Brandi Glanville, 52, displays markedly smoother and taut appearance as expert gets to the bottom of skin disfiguration - after reality star claimed her swollen face was caused by 'a parasite' and 'stress'

Brandi Glanville displayed a markedly taut appearance at the weekend, looking worlds away from the raw selfie of her swollen face she shared on Saturday.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, 52, shocked her fans when she posted a unrecognisable photo showing the effects of the skin condition she was diagnosed with last year.

But in her latest Instagram post, Brandi was back looking as youthful and radiant as ever, as she shared a video announcing her return to Cameo - a popular service that allows users to pay celebrities to record personalised messages to them.

The clip saw the star wishing a merry Christmas to a fan, sporting a light palette of makeup and her skin looking noticeably smooth and glowing.

While her previous selfie saw her pushing her blonde hair back with her glasses to reveal her swollen and disfigured cheeks.

Brandi later took to X to claim doctors suspected her her facial condition may be caused by a parasite that ‘jumps around’ her face or stress.

However, an expert has now revealed the real reason for her unrecognisable appearance to MailOnline, claiming it is down to her love of cosmetic treatments.

On Sunday, Brandi said she has been frequently hospitalized due to her ongoing health concerns and that she has incurred substantial expenses because of it.

And the reality star claimed that after various medical appointments, multiple physicians  had told her they suspected she was suffering from a 'parasite'.

She wrote: 'What happened? I wish I knew I've been in &out of the hospital this passed year 1/2 spent almost every dollar I have trying to figure it out. Some Dr.'s say I have a parasite that jumps around my face. Some say it's stress induced edema'.

However, Brandi had her own theory and once again placed the blame on The Real Housewives TV network Bravo, writing: 'I personally say it's Bravo'.

But plastic surgeon, Dr Mark Solomos, who has appeared on Channel 4’s 10 Years Younger, My Big Boobs and ITV’s Price of Perfection, suspected that the swelling had been caused due to complications from Brandi's fillers.

He told MailOnline: 'This looks to me like a clear cut case of complications due to fillers in the past. It’s obvious that she’s had work done, perhaps a facelift but definitely fillers in her cheekbones and face in general.'

Dr Solomos explained: 'Fillers never go away, and within time over the years they can cause specific complications such as Angiodema- when deeper layers of skin swell, caused by the build up of fluid.

'This is not an anaphylactic reaction, it’s caused by the fillers and their ability to block the lymphatic drainage. 

'There have been studies done that show that fillers block at least 50% of the lymphatic drainage system anywhere that you inject them, especially in the face, so in the long term you have fluid sequestration, edema, which can come and go. Fillers can also cause other reactions like Granulomas and infections.'

On Sunday, Brandi doubled down on her claims that Bravo had caused the disfiguration to her skin, insisting her face was 'doing gymnastics' due the stress the network had caused her.

Hitting back at a fan who called her out for blaming Bravo for all her problems, Brandi said she couldn't move on because every time she saw her appearance she was  'reminded of how f***ed up these past two years have been'.

She fumed: 'F*** off! You have no idea how horrible these last 2 years have been. Being branded as some sort of sex offender for a storyline is f***ed up. 

'I lost every job that I had coming up. I go to therapy I'm on medication to help but bravo allowed that narrative to go on for a year and a half. It wasn't until Caroline filed her lawsuit that Bravo admitted that I did nothing wrong. 

'I would love to move on with my life but I'm in and out of the hospital and my face is doing gymnastics. 

'So every time I pass the mirror I'm reminded of how f***ed up these past two years have been. It's really easy for you to sit back and judge but maybe you should be kinder.'

Back in July, Brandi shared another photo of her severe facial swelling to X, and said the skin condition is 'why I'm miserable and depressed'.

She wrote: 'Stress will kill you. How is your wealth? Take care of yourself people, thank you Bravo. I couldn't even work if I wanted to at this point.'

The TV personality previously revealed she was diagnosed with stress-induced angioedema in August 2023 and claimed it stemmed from the alleged incident with Caroline Manzo on the Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip.

In an off-screen moment while filming the spinoff in Morocco earlier that same year, Caroline alleged Brandi groped her.

Brandi vehemently denied Caroline's accusations and even claimed she was advised to remain silent about the incident. 

She also accused Bravo producers of fostering an unsafe work environment and encouraging excessive alcohol consumption during filming, saying: 'Nothing happened, that's all I can really say.

'This false narrative has been going on for 10 months. It's been the worst year of my life. Worse than my divorce.' 

In January, she told Entertainment Tonight, Brandi said the stress brought on by sexual misconduct accusations from the Real Housewives of New Jersey star caused her facial disfigurement.

She said: 'I've had some health issues that have affected my ability to talk. My ability to taste food, my face basically would swell up, like I would have anaphylactic shock, go into anaphylactic shock constantly and I saw seven doctors and their answer to it was it was stress-induced angioedema.'

After a tumultuous year, Brandi said her health deteriorated and her lips and face unexpectedly swelled up, accompanied by anaphylactic shock.

Two months later, she revealed she was hospitalised after her condition worsened and her son was forced to call 911.

She recalled: 'I was on the phone with Andy Cohen... and I was just given some very disappointing news and I couldn't take it. The stress just, my eyes swelled shut, my hands [swelled].

'I laid down before I fell down, but an ambulance came and I spent two days in the hospital, trying to figure out what's wrong.

'It's affected every aspect of my life. Everyone's like, "You look great." I'm like, "I don't feel like I should feel, I don't look the way I used to look".'