A WOMAN has been left with second degree burns after shapewear she purchased on TikTok shop “melted” into her skin.
Molly-May Watson, 27, bought the £8.57 “Spanx-like” shorts in May 2024 through a seller called MOONGIRL-UK on the social media app.
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She wore them for the first time under a dress while attending a baby shower, for her sister on July 27, 2024 and thought a bee had flown into her dress after she “felt this burning” on her upper right thigh.
Rushing to the bathroom to see what had happened, Molly-May was forced to rip her shorts off after she says the elastane stretchy material had “melted” into her skin.
She attended A&E at St Thomas’ Hospital, London, the following day where she was told she could be “scarred for life”.
After complaining to TikTok Shop through the help function on the app, she says she was given just a £10 coupon as compensation.
Molly-May, an executive assistant, from Kennington, south London, said: “I felt this burning on my upper bum cheek and side of my leg.
“For some reason I thought a bee had got into my dress.
“I went to the toilet to see what the hell was going on.
“The shorts had melted into my leg.
“So I’ve had to rip them off and I’ve been left with first and second degree burns.
“I’m unable to walk properly at the moment.
“The hospital where I went said I could be scarred for life at this point.”
Molly-May had only worn the shorts once before briefly, to try them on and make sure they fit, before her sister’s baby shower.
After taking them off and getting through the rest of the event in pain Molly-May attended hospital the following day to get checked over.
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“I thought ‘I’ll just leave it’ but it was agonising and had gotten worse,” she said.
“I had to go to A&E on the Monday and had to be treated in the urgent treatment centre for burns.
“I’ve been bandaged up ever since.
“They confirmed it’s definitely a burn and that’s what happened.
“They said ‘it’s strange, we don’t really know if it’s a heat burn or a chemical reaction’.”
DODGY SELLER
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Molly-May added: “I now can’t find the seller on Google – which makes me think it wasn’t legit in the first place.
“I sent TikTok Shop a message with pics of all the burns and the melted shorts and said ‘this is what happened’.
“I spoke to an agent and said they’d need to pass it on to a specialist team.
They said ‘it’s strange, we don’t really know if it’s a heat burn or a chemical reaction’
Molly-May Watson
“I sent another chaser message.
“They came back to me and said, ‘We can refund you and give you a £10 coupon’.
“I said ‘I don’t feel comfortable accepting a coupon from you to be honest’.
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“I’ll never be shopping from that shop again.
“It’s insulting.
“They said, ‘Unfortunately nothing we can do’.
“When I’ve been talking to friends and people at work and stuff, they’ve told me they’ve bought similar things and said ‘we felt really irritated’.
“It’s just made me overly aware now.
“You think ‘that’s a nice little bargain’ but it could leave you like me scarred for life.
“Any sort of budget or third party sellers I won’t ever order from them again.
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“I’m starting to scar already from some bits of the burn”.
Molly-May has had to work from home whilst she recovers, and has been advised to attend the doctors if she sees any changes.
TikTok confirmed the listing and seller page was removed from the platform in June last year.
A spokesperson said TikTok has already responded and given compensation to the buyer after the complaint.
How to shop safely on TikTok shop
TIKTOK shop is an e-commerce feature of the video app TikTok and officially launched in September 2023.
Popular TikTok creators often advertise products from the shop as they are given affiliate links which means they make money from referring followers.
Entrepreneurs can upload their products onto TikTok Shop for others to purchase.
However, it is important to stay vigilant when it comes to scams.
- Stick to verified sellers with good reviews—check ratings and feedback before buying.
- Avoid suspiciously low-priced items—“too good to be true” often is.
- Always pay via the in-app checkout, never off-platform.
- Avoid clicking links outside the app—especially unfamiliar domains or QR codes.
- Read product descriptions carefully and note return policies.
- Document your order—save screenshots and track delivery updates.
- Report suspicious activity through TikTok and initiate disputes if necessary.
