MADINAH, 29 December 2005 — When Eman went to a local salon to change the color of her hair she didn’t expect to come out nearly bald. “I was shocked to lose half of my hair,” said the Saudi mother.
Lost hair, bad makeup, even skin damage leading to infection are some of the stories to come out of beauty salons in the Kingdom.
Eman said that in her case the hairdresser misread instructions and left the treatment in her hair for two hours rather than 30 minutes. The owner of the salon initially tried to blame the problem on the quality of the woman’s hair. Eventually Eman received a refund.
These days, beauty salons are nearly on every street corner. These salons are using numerous ways to attract customers, from facials to tailoring. But many customers are finding that many salons are long on promises and short on quality.
Hanan, another beauty salon victim, suffered more serious damage than lost hair when she went for skin bleaching.
“The hairdresser put something on my face that smelled awful,” said Hanan. “She left the material on my face for more than an hour and a half. When she removed it my face looked red, as if it had been burned. I suffered from infections. I paid a lot of money to recover from these burns.”
Sisters Lujain and Amal said they went together to a well-known, and pricey, beauty salon in Madinah only to discover that their makeup tools weren’t cleaned regularly.
“We wanted to get make-up for a wedding that night. The hairdressers used a brush that has been used before, causing a lot of pimples on our faces,” said Amal. “Where are the authorities for these places?”
Some hairdressers says customers that are unsatisfied often unjustly accuse the service of illicit procedures.
Beauty salon owner Huda N. said that those who suffer from pimples in their face should test makeup on their own to make sure their skin won’t react adversely.
“We also face unsatisfied customers that complain about services,” said Huda. “They love to complain even if it was their mistake. Some women say that we messed up their hair. Most of the time it is because their hair is weak.”
In the end, most cases of bad beauty salon treatment might simply be a matter of “buyer beware” with little recourse for bad service.
