Cocaine Cassie Sainsbury denies burning client at Adelaide beauty salon
Convicted South Australian drug smuggler Cassie Sainsbury has been accused of leaving a customer with burns after a cosmetic procedure at her beauty salon in Adelaide's inner north.
A woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, claims she received a series of burns on her hips following a Liposonix treatment administered by Sainsbury – using her married name Cassandra Prada – at her Luxe Body Contour business in Walkerville.
The woman said she needed antibiotics to stave off an infection caused by the burns, which she claims Sainsbury said were 'welts'.
'She kept saying the machine was running a bit hot … but it was all fine,' the woman said of Sainsbury, better known as Cocaine Cassie.
When contacted by The Advertiser, Sainsbury said she noticed the client's skin was 'not responding typically' but the woman 'insisted' she continue.
Cassie Sainsbury. Picture: RoyVPhotography
Sainsbury is accused of giving a customer second degree burns during a cosmetic procedure at her beauty salon. Pictures: Supplied.
'I made the professional decision to immediately stop the treatment, despite her insisting it continue,' she said in a statement.
'We are talking about a treatment that has been performed on many clients and not once had an issue – however all treatments with heat can carry a risk unfortunately.'
Sainsbury said that she was fully qualified to perform the treatment in question, and the client had signed documentation 'acknowledging potential skin sensitivity risks'. She added that no official complaint has been lodged with any regulatory authority.
The woman said she sought treatment from Sainsbury on the recommendation of a friend, but had no idea the convicted drug trafficker was operating the salon until she went in for an appointment.
'She didn't do anything to me so I didn't want to judge her. She came across as a lovely girl,' the woman said.
The Adelaide personal trainer was caught with a suitcase containing 5.8kg of cocaine in Colombia in April 2017, just minutes before she was due to board a flight home to Australia.
She spent less than three years in a Bogota prison before being released. She returned home to live in Adelaide in 2022 alongside wife Tatiana, whom she met through mutual friends in a Colombian nightclub in 2021.
It's understood Sainsbury launched the business in 2023, offering 'luxurious, advanced beauty and body treatments' including HIFU, or High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound, and Liposonix. Both procedures are non-invasive, designed as an alternative to a facelift (HIFU) or to sculpt the body without need for surgery.
One of the burns alleged received by a former client of Sainsbury. Pictures: Supplied.
Sainsbury after her arrest in Colombia. AFP PHOTO
But hours after the third Liposonix treatment on her hips, the woman claimed she developed blisters from the ultrasound machine, and had to go see a doctor. She was prescribed antibiotics.
'Cassie just told me to take antihistamines. She kept referring to the burns as welts,' she said.
The woman said Sainsbury refunded her for the procedure and offered scar treatment for the burns.
But the woman has gone public to warn others of the dangers of the procedures.
Sainsbury said she remained in contact with the client, provided after-care and resolved the situation 'professionally, transparently, and in good faith'.
'To now misrepresent it publicly – after accepting support and compensation – is not only disingenuous but clearly malicious in intent,' she said in a statement.
Convicted drug smuggler Sainsbury opened Luxe Body Contour in 2023. Picture: David Swift
Last year, Luxe Body Contour was honoured with a Global Recognition Award, which described the salon as a 'pioneering body contouring business led by Cassandra Prada'.
Previously located in the Adelaide Hills and in FitWorld Fitness in Klemzig, Luxe Body Contour opened its Walkerville salon in May, with plans to open another shop in Mount Barker in September.
Sainsbury released a book about her ordeal in an infamous South American prison in September last year.
Titled Cocaine Cassie, she said the book would allow readers to 'walk in her shoes as a prisoner in one of the most notorious prisons out there'.
'I've been keeping a secret from you all… and I'm finally ready to share it. It's taken me four years to write this and to be okay with sharing my experiences in a very dark world,' she captioned an Instagram post.
'This journey is a way to deal with my traumas and to be at peace with some pretty unimaginable things.'
Sainsbury also revealed she was raped during her time in Colombia's El Buen Pastor jail, admitting she was sure she wouldn't make it out of there alive.
Originally published as Cocaine Cassie Sainsbury – now working as Cassandra Prada – denies burning client at Adelaide beauty salon
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