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An 11-year-old girl has been left scarred for life after using Temu-bought nail glue which caused nerve-damaging burns to her hands.

Chloe Norris needed two skin grafts after her at-home manicure turned into weeks of hospital visits and surgery.

Her mum Stacey, of Wheatsheaf Gardens, Sheerness, says the little girl has been a “soldier” despite excruciating pain.

The 38-year-old said: “My husband Jamie, Chloe’s dad, made the Temu order for her.

“She’d had a few things in the online basket, like keyrings, and her being his blue-eyed girl, he wanted to make her happy.

“He’s never bought nail glue before and didn’t know that buying cosmetics from some less-renowned companies can come with risks.”

Temu is an online marketplace operated by a Chinese company which offers heavily discounted goods.

Jamie, 45, made his order at the beginning of December and it came on December 12.

Carer Stacey explained: “Chloe chose the nails and glue separately. She’d done her own nails on numerous occasions but never with products from Temu.

“She applied one nail to one finger whilst I was sitting opposite her chatting about biscuits.

“The nail glue must have fallen without any of us realising as Chloe suddenly said ‘mum it’s burning’.

The nail glue, which had gone onto Chloe’s hands and along the length of her little finger, went white as soon as the water touched it.

The mum-of-two continued: “We held her hands under the water for 20 minutes and she said it was still burning.

“She was in a lot of pain and once it subdued a little we put Savlon on it and put her to bed.”

The next day the Oasis Academy pupil woke up with blisters on her hands.

Stacey said: “She still wanted to go to school as she didn’t want to lose her 100% attendance.

“She went in but I received a phone call saying the blisters had gotten bigger and we needed to pick her up.

“The blisters were about as long as a packet of chewing gum and they were filling up like balloons.”

Chloe was taken to the Sheppey Community Hospital in Minster where she had the blisters popped by medical professionals.

Stacey added: “They told us we did the right thing not popping them ourselves beforehand, and once they’d popped them there was this jelly-like fluid inside.

“Underneath, where it was once skin, was just white. It was her nerves.

“Every layer of her skin had been burned off, there was no fresh pink skin beneath, just white, just nerves.

“She had no feeling where her skin was white but I was quite proud of her. She bossed it. She’s been a soldier.”

Sheppey Community Hospital contacted East Grinstead Hospital in Sussex, which has a specialist reconstructive surgery centre, and doctors confirmed Chloe would need to see them.

Stacey said: “The surgeons like to give burns two weeks to see if they will naturally heal themselves and after toing and froing to the hospital for 10 days it was confirmed her burns were so deep she’d need a skin graft.”

Although it was a success there were slight complications due to the youngster having an allergic reaction to her dressings.

Stacey, who is also mum to nine-year-old Oliver, continued: “I just can’t get my head around it.

“The nails and the glue cost less than a pound, but that doesn’t excuse the damage it done.

“You can get nail sets from Primark for around the same cost that don’t do what the Temu glue did.

“She is a lot better now, the hospital is happy with how she is healing and the wounds don’t look as angry as they had done, they’re healing nicely.”

Following Chloe’s ordeal, Jamie contacted Temu trying to get an explanation for her horrific injuries.

However, Stacey said it’s been like “talking to a robot”.

She explained: “They asked us how much her treatment was but we explained we were covered by the NHS.

“Then they offered her £100 of Temu credit but we told them that it wasn’t about the money but about this dangerous product.

“They then offered us £150 but Jamie said he was going to take it further and share Chloe’s story on social media.

“After he said this Temu offered us £1,500 [credits] for Chloe’s injury but there would be nothing in it for her as the money would barely cover the work hours I lost, nine days, and how much it cost us to take her back and forth to East Grinstead.”

Jamie and Stacey sought legal advice but soon discovered that as the glue had been sold by a third party through Temu it was impossible to find the seller.

Stacey concluded: “I want to know why Temu is selling this product, I don’t think the batch had been tested.

“Chloe is lucky she didn’t touch her eyes or face. I’ll avoid all nail glue from now on.”

A Temu spokesman said: “Firstly, we wish to express our sincerest sympathies to Chloe and her family. We are deeply saddened by the injury she has suffered.

“We were informed of the unfortunate accident by the family [and] immediately launched an investigation.

“The product was a cyanoacrylate-based nail glue, a substance known for its strong bonding properties. It is a popular item sold by many retailers and e-commerce platforms, primarily used for adhering artificial nails, attaching nail tips, nail repair, and nail art.

“While cyanoacrylate, or commonly known as super glue, is generally harmless when it comes into contact with the skin, there have been reported cases of burns resulting from its reaction with certain materials, such as cotton and wool.

“It is essential to emphasise that we take product safety very seriously. The product carried specific warnings to keep it out of the reach of children, and the merchant provided the necessary certification for the product.

“However, we understand accidents can happen, especially in situations where the glue was inadvertently spilled and then touched.

Our focus has always been on supporting Chloe and her family during this difficult time. We have extended an offer of £1,500 credits as a goodwill gesture.

“This decision is not intended to shift responsibility but reflects our acknowledgment of the unfortunate situation and our commitment to our customers’ well-being.

“Our thoughts remain with Chloe and her family, and we are committed to resolving this matter in a manner that is fair and respectful to all parties involved."