MOST people get a birthday cake and champagne for their 30th birthday. But Joni Hesselgren got a facelift – one he admits he’d prepared for for eight years.
When Turkish surgeons refused to give him such a drastic look, he flew to South Korea, where three doctors operated on his face at the same time, offering more than Joni had even asked for.
The influencer was left “unrecognisable and blind” due to the extreme swelling that occurred in the days after.
He had to eat via a syringe for two weeks after the op – which costs anywhere between 25 to 35 million KRW (£12,480 – £17,480).
Joni, who admits the cost of his work was “on the higher end”, was no stranger to plastic surgery, having previously had a rhinoplasty, a 360 liposuction and dental work.
He is also not alone in opting for the procedure.
Figures released last week by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (Baaps) showed that demand for facelifts in the UK soared 11 per cent in 2025, with more than 2,000 people getting the op.
Gone are the days, too, when facelifts were reserved for the ageing wealthy.
Now, an increasing number of younger people are opting to go under the knife.
It’s no longer a secret procedure – celebrities like Kris Jenner and Marc Jacobs and even former Towie star Yaz Oukhellou, who is just 31, have all spoken openly about their treatment.
Many more are rumoured to have had one.
But when Joni approached doctors in Turkey – a country known for cut-price procedures that British surgeons often refuse – even they said that he was going too far.
“I consulted with several Turkish surgeons about the possibility of getting a lower facelift,” the Big Brother Finland star told Sun Health.
“They told me they wouldn’t perform a facelift on someone my age, and honestly, I do respect that decision.”
Explaining his desire for surgery, Joni says: “I’ve always been unhappy with how my jawline looks, so I thought maybe tightening the skin could help improve it.
“V-line surgery had been a dream of mine for several years, but I was absolutely terrified of going through with it.”
V-line surgery is a combination of procedures to make the lower face slimmer, tapering it to a V at the jaw. It could involve jaw shaving or reshaping, fillers, Botox or fat transfer.
Joni says: “I was terrified about the V-line surgery, mainly because I knew how tough the recovery would be.
“The first weeks are awful!! Eating through a syringe, being in a calorie deficit, etc.
“When you undergo a rhinoplasty, for example, at least you can soothe yourself with junk food while recovering.
“With V-line there’s no such option, you can’t chew at all for the first weeks, it’s a strict liquid diet only.
“I was desperately trying to find an alternative, something easier and faster that could give me a similar result.
“But as time went on, I realised I just had to man-up and go through with the surgery I originally wanted.”
Joni travelled to the South Korean capital Seoul in February to find a surgeon that would operate on him.
There, he was faced with the reality he’d need to go ahead with V-line surgery to get the look he desired – but that wasn’t all.
Joni said: “The surgeons suggested pairing my V-line surgery with a mid facelift, using the deep plane technique.”
A mid facelift targets the centre of the face, such as sagging cheeks. A deep plane facelift is an advanced facelift technique.
The surgeon goes beneath muscles and connective tissue to the ligaments that hold tissues in place. This way, they can pull both the skin and muscle in one sweep.
“They actually suggested doing a mid facelift to prevent any future sagging, which can happen after V-line surgery,” says Joni.
“Since bone is removed, the skin can lose support and start to sag over time. If there’s already even a bit of sagging, it makes sense to address it at the same time.
“Of course, I was thrilled to hear that because it meant I could get everything I ever wanted done in a single procedure.
“Traveling across the world for surgery in a country I’d never been to before was definitely scary, but everything went smoothly in the end.”
His op took 7.5 hours and he ended up losing a lot of blood during the procedure.
“They told me afterwards that the surgery was more difficult than usual because I bled quite a lot during the procedure,” Joni says.
That second night, I barely slept. I was sitting there in the dark with my eyes completely swollen shut, unable to see anything
“I don’t know exactly how much blood I lost during the surgery, but I was never in any danger.
“I just happened to bleed more than usual, which made things a bit more challenging for the surgeon.
“I had three different surgeons working on me. One surgeon handled the facial contouring, which included V-line surgery and cheekbone reduction.
“Another performed the facelift, and a third did my lip lift [to make the lips bigger].”
After his procedure, Joni remained at the hospital overnight. He was prescribed a number of medications to help with the pain.
He says: “The first night was pretty uncomfortable, I couldn’t close my mouth properly, it just stayed open.
“When they discharged me the next morning, I took a taxi back to the Airbnb.
“That’s when things really started to escalate and my swelling suddenly got much worse.”
Joni’s troubles were about to get even worse just two to three days after the operation.
He says: “On day two, I started losing my eyesight. I tried to fight it by stretching my eyelids open so I could see something, anything.
“In the evening, my friends had to walk me to the bathroom, feed me, wash me, basically take care of everything for me.
“That second night, I barely slept. I was sitting there in the dark with my eyes completely swollen shut, unable to see anything.
“At one point, I even tried going to the bathroom by myself which, in hindsight, was a terrible idea considering I was basically blind and had zero awareness of my surroundings.
“I ended up hitting my head on the wall.”
Luckily for Joni, his friends woke up due to the noise and helped him to the bathroom.
Joni spent that night crying because he had to remain upright and couldn’t sleep.
But he wasn’t in any pain, saying: “I was taking around five different pills, three times a day, so it was 15 pills per day.
“They must’ve been strong because I didn’t feel much pain at all and was surprisingly calm during recovery. I mean, I did have my moments, but nowhere near as bad as I expected.”
But he admits: “I knew what I was signing up for, but even then it still caught me off guard with how intense the recovery was.
“I was literally eating through a syringe for the first two weeks. It was slow, boring, and I was constantly hungry.”
Joni had a follow-up appointment at the clinic on day three post op.
He says: “At this point, I still couldn’t see anything at all. I couldn’t even tell whether it was day or night.
“My friends helped me into a taxi and guided me everywhere. I couldn’t see shadows, lights, shapes, nothing. The only thing I could feel was the warmth of the sun on my face.
“When we arrived at the clinic, they immediately took me to a hyperbaric chamber for oxygen therapy.
“It’s basically a pressurised chamber that feels a bit like being on a plane during takeoff or landing.
“Koreans really take their de-swelling treatments seriously because my eyes started to open within a few hours.
“The swelling went down super fast, I was so relieved.
“The total time I was effectively blind was about 12 to 15 hours.
“I can’t wait to see the final results. I guess we’ll see them in about six months!”
Joni also had advice for anyone thinking about undergoing similar procedures in a foreign country.
He says: “If you ever consider going through this many procedures, please take a friend with you.
“The recovery process is physically exhausting, but it’s a lot to go through mentally as well. You really need love and support during that time.”
Joni admits he has been thinking about getting drastic surgery since his early twenties.
He says: “Right now, I don’t have any plans for future surgeries.
“That said, I can admit I probably have a bit of body dysmorphia, so never say never.
“But this took me eight years to build up the courage for, so I’m definitely not going to do anything crazy (like this wasn’t crazy!) or impulsive.
“For now, I just want to focus on healing and see how everything settles.”
What are the dangers of getting surgery abroad?
Thousands of Britons flock to destinations like Turkey every year for bargain tummy tucks, boob jobs and butt lifts.
But patients or the NHS often end up footing the bill for surgical corrections.
This can include removing dead tissue from improperly cleaned wounds, correcting poor stitching and taking out surgical objects like latex gloves.
And at least 35 Brits have died in Turkey alone following surgery since 2019.
Some surgeons abroad will perform procedures deemed too dangerous or unethical in Britain.
Others will skimp on aftercare, according to campaigners, which can leave patients vulnerable to dangerous complications.
In the four years up to 2022, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) reported that 324 people needed surgery after they returned from treatment in overseas countries.
Yet despite all the warnings, the industry has continued to boom, with hundreds of medical tourism agencies worldwide now promising boob jobs and liposuctions thousands of pounds cheaper than UK providers.
Spots like Turkey are not inherently more dangerous than other surgical tourism hotspots.
But cheap flights between it and the UK — as well as the rise of the trend combining cosmetic surgery with a holiday — have made it one of the leading destinations for Britons looking to go under the knife.
In 2024 alone, Turkey saw 196,000 visits by Brits for medical treatment, according to the Office for National Statistics – making it the most popular destination.
