In Arizona, several women have reported experiencing severe discomfort and undesirable results, such as ‘stiff lips’ and painful clumps of filler, after receiving cosmetic injections from a woman allegedly operating without a valid license.
Sayde Holladay, who has promoted her work as ‘board-certified’ on social media platforms since 2024, was apprehended in Phoenix during an undercover investigation, as detailed by ABC 15 News.
In the aftermath of her arrest, several women, choosing to remain anonymous and avoid revealing their identities, have come forward to share their unsettling experiences with Holladay’s cosmetic procedures.
One patient, speaking to Fox 10 News, described the growing severity of her symptoms, noting, “Every hour it just kept getting worse.”
Another woman recounted her alarming experience upon returning home, stating, “They were so tight I thought they were going to explode with how much swelling was in my lips.” She further explained her anxiety, saying, “I didn’t want to go to sleep because I didn’t know what was going to happen in the morning.”
‘I didn’t want to go to sleep because I didn’t know what was going to happen in the morning,’ she added.
Another unidentified woman told Arizona’s Family: ‘There are certain areas of my lip that are stiffer than others. I also have a small bump in my lip that’s like a clump of filler.’
‘Now I’m concerned, am I gonna get denied services because I have God knows what in my lips?’ she added.
Sayde Holladay, of Arizona, was arrested following an undercover operation in which authorities determined she was performing cosmetic injections without a license
Several women said they were left with ‘stiff lips,’ intense pain and clumps of filler after trusting Holladay with the procedure
Holladay is facing multiple felony charges, including operating without a license and participating in fraudulent schemes
Experts have warned that some of these symptoms are consistent with a botched injection in the wrong area of the face, which can cause severe damage – sometimes permanent.
‘Blindness, tissue necrosis and scarring’ are just some of the potential complications, Deborah Peraza, a registered nurse, told the outlet.
Holladay was arrested Tuesday on multiple felony charges, including operating without a license and participating in fraudulent schemes.
Her arrest comes just weeks after the Arizona Attorney General’s Office launched an undercover operation into Holladay, who previously went by SlimSlays_LLC on social media before later deactivating her accounts.
The move followed an official complaint from the Arizona Medical Board on April 27, when Holladay was notified in a letter that she had been added to the board’s ‘imposter’ list on its website.
It was discovered that she was marketing her work as a licensed practitioner while operating without a state-licensed medical director or required oversight for cosmetic injections.
Her services included fillers, ‘fat dissolve’ treatments for the stomach, chin, arms and thighs, and liquid rhinoplasty, with a ‘portfolio’ of photos showing the alleged procedures attached, according to ABC 15.
Other videos on her social media showed her injecting clients with Botox and other fillers.
Holladay’s services included fillers, ‘fat dissolve’ treatments for the stomach, chin, arms and thighs, and liquid rhinoplasty
One client revealed that her lips ‘were so tight I thought they were going to explode’ after the procedure
One woman was told she had an occlusion, or a blocked blood vessel, shortly after the procedure
One woman said: ‘She did the first shot, and it was more painful than it has ever been, any other time I’ve gotten it done’
Just one day after the medical board’s letter, police conducted an undercover operation in which an officer paid for and observed Holladay preparing the needle, according to Fox.
During the sting, the undercover officer paid for 50ml of Botox and watched face-to-face as she prepared the needle for injection.
Holladay was immediately taken into custody at her Metro Center office, as authorities determined that she placed her clients at risk of injury or even death.
While it remains unclear how many victims there are, several women have since come forward with their accounts, saying they sensed something was wrong from the very beginning.
‘I found it odd that when I went in there [Holladay’s business], I wasn’t offered any paperwork to fill out,’ one woman told AZ Family. ‘Sayde was offering training courses, and if she’s not licensed, how is she allowed to certify other people?’
Some testimonials on Holladay’s website were appealing, but what convinced some women was the price – a decision they immediately regretted.
‘She did the first shot, and it was more painful than it has ever been, any other time I’ve gotten it done,’ one anonymous woman told Fox 10.
‘I couldn’t purse my lips or make, like, an “O” with my lips,’ she added, noting how these symptoms were evident after the 60-day mark. ‘So, any time I would drink out a straw, I did it out of the corner of my mouth.’
Police conducted an undercover operation in April, in which an officer paid for and observed Holladay preparing the needle for injection
Many clients were attracted to Holladay’s prices, but experts warned that the product is often illegal, counterfeit or sourced right from the black market if unusually cheap
Authorities determined that Holladay placed her clients at risk of injury or even death following the operation
Another woman, who feared going to sleep the night after her procedure, later had her lip filler dissolved and was told she had an occlusion, or a blocked blood vessel.
‘If I hadn’t come and saw her, I would have gone to the ER to have an operation on my face. It was so bad,’ she told the outlet.
When one patient was asked whether they believed Holladay was licensed to perform the procedures, they said they had naively assumed she was.
‘Actually I was, because she did have a suite, wearing scrubs, had a little certificate,’ the woman admitted.
Days after her arrest, Holladay shared an online statement asking her clients to write letters of support on her behalf and added, ‘None of you have anything to worry about on your behalf.’
Experts are once again raising concerns about what to look for when researching or choosing a provider for procedures, noting that a valid license should be clearly visible.
Shannon Bitza of the Arizona Board of Nursing told Fox 10 that when the price of a procedure is unusually low, the product is often illegal, counterfeit or sourced right from the black market.
‘Companies will not sell products to individuals who do not have licensure,’ she told the outlet.
Experts warned that a botched injection in the wrong area of the face can cause severe damage, sometimes permanent
Holladay shared an online statement asking her clients to write letters of support on her behalf and said, ‘None of you have anything to worry about on your behalf’
Pictured is Holladay’s Metro Center office, which was seen locked up this week
Meanwhile, Scottsdale surgeon Dr Randall Craft, a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, said unlicensed procedures are an issue for the entire industry.
Recent data from the Society of Plastic Surgeons shows that lip filler is a top-five procedure, with nearly 1.5 million performed in 2025 alone, not including illegal procedures.
‘The issue is those blood vessels around the lips, when you blindly shove a needle into it and then put a volume of filler into it, it can block that blood vessel so it no longer supplies that tissue with blood and when that tissue doesn’t have blood it dies,’ Craft told the outlet.
‘What I always tell patients ask what your level of licensure is and who your medical supervisor is and if they’re readily available,’ he added.
