When Sarah Tyson booked in for eyelash extensions at an Auckland beauty salon, she probably expected to walk out with fluttering lashes and a nice confidence boost.
Instead, she received a botched job that left her in total agony.
In a Facebook post that’s been shared by thousands, the mum of two claims her eyes were super-glued shut by the beauty therapist, who then took drastic measures taken to prise them open again.
“When I couldn’t open my eyes, the lady pulled my eyelids apart with her fingers, and when she couldn’t pull them apart with her fingers she cut my eyes open with scissors,” Tyson recalls.
With scissors. Yeah, let’s all just take a moment to let the horror sink in. Looking at these photos might help:
Unsurprisingly, Tyson’s eyes didn’t feel too great after being glued shut then prised open with scissors, so she asked the store manager to remove the extensions and give her a refund.
The woman allegedly refused, telling her she’d feel a lot better after the glue had set overnight. Alas, that wasn’t the case. At all.
“The next day my eyelashes were so hardened I couldn’t close my eyes. They started swelling and glue and puss started to come out of my tear ducts,” Tyson, who is currently 31 weeks pregnant with her third child, writes.
When her second request for a refund was knocked back, Tyson took her frustrations to Facebook.
The lash extensions did not go to plan. (Image: iStock)
She posted her story on a New Zealand women's discussion page to see whether anyone could refer her to a beauty professional who could quickly remove her lashes, rather than having to go to the emergency room. Luckily, one woman came to the rescue.
The removal process took two hours, and Tyson was told she either had an eye infection or remnants of lash glue "all over" her eye. As if that wasn't enough to concern her, she then learned there was no board tasked with regulating the beauty industry in New Zealand.
"[The beauty therapist] then told me people don't have to be licensed to put lashes on. That alarmed me... I thought, 'How can that be possible?" Tyson writes.
"That would mean these ladies working in a salon putting glue and lashes on are not aware of the health hazards of what they are doing. I was blown away."
Watch: A guide to applying false lashes... without gluing your eyes shut. (Post continues after video.)
The artist who removed Tyson's lashes offered to accompany her to the salon that had applied them to address the issue, which they did the following day.
Although Tyson was eventually given a refund, the store manager questioned why she hadn't done more research before deciding to have lash extensions at her business.
"[She] said, 'We don't have to be trained licensed professionals to do eyelashes', and then turned to me and said ... 'You should have done your research'," Tyson writes.
"I said, 'I guess my mistake was assuming if you go get beauty treatments done at a salon in the middle of the mall, they would have proper training and be licensed.' She then said I [was] stupid for trusting her business and got up and walked away." (Post continues after gallery.)
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According to New Zealand website News Hub, Auckland beauty salons are required to have a license under the city's Council regulations.
In a subsequent Facebook post, Tyson has thanked everyone who had offered their support.
"Hopefully this will be the wakeup call that sub-par beauty therapists and establishments need to lift their game," she writes.
"I would like to point out that there are many, many wonderful beauty therapists and establishments in NZ, whose ranks I would like to join one day."
Have you ever had a beauty treatment go horribly wrong?
Featured image: Facebook/Sarah Tyson.
Top Comments
"She then said I was stupid for trusting her business"...It sounds unbelievably ridiculous that someone would say this but it's actually been said to me when I bought a second hand coffee machine in "perfect working order" off Ebay.
When i got it home and tried to make a coffee, the frother didn't work at all (basically from total lack of water pressure). I looked up the model (it was a Breville which, in my experience and general reputation are great machines) and saw that there were indeed a few comments about the crappy steam function. Anyway, I rang the seller and I couldn't believe she was defensive and a little nasty when I said I wanted my money back. (She was so nice when I met her to collect the machine!). I was floored when she said that comment "You should have done your research"...I can't remember saying anything to her in reply as I was just gobsmacked. Basically you are saying it's my fault that I didn't realise you were a complete turd.
Anyway...I got my money back...
That's a different situation. The machine was sold to you as advertised, and it's an inherent fault with the design, not the individual machine you bought. You were responsible to research the machine in this case, much like anyone else buying an appliance. It's Breville who would need to refund/replace your machine.
Beauty treatments are a different story. You would expect not to be given an infection or have your eyes glued shut! Regardless of there not being any licences for this in NZ (which obviously needs to change), the service was not provided as promised and caused the customer pain and suffering.