‘Glute master’ influencer banned by healthcare watchdog
A Sydney entrepreneur and Instagram influencer who brands herself the “glute master” has been accused of posing as a nurse and injecting unknown substances into the buttocks of patients, prompting a rare public warning from the state’s healthcare watchdog.
The Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) issued a prohibition order in January against Khadije Dandachli, barring her from providing any voluntary or paid health services in NSW for eight weeks.
Khadije Dandachli.Credit: Instagram
That order expired in March, but the commission released another statement on Wednesday alleging Dandachli had introduced herself as a nurse to patients before performing several procedures “in which an unknown substance has been injected into the buttocks of patients”.
A spokesman for the HCCC said the decision to issue a public warning followed a thorough investigation into complaints Dandachli provided cosmetic injection procedures to more than one patient at Little Europe Beauty in Liverpool, a cosmetic clinic owned by her brother.
“We’ve taken this step because Ms Dandachli is not a registered practitioner and is not able to administer cosmetic injections in Australia, which poses a significant risk to public health and safety,” the spokesman said. “The safety of the public is our primary concern, and we’ll continue to closely monitor the situation.”
Dandachli was given the opportunity to respond and to make submissions before the public warning was released but “did not do so”, the spokesman said.
A photo posted to Dandachli’s Instagram.Credit:
The Herald sent Dandachli detailed questions about the allegations, the previous prohibition order, and social media posts tagging Dandachli’s account which thanked her “for pumping my BBL up”.
A BBL, or “Brazilian butt lift”, is a colloquial term for glute enhancement which is usually performed surgically by harvesting fat from another part of the body and injecting it back into the buttocks.
Dandachli did not respond to the questions, citing legal advice, but told the Herald she had never pretended to be a nurse and was “scared of needles”.
The commission alleges Dandachli injected the “unknown substances” at her brother’s cosmetic clinic called Little Europe Beauty in Liverpool.
The clinic has never been licensed to perform skin-penetrating treatments, the commission said.
In a detailed statement to the Herald, Mohammed Dandachli said his clinic specialises “exclusively in non-penetrative treatments such as laser hair removal, tattoo removal, and teeth whitening” and had never offered any form of cosmetic or skin procedures.
He said his sister had been employed as a receptionist during peak periods but had never worked in a clinical capacity and the allegations against her were “entirely baseless”.
“The allegations levelled against Little Europe Beauty are not only unfounded but also detrimental to our reputation as a leading entity in the beauty industry,” he said.
The state’s healthcare watchdog has only issued public warnings against four other individuals in the last year, a rare step aimed at warning potential patients about potentially dangerous or unqualified practitioners.
The HCCC spokesman urged anyone who has received cosmetic injections from Khadije Dandachli to contact the commission confidentially.
“We remind the public to verify a practitioner’s registration for cosmetic injections in Australia and to research the associated risks before undergoing treatment,” he said.
The commission also recommended anyone considering cosmetic injections to research the product being used, ensure the business is licensed to perform the treatment and confirm the practitioner is registered by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
AHPRA revised its review of the cosmetic industry in September last year to include doctors, nurses, dentists and other practitioners who perform fillers, anti-wrinkle and fat-dissolving injections and thread lifts.
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