“Calf Talks”, this new practice that is spreading through social networks and worries doctors

A new pseudo-miracle method circulating through social networks worries health professionals.

Her followers resort to Botox injections to refine their calves.

Illegal, these are not without risk and can lead to paralysis in particular.

It embodies the end of the complex for some but is a potential health hazard according to others. A practice that is currently spreading on social networks, which involves injecting Botox to refine calves, is causing concern among health professionals, starting with cosmetic surgeons.

“I admit that as a doctor, I am a little wary of the results of injections into the calf muscles,” One of them is Dr. Christian Marinetti reacted to BFMTV, Emphasizing that, like all his colleagues, he categorically refuses to intervene. And to continue: “We need our calves to stand, to stand on tiptoes, we can imagine being paralyzed.”

More than 2.5 million views on TikTok

Videos have been circulating for several months now, first on TikTok, to promote “Calf Tox”, a term that is a contraction of the words “calf” (“calf” in English) and “botox”. Such is their popularity that the resulting hashtag “calftox” has received over 2.5 million views on Chinese social networks.

However, doctors emphasize the illegality in which these injections are given by people who are not doctors, which increases the risk to the health of patients tenfold. Last August, two sisters were tried to administer illegal injections (in body parts other than calves, editor’s note) while posing as doctors. Some of his victims, recruited on social networks, also agreed to testify for TF1, highlighting the risk of sometimes irreversible complications.

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Remember that this is not the first time that influencers have used pseudo-miracle methods on the web, which, according to doctors, poses a danger to those who succumb to temptation. After the “sunscreen contouring” trend went viral during the summer of 2022, “beer tanning” became widespread in 2023, according to experts, in addition to increasing premature aging, increased risk of sunburn and possible skin cancer.

In early 2023, it was the injectable product Ozempic, which was introduced as a slimming pill on TikTok, that drew many warnings due to supply stress and the dire side effects of its active ingredient, semaglutide.