About three months ago, Miss Universe Singapore (MUS) 2016 Top 15 finalist Shona Woo went for a sponsored laser skin treatment - one that was supposed to make her look refreshed - two days before she was to shoot a scene for Channel 8 police drama C.L.I.F. 4.
But the botched procedure left her with a second-degree burn on the bridge of her nose. The half-a-centimetre scar is still visible.
The 26-year-old freelance model-actress told The New Paper at the MUS 2016 press conference yesterday at Singapore Turf Club: "I dare say this was the most traumatising thing that has ever happened to me.
"I was crying almost every day... I just couldn't accept how I looked."
The distressed Miss Woo said her wound, which was dripping with pus, made her very self-conscious.
"I was living with so much anxiety since I had no idea what the end result would be...
"None of the doctors I consulted could be certain that I could regain my previous look," she said.
After her fellow actresses told her to get her wound checked, she consulted a dermatologist and a specialist a the Singapore General Hospital Burns Unit, but was told that it would take four to six months to heal.
She underwent treatment at each doctor to reduce the facial scarring. However, they were unable to promise that she could heal completely and Miss Woo would break down and cry out of despair and desperation.
Even though she does not think the scar will end her career, the kind of endorsements she can accept is now limited.
Miss Woo believes she can no longer do advertisements for facial products, adding: "This scar is an inconvenience that I will have to carry with me for life."
Although she doesn't regret her decision to undergo laser treatment, which she has done a few times perviously, she wishes she had done more research on that particular general practitioner who performed the aesthetic treatment.
Said the Raffles Junior College alumnus and chemistry graduate from Nanyang Technological University: "My only wrong choice was to go to that particular doctor. I think money and time spent on treatment could have been better invested."
Despite the ordeal, she is slowly starting to accept herself.
In fact, the scar was the reason she decided to join MUS.
She said: "I must not let this take me down... I want to use this scar to be stronger and shine."
"I want to challenge this scar and show that despite having it, I can still stand on stage and feel beautiful."
This article was first published on September 15, 2016.
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