Women Left Permanently Disfigured By Beauty Salons

Beauty salons are being sued for leaving clients permanently disfigured and out thousands of dollars for corrective treatments. 

Julia Theodosis’s beauty therapist left her permanently disfigured. (Source: 9news.com.au)

Julia Theodosis was in need of a bit of a confidence boost when she walked into a Burwood beauty salon to treat herself to a permanent lip makeup treatment.

Instead, what she got was five years of ensuing hell.

Theodosis told 9 News online that soon after the therapist had finished treatment, she heard her daughter scream, “What have you done to my mother’s face?! You’ve made her look ugly!”

The salon client then proceeded to quickly jump up and look in the mirror, at which point she says, “My heart just dropped. I nearly died – it was black with red blisters.”

My heart just dropped. I nearly died – it was black with red blisters.

It was not what the salon client was expecting, especially after a series of pleasing treatments with the salon in previous years; but when her last treatment came out looking way too dark, the therapist had told her client she could correct it with laser, using a new device the salon had recently acquired.

However the decision proved to be devastating for Theodosis – who admits she was naive about researching her therapist’s qualifications  – after the laser oxidized the ink, causing it to turn black and blister.

And so began years of corrective treatments with various clinics, trying to rectify the damage Theodosis says the salon therapist did to her lips, which she describes as appearing with an “ugly black moustache”, due to the oxidization.

The beauty salon involved was ordered to pay the client $233,533 last year after a successful lawsuit for damages. However to date, Theodosis says she still has not been paid by the salon owner.

The case is one of many high profile suits against salons garnering media attention lately.

Most recently, U.S. woman Theresa Destefano highlighted the global issue of loose guidelines around beauty therapist training when it comes to using devices, having filed her own case against a Straten Island salon for leaving her with asymmetrical eyebrows after a permanent brow treatment.

the ACC has paid out over $1 million to victims of ‘beauty therapy’ injuries over the last three years.

“There’s no shortage of stories out there about treatments gone wrong and salons being hit with legal and insurance issues. Using an inferior device or performing treatments without having completed adequate training is a mistake some businesses unfortunately still make,” says The Global Beauty Group CEO, Kane Hammond.

And figures show the NZ Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) has paid out over $1 million to victims of ‘beauty therapy’ injuries over the last three years.

Hammond warns that this figure will continue to grow internationally if salons continue to put clients at risk by purchasing ‘cheap and easy’ training courses, like the ones found online that can be completed in as little as a few hours, which aren’t industry recognised.

Some devices for salon use can even be purchased online without any training at bidding sites like eBay.
Some devices for salon use can even be purchased online without any training at bidding sites.

It’s a lesson Destefano and Theodosis learned the hard way, with both women now advocating clients do their research before booking treatments involving sophisticated devices.

But what about the implication for salons?

“Go through a reputable supplier and ensure they provide you a thorough understanding of how your device works. And for any kind of advanced technology, especially laser and light based devices, aqeduate training is key. Our IPL training for light based devices spans three or more days and covers a range of theory and science-based training, hands on practice and ongoing access to treatment protocols and industry expert clinicians for support.”

Have your say: Do cases of mistreatment set a bad example for everyone? What do you think needs to be done to ensure better safety standards for all clients?

 

 

3 thoughts on “Women Left Permanently Disfigured By Beauty Salons

  1. I am sorry but company based training is not enough, there is training in the Diploma of Beauty on IPL & various treatments. It should be mandated that only those with Diplomas should be using these machines, it give the therapist a greater skill set and knowledge of the dangers and risks to clients, demand to see the qualifications of your therapist before you book, if in doubt during a treatment get them to stop Companies are not even requesting to see qualifications of any person wanting to spend money, they have no limit anyone can purchase them do the in house training and go into the field and take on clients, it really is dangerous.

  2. I never received what the court awarded me, as M/s Tran immediately after court, sold her house, changed the business over to her sister in law and left for Vietnam. In Vietnam, she married the lawye who represented her abd came back on a new passport. Till this day, I suffer thtthe emotional pain I went through and the cost to have my face back, which is only 90%. The cost from my own pocket was $25,000. There needs to be a Regulation in NSW for the consumer. You need to be careful were you go and find out if they are accredited and have insurance fir what you are going to have.

Leave a Reply

Back to top