be supervised by a medical doctor.”
"The New Mexico Department of Health in August 2018 learned a person with no risk factors for HIV had contracted the bloodborne infection after getting a 'vampire facial' at the VIP Beauty Salon and Spa," the statement further explains. "The DOH, the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, and deputy director of Boards and Commissions inspected the VIP Spa the following month."
Read the full report on the Albuquerque Journal.