The death of an Illinois woman may serve as a warning to those considering do-it-yourself plastic surgeries. According to ABC News, the 63-year-old woman died of a bacterial infection soon after she injected heated beef fat into her face.

Apparently, Janet Hardt had performed the procedure on herself several times before. She reportedly boiled beef, extracted the fat and injected it around her mouth and chin to mimic the results of Botox injections, which help to reduce wrinkles.

"There are a lot people out there doing self-injections for wrinkles, but I don't know of any medical associations that would recommend this," a plastic surgery expert told ABC News. "It's not worth taking a chance with your face to try to save money when it could ultimately cost you a lot more money."

Hardt, who sources say was "obsessed" with plastic surgery, went to the hospital shortly after injecting the fat into her face, reportedly because it felt as if it was burning. While the woman had scarring and infections from the injections, the official cause of death was inflammation of the abdomen wall and unrelated to the beef fat.

Safe, FDA-approved injectables, such as Botox, Dysport, Juvederm, Restylane and Collagen remain extremely popular among those who wish to enhance their appearance.

According to the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), nearly 4 million individuals underwent these non-surgical procedures during 2010. The popularity of these procedures may be due to the fact that they provide positive results at a relatively affordable price.

ASAPS reports that the national average cost of an injection of Botulinium Toxin Type A, which reduces wrinkles by paralyzing muscles, costs under $400. Hyaluronic acid injections, which help to fill in wrinkles and lines, cost an average of $558 per treatment. Either way, the savings from a procedure cannot outweigh the cost of a person’s life and personal well-being.