Fans Express Concern About Model & Say Her Extreme Look Proves She ‘Needs Help’

Oct 18, 2023 by apost team

There is a constant debate in the world of fashion and beauty regarding the ethics of plastic surgery. Do cosmetic enhancements promote unrealistic beauty standards? What if they make you feel better about yourself and bring about inner confidence? Or what if you simply enjoy modifying your appearance? This has been a hot topic in recent years, with strong opinions on both sides of the discussion.

One Instagram model who loves plastic surgery so much that she took her cosmetic enhancements to the extreme, spending over $2,000 on cheek fillers over a period of a few years, is model Anastasia Pokreshchuk. The 34-year-old from Kyiv, Ukraine, said she fell in love with the appearance of her enlarged cheeks after using a significant amount of filler. Pokreshchuk has also undergone other plastic surgery procedures, including lip fillers, mouth fillers, and botox for her forehead and jaw, and chin reshaping.

Because of her striking appearance — some outlets claimed she has the "world's biggest cheeks" — the Ukrainian model has amassed more than 179,000 followers on Instagram. She’s also made appearances on television, having spoken to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on “This Morning.” Her story has received a lot of attention, and Pokreshchuk has opened up multiple times about why she has chosen to get fillers and other procedures.

Pokreshchuk has revealed that she's injected over £1,600 (about US$2,000) of filler into her cheeks, and it appears that she has no intention of slowing down. In 2023, the model has continued to share her experiences getting more procedures with her fans on Instagram. Let's take a look at her story.

Pokreshchuk's journey with plastic surgery began seven years ago when the model — who had a fresh-faced look at the time — decided to enlarge her lips with filler. While she was already gorgeous back then, Pokreshchuk didn't think so. During an appearance on Truly's "Hooked on the Look" video segment from Oct. 2020, she said:

"When I was 26 years old I understood that ... I'm not very pretty." She continued, "So I decided to make my lips (with filler) because I haven't (got) lips at all," before calling her old lips "ugly."

Photos shown on the program revealed both Pokreshchuk's natural face and lips before she had any work done, as well as how she looked after putting a large amount of filler in her lips but before she'd touched up her cheeks. She still looked gorgeous at that point, but the size of her lips was in stark contrast to the rest of her face. 

Then, in 2019, around the age of 30, Pokreshchuk decided to get her cheeks filled to exaggerate their shape as well. Although in the interview her cheeks were already extremely defined and much larger than the average person's, she said with a chuckle:

"Now I think I have to refresh already. I think that they're a little bit small. You think that it's too big but for me it's a little bit small now."

Clearly aware of the impact her exaggerated features have had on the public, the model does not seem bothered by what others think and is only concerned with how she feels about herself. She added that her aim was to feel that, when she wakes up, she wants to be able to look in the mirror and see "the picture I like."

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Later in the "Hooked on the Look" video, Pokreshchuk revealed that she doesn't count how many times she has gone under the needle and knife as it's already a lot. She said:

"I never count how many procedures I have (done) in my face. I never count because it's a lot, you can see this is lots."

She also revealed other procedures she had done besides her lips and cheeks. These include botox in her forehead, filler in the area around her mouth, reducing the fat in her chin and accentuating her jawline, which she said she did herself. She estimated that she has spent at least US$2,000 on her cheeks and the same amount on her lips, but since she doesn't count her procedures, she isn't entirely sure how much she's spent altogether. She added, "I don't care about this."

During one of her cosmetic procedures, Pokreshchuk's cosmetologist and friend, Katia, was interviewed. She revealed that she doesn't see anything wrong with what the model is doing. She said:

"Well, Anastasia is a self-sufficient person, she's an adult and is responsible for her own decisions. I don't have anything against her ... look. When she feels she doesn't like it anymore she can just remove it. There are enzymes that dissolve all of these medicines so it's not critical and not that scary."

Another friend of Pokreshchuk's, Aleksey, was also interviewed, and he said he liked what Pokreshchuk had "done to herself." In the video, Aleksey was filmed getting his lip filler dissolved by Pokreshchuk herself. Speaking about his friend's look, Aleksey added:

"The cheekbones ... they look cool. It's actually awesome. You know, at the beginning when I'd look at her cheekbones I'd be like, wow, shocked. And now I even think they're too small, she should have more injections!"

The American Board of Cosmetic Surgery (ABCS) described dermal fillers as:

"Gel-like substances that are injected beneath the skin to restore lost volume, smooth lines and soften creases, or enhance facial contours."

The website stated that over one million men and women each year choose to partake in this popular facial rejuvenation treatment, which "can be a cost-effective way to look younger without surgery or downtime." In recent years, celebrities have also contributed to the rise in popularity of fillers. 

There are a number of different types of fillers that trained professionals can use to achieve different looks that their patients desire. According to the ABCS, there are people who undergo such procedures to help them appear younger and restore their looks to how they once were, rather than drastically use fillers to change their appearance in more extreme ways, such as how Pokreshchuk has done. Rather than using fillers to appear younger, the model's motivations appear to stem from her personal insecurities in the first place.

In an interview with Ladbible, she explained that prior to getting work done, she was too shy to post pictures of herself online and that she didn't like aspects of herself. She said:

"I was ashamed of everything; my voice, my appearance. It was really hard work. I think I was ugly before."

She added:

"My mom thinks that I was naturally beautiful before, but now thinks I look more exotic and my friends say my new appearance is better because before I looked like a grey mouse."

But while those close to her seem to have no issues with her extreme look, Pokreshchuk gets polarizing comments on her social media accounts.

She said in the same interview with Ladbible:

"I've had people tell me I am an ugly b***h and that I should kill myself but when I see it I just laugh it off and ignore it."

With over 179,000 followers on Instagram and over 1.6 million followers on TikTok, Pokreshchuk is a celebrity in her own right. In the "Hooked on the Look" video, she even commented on the presumption that she gets work done simply to stand out from the crowd in order to be different. The model said:

"I look the way I do because I like this. Some people think that (I do this) 'Ohh, just for hype.' I'm doing (this) just for me. I want to wake up, go to the mirror and say, 'Oh Nastya, you are so beautiful today. I love what I see.'"

The model also told the outlet:

"After I had the injections and saw the changes in my cheeks, I fell in love with them. I understand that they look weird for other people but I don't mind."

Showing awareness of the way other people receive her look, Pokreshchuk discussed her fans and so-called haters in the video. She explained that because she doesn't take herself too seriously on Instagram and is "just talking about life," she believes that's why people love her. She added that she has a "very good audience." 

But just as she has hundreds of thousands of fans around the world, the model also has her fair share of critics, and they don't hold back from telling her they don't like her look. But Pokreshchuk takes it in her stride and doesn't listen to them. She said:

"There are some haters, yes, it's not without that. But I don't give a f***."

Pokreshchuk has shown time and again that she doesn’t let her detractors stop her from doing what she wants when it comes to cosmetic procedures. She continues to share photos and videos of herself on social media, garnering both positive and negative comments in the process. On Aug. 21, 2023, she shared a video of herself in a car with her flaming pink hair tied back in braids and dramatically lined eye makeup blowing a kiss to the camera. One user commented: 

“D***, she needs help. It is obvious that a person has mental problems. Such self-acceptance, led to absurdity. I feel sorry for the little girl.”

Another asked, “Is it real or a filter? 😮”

The model also posted a selfie on Oct. 5, 2023, that highlighted her prominent facial features and now bright blue hair. Again, many users took to the comments section to express their opinions.

“The horror is complete 😢😢😢😢,” one user remarked, while another said, “Oh my god how scary!”

Despite the negativity, Pokreshchuk continued to chart her journey, posting another selfie on Oct. 11, 2023, with yet another hairstyle, this time a pink perm. 

“Why you make yourself so ugly?” one comment read, while another user wrote, “Woman what's wrong with you?” A third user joked, “The face of Pythagoras 😂😂😂”

Love or hate her look, it’s clear Pokreshchuk won’t be changing her outlook because of the criticism surrounding her. She said:

"For me, I think, yes I'm more attractive because I like myself like this."

Pokreshchuk added that the cosmetic enhancements have helped make her feel more self-confident.

"I don't think that this is (an) addiction because I made what I want on my face. But of course, I don't want to live without fillers or botox because I don't love wrinkles, I don't love (small) lips," she added.

Although some commenters have remarked that Pokreshchuk looked better in the few photos that have been released of her before her procedures, the model has continually said that she likes modifying her appearance, even if she acknowledges she can "look weird" to some. She said in an interview with The Mirror:

"I love (my cheeks), I want them to look like this and I'm very happy. I regularly inject other parts of my face myself.” 

She opened up about this during her appearance on "This Morning" with Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield in July 2020, where she discussed the dangers of fillers and revealed that she is in cosmetology school. She said:

"It can be dangerous, but I do it with doctors, and now I'm learning cosmetology in an online school."

With that said, the “This Morning” hosts also interviewed Alex Karidis, a cosmetic surgeon based in London, who said that injecting fillers yourself can be dangerous, given the potential complications, which can range from lumpiness to blindness.  

In a video Pokreshchuk posted as an Instagram Story in April 2022, the model was seen being injected by a cosmetologist as the woman added to the already-existing filler in her cheeks. In the clip, the model appeared to not be wearing any makeup. However, her signature bright pink hair was visible and tied back. The final look that the model ended up with retained the same extreme look she's well known for and perhaps even exaggerated it further. Pokreshchuk proudly showed off the final result to her followers.

Many have publicly expressed their concern and disdain for her use of cosmetic procedures to enhance her look. However, Pokreshchuk remains proud of her appearance, and it doesn’t look like she is likely to take any of the criticism thrown her way to heart.

What's your take on Anastasia Pokreshchuk's unique look? Do you think she should continue to get fillers to alter her face? Pass this on to those you know so they can weigh in with their thoughts too.