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 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.

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?