Mom detects ‘horrific’ odor from daughter. Then discovers she tried a ‘beauty hack’ that has them rushing to the hospital: ‘Really lucky’
A "beauty hack" that nearly blinded her daughter.
In the modern age, “life hacks” and “beauty hacks” have become a staple for the busy bees and those looking to save a couple of bucks. The internet is riddled with all sorts of hacks. But one beauty hack in particular allegedly led to a 10-year-old pouring nail polish remover in her eyes as a substitute for eye drops.
Wales-based mother Rebecca Soal was preparing to put her young daughter, Phoebe, to bed when she allegedly noticed the strong smell of nail polish remover wafting through their home in Caerphilly. She immediately realized something was wrong when she looked for her daughter, whose eyes and lips were visibly red, according to The Sun.
It wasn’t until later that Soal became horrified when she learned that Phoebe had put several drops of nail polish remover in her eyes and rubbed some across her lips to make them appear fuller, after following a suggestion from a YouTube video. “This stupid video said it’s a good alternative to eye drops,” Soal said. “I was going upstairs to take my youngest daughter to bed, and the smell was horrific. I got that gut feeling; I went to my daughter, and it clicked.”
The ‘beauty hack’ was fake
While Soal recognized that the “hack” in the video was meant to be viewed as comedy, she highlighted how scary it was, as young children wouldn’t be able to distinguish if they were real or fake. “They use water in the videos to gain likes. They’re joking, but kids take it literally. We’ve seen a lot of similar videos, and it’s absolutely disgusting,” the mother said.
Soal immediately brought Phoebe, who said her vision had become blurry, to the hospital, fearing that the nail polish remover had caused permanent damage to her daughter’s eyes. Medical staff flushed both of Phoebe’s eyes with a liter of saline solution to completely remove the chemical. However, it remains to be seen whether it had lasting damage to her eyes.
On the other hand, Phoebe’s lips suffered a chemical burn despite the nail polish remover being acetone-free. Soal said they routinely apply Vaseline to help prevent her lips from cracking further. “Doctors said she was really lucky,” she said. “It is petrifying. I’m so glad the nail polish remover she used was acetone-free.”
U.K. is banning social media for minors
The frightening experience led Soal to ban her children from social media and made her even more eager for the U.K. to enforce restrictions on social media access for those under 16. Set to take effect in early 2027, the move is aimed at protecting children from platforms and online features that can cause harm.
Facebook, X, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram are among the platforms banned, while messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Signal will remain accessible. “High-risk features” such as livestreaming and strangers being able to contact children will also be restricted, per the U.K. government.
Nevertheless, what happened to Phoebe is a harsh reminder that the internet isn’t safe for young, vulnerable children. YouTube is reportedly investigating the videos in question. In the meantime, Soal advised other parents: “Be more vigilant with your children. I know you trust your children, but do you trust them enough not to be influenced?”
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