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by Neomi Kodikara

Beauty, some say, is skin deep. But over many thousands of years, many a woman from powerful queens to simple peasant women yearned to be `more beautiful'. Today, this desire has paved the way for the rapid expansion of the beauty culture industry.

It seems today that you can get `professional' products from just about anywhere, from shopping malls to counters in simple `kades'. This is great, for some cosmetic companies, but not for the general consumers.

Thousands of cosmetics that enter the market and the number of `beauty parlours' that are mushrooming in every nook and corner prove the popularity of beauty culture among Lankans. However, the country has no monitoring system or laws pertaining to beauty parlours. Despite the efforts of the Drug Regulatory Authority, cosmetic importers and manufacturers still sneak through the loopholes.

The `Sunday Observer' visited several beauty saloons in Colombo and in the suburbs to see the type of `care' they provide to clients, and found out that the standards of some saloons were not upto the mark.

Some techniques being used were found to be unhygienic- one such method is hot waxing. We observed that the same spatula is used to apply the wax mixture and in some cases even old wax was being used over and over again on several clients.In most of the saloons, treatment were rendered by `girls' who claimed to be students of the head beautician. Most of them had a scant knowledge on the subject. Very rarely did we get them using gloves when giving special treatment like waxing or removing black heads. Unqualified persons use many techniques that are not acceptable.

HIV can be transmitted via body fluids, even through serum. Britain's `The Observer' issue on 22.2.2000 reported how the western beauty world was stormed by a recent finding; HIV in hot wax pots that were being used for treatment in saloons. It was believed that the spatulas, used to apply the wax mixture on the skin had acted as the carrier.

Gwendoline Kuhatheva and Krishani Hewavisenti, of Technique International, the Saloon and School for Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy, veterans in the field said that special care must be taken when using any device that puncture the skin. "We use the Professional Hygienic Disposable (PHD) waxing system which is the most hygienic system available for defoliation," they said.

Beauty therapies are like the other sciences and are being continuously developed," Gwendoline said. Krishani pointed out that lack of monitoring system and non-availability of laws in the country had created an irresponsible attitude and unqualified personnel dominating in the field. "The situation is quite different in western countries, here anybody can do anything and get away scot-free," said Krishani who claims four years of working experience in London.

A lady who is a regular client at beauty saloons, shared her experience "I had a nasty experience of getting my face burnt with hot wax at a leading saloon in Colombo. Without checking the temperature they put the wax mixture on my face and a side of my face was burnt badly. At the time the head beautician was not there, the girls were troubled and pleaded me not to take legal action, so I did not. However, I had to stay away from of work for two or three weeks and I still carry a scar."

Another lady who wishes not to be identified alleged that the use of popular brand of chemical bleach and peel off mask had led permanent discolouration and burns in her skin.

According to the well-known beautician and Founder President of the Sri Lanka Association of Hairdressers and Beauticians (SLAHB) Nayana Karunaratne cheap courses for beauty culture coming up all over the country produce only unqualified personnel where whom the clients encounter health risks. "Running a beauty saloon is an easy income generating self-employment for women." She added that courses conducted by Government organisations results in poor quality output and the situation is aggravated when there is no supervision or check on them.

What is the validity of such diplomas? It is a good idea but badly implemented," she charged. Nayana said that the rural clients will be the victims, since there is no big competition as in Colombo or suburbs so they have no choice.

She insisted that not only the business registration but the health Ministry licence should also be made mandatory to set up a saloon. She proposed government organisations to obtain the assistance of qualified, experienced personnel in the field for their training programmes. She remarked that there was a control in imported and locally manufactured cosmetics now as the Drug Regulatory Authority was now strict on them, still there were heaps of low quality products to be seen in the market.

According to the Consumer Protection Act of the Fair Trading Commission if any product or treatment at a beauty saloon causes harmful results, the victim can apply for compensation and the complaints can be made for either getting harmful reaction or for not obtaining the expected results.

P. Madarasinghe, a Food and Drug Inspector said that however, hardly anyone complain, and there had only been two in the last years. "There are many cases we come across but no one bothers to make a complaint in writing," he accused while adding that they expected more from the dermatologists in reporting such cases.

Consumers should be alert and make complaints so that we can go ahead in the legal process," Madarasinghe said. "However, shortcomings in the legal system in this regard and non-availability of consumer courts are a great disadvantage."

According to him the most important factor was getting the participation of the public. "If consumers were educated and aware of quality products, this would not happen."

B. F. S. Samaranayake, Director for the Drug Regulatory Authority stressed that registration is pivotal to market any imported or locally manufactured cosmetics and cosmetic devices. "We follow international standards and always check any product to meet these standards prior to registration," he said.

Madarasinghe explaining the process of registration said that before registration the products are checked out to find whether they contain any banned substances.Registration for any cosmetic or cosmetic device is given by the authority after confirming that they were free from harmful or prohibited substances, by a Certificate of Analysis issued by a reputed laboratory in the manufacturer's country. If the Certificate is in doubt then it is sent back for another analysis. The product has to be used in other countries including the manufacturer's country. "Sri Lanka cannot be the experimental ground for any imported cosmetic," he emphasised.

The label cannot be misleading or carry any exaggerated or false declaration and details should be either in English or vernacular. The cosmetics that claim to be herbal are checked by two Ayurvedic specialists in the Health Ministry sub committee on cosmetics, who were appointed a year ago with the trend moving to herbal cosmetics. A significant amount of herbal ingredients in the product is a must for it to be labelled `herbal'.

Locally manufactured products are checked randomly every year before renewing the licence. According to a survey done in 2001, 16 out of 20 samples of eu-de-cologne were found to be of poor quality and the manufactures were requested to withdraw them from the market.

The Authority keeps a sharp eye on manufacturers and importers but the main obstacle is the lack of resources in the segment of Cosmetic Analysis in the Government Analysts Department. Industrial Technology (ITI) also does the analysis for only limited varieties including skin creams, talc, shampoo and hair cream on the request of the manufacturers. Sources for the institute said that they too lack new technology. "There are new chemicals that are not covered by our standards," he said emphasising the need of drawing the attention of the authority.

A dermatologist attached to the State health sector said that nearly 90 per cent of the cases they treat were caused by cosmetics. "It is pathetic, many young girls use these unwanted products without a thinking and the result is detrimental.

Our complaints do not make much difference if the authorities drag their feet when taking action," he said when asked why they do not complain. "Those so called `herbal' products rampant in the market are found to be of very poor quality. They have no additional effectiveness.

You cannot expect the effect of aloe vera from a product that claims to have a morsel of aloe vera as an ingredient. It is a down right lie if they say a particular product is herbal only, because you need a fair amount of petro based chemicals to make a cream," he charged. "If they are herbal why are they labelled as `harmful'," he said pointing out to an instance in which a particular hair dye said to be made of `amla' and carries `poisonous' in the label.

Hydrogen peroxide is a common ingredient in most of the whitening creams. It is found out that if more than ten parts per million parts contained it can cause cancer. "I insist that we should have the necessary laboratory facilities to check these items before granting registration, or depend only on a WHO approved, reputed laboratory certificate," he said. "In India where cosmetic manufacturing is as a cottage industry, a lot of cheating takes place. Some manufactures produce bogus certificates."

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