HOUSTON -- People undergo cosmetic surgery for a variety of reasons, but they all do it to look better. However, some patients get the opposite result, KPRC Local 2 reported Wednesday.

As a professional makeup artist and spa owner, Gina Hern knows firsthand the high cost of beauty.

"People come here wanting to be the best that they can be," Hern said.

So, when she decided to get breast implants, she went comparison-shopping only to find the average price was $6,000 to $8,000.

"I went online and did some research to find a less expensive way to get what I wanted," Hern said.

She found the best bargain over the border at a clinic in Mexico. Hern got her implants at the rock-bottom price of $2,000. But when she returned home to Houston, the implants turned rock hard.

"When someone would hug you they wanted to know why it was so hard. They would actually say, 'Ouch,'" Hern said.

The one-time professional body builder had a difficult time hiding the deformed implants.

"There is a terrible indentation where the implant is misplaced," Hern said.

Not only were they lopsided and pointed in different directions, one of the implants began to poke through her skin.

"I literally had to eventually start wearing two bras," she said.

Hern is not the only one. With ads on the Internet, magazines and newspapers luring Houstonians to Mexico with the promise of low-cost plastic surgery, many are ending up paying a hefty price.

When it comes to plastic surgery south of the border, Dr. Michael Siegel has seen it all.

One patient had a botched nose job.

"She has basically no support in her nose. Things have kind of caved in on the sides," Siegel said.

A man went to Mexico for an eyelift.

"They cut open one of the muscles that acts like a curtain so when the eyes are open, one of the eyes is partially blocked," Siegel said.

Perhaps the worse case that Siegel has seen is a woman KPRC only identified as "Dixie."

Her trip to Mexico left her with permanent nerve damage to her face, plus a tummy tuck with a terrible side effect.

"My belly button is about an inch to an inch and a half off-center," Dixie said.

But bad plastic surgery does not just happen in Mexico. It happens in Houston as well.

A bad tummy tuck by a local doctor left Latonya Robinson without a belly button.

But thanks to plastic surgeon Michael Streitman, she now has a new navel and a piercing to go with it.

"I love it. I love my navel," Robinson said.

Several plastic surgeries and nearly $10,000 later, Hern finally loves her new look, as well. She knows things could have been much worse.

"They could have destroyed me permanently, which they nearly did," Hern said.

Dixie is not as lucky. Only time will tell if the nerve in her face heals. But doctors said both women learned a valuable lesson when it comes to plastic surgery.

"If you can't afford it here, save your money or don't do it," Hern said.

"You get what you pay for," Streitman said.

"Is it cheaper to pay X-amount of dollars up front for your safety? I don't think so," Siegel said.

In the end, the price of beauty could end up costing more than just money.

For more information on plastic surgery, visit www.plasticsurgery.org.