In an Instagram video from July 3 viewed more than 1.2 million times, Clare Crawley (Bachelorette) shared her difficult but carefully researched decision to remove the silicone gummy bear breast implants she got almost six years ago.
Three and a half months before announcing her decision to explant, on March 17 she shared with her 1M followers that she was giving Halotherapy a try as part of a “forever quest to try anything and everything to help my itchy irritated skin….”
A healthy handful of the more than 700 comments posted in response urged Clare to consider looking into breast implant illness, based on the persistent skin conditions she had described.
Fans, friends, and followers shared their own experiences as well as their research recommendations.
“Not sure if you have implants but getting them out was the only thing that helped me. It started with itchy skin and then more symptoms just piled up.”
Former Playboy Playmate, Crystal Hefner
- “You should look into breast implant illness. I suffered from it and can tell you that my health did a 180° after I Explanted.” @missyspruill
- “My skin was so itchy and irritated ALL the time….it was my toxic breast implants. My body fighting a foreign object 24/7 full of over 40 toxins and neurotoxins. No skin issues now that I explanted removing all capsule.” @jessg1717
- “Most of the time it’s an allergic reaction to all the chemicals in breast implants. Check out healingbreastimplantillness.com” @rolfewinklerwallstjournal
- “Breast implant illness.” @meganewithers
- “Have you researched BII for your skin issues” @nibbss21
- “Have you had a skin biopsy to rule out Lichen Planus? It’s an autoimmune condition I believe I got from breast implants” @katrinawaverly
- “Google the symptoms of Breast Implant Illness. I had it and had horrible itchy skin.” @missykatsanevas
- “You might be experience [sic] breast implant illness if you have implants. So many women have dry skin and get lots of rashes…” @candice_v_thompson
- “Breast implant illness” @scc10490
- “If you have implants please look into Breast implant illness.” @movingon174
- “@clarecrawley check [breast implant removal surgeon] @davidrankinmd” @nanelwellness
These suggestions were made two and a half months before a visit Clare made to a chiropractor who did an x-ray and then suggested a mammogram.
“It all kind of came to a head about a month ago when I was at the chiropractor,” Clare said. “And I got an x-ray and he goes, ‘Hey, you might want to go get a mammogram because…’—I have implants obviously—but behind one of them was a huge pocket of fluid. Or a big space that he saw. Essentially they found fluid sacs behind my implants.”
“I’ve just talked to women who have gone through this and I don’t think it discriminates—celeb, not celeb, it doesn’t matter.”
Clare Crawley
Asked during a July 19 Q&A session on Instagram about her upcoming explant surgery, “What celebs have you spoken with?,” Clare says, “I’ve just talked to women who have gone through this and I don’t think it discriminates—celeb, not celeb, it doesn’t matter. This affects all different types of people.”
According to some plastic surgeons and doctors, breast implant illness appears to affect some, not all, women with breast implants.
“As much as I love my implants, my body is fighting them and recognizes them as something obviously foreign,” Clare shared with followers. “I know this is not everybody’s case. This is my case, my body.”
“My body is in fight mode constantly. It’s exhausting, it’s depressing, it’s frustrating.”
“I’m sharing this in hopes that it might help others going through something similar feel not so alone.“
Clare Crawley
Statistics from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons show that more breast implant removal surgeries—and fewer breast augmentation surgeries—were performed in 2020 than in any of the 15 years prior.