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| Sunday, 22 February 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Hair perm turns into horror story: The beauty rip off Beauty Salons are part of a fast-growing industry that remains unregulated in Sri Lanka. In the absence of data and any system of grading based on qualifications, the public are at the mercy of any practitioner who sets up a "Salon" claiming to be a "beautician". Even a fancy reputation is no guarantee of standards, as SHANIKA SRIYANANDA discovered, when she talked to one unhappy victim of a treatment that went wrong. by Shanika Sriyananda
Niranjala Perera was a good looking young woman in her mid-thirties, living a normal life with her husband and three children in Kandana. Relatively speaking, Niranjala's was a happy life - until that fateful day in November last year, when she walked into the parlour of one of Sri Lanka's the best known herbal beauty treatment centres in Colombo Seven. Niranjala's intention was just to have a "healthy" herbal oil massage. But she was persuaded instead to have her hair "permed." The experience she went through after the attempted perm can only be described as a nightmare. With her face disfigured beyond recognition by ugly red and black blisters which later spread all over her body, and her gums peeling, Niranjala was hiding her face behind a 'burka' type scarf, when the Sunday Observer talked to her about her ordeal. "I still cannot go out with these scars. People look at me as if I have a deadly skin disease. Sometimes my own relatives are scared to come close to me," cried Niranjala. "Why did this happen to me? I rarely fall ill. Now I cannot even look at my face in the mirror. It was much worse earlier." It was November 21, she recalls. She was not a regular customer of that beauty parlour. She just stepped in for a herbal oil massage, but the beautician's assistant suggested that she would look smart if she permed her hair. Niranjala agreed. She went in at 9 a.m. in the morning and came out of the beauty parlour at 2 pm with a hair perm. " She (the assistant) put some lotion on me and said she would come after half an hour, but returned one and half hours later. She was at a meeting with her 'madam' forgetting me," lamented Niranjala. She says the lotion used on her was a herbal perm lotion, which is manufactured in this beautician's factory. The assistant advised Niranjala not to wash her hair for two days. Itching and head aches started the same day and her gums started bleeding. Blisters like big scars appeared on her face. Her husband took her to the Sri Jayawardenapura Hospital immediately, where the doctors asked her to have several tests done. "After two days of hospitalization we brought her back home but she complained of a severe headache and body pains," said Niranjala's husband Dushan. "My sister, who is a consultant physician at the Sri Jayawardenapura Hospital advised me to take her to Navaloka Hospital as the blisters were appearing all over her body and they were becoming big black spots and her gums were also peeling," he said. "Ah... another '(naming the beauty parlour) victim," were the words of the consultant physician (who did not want to be named), according to Dushan, as soon as he saw Niranjala. He moved her to the Intensive Care Unit immediately for close monitoring. Dushan says the consultant diagnosed her with "Steven Johnson Syndrome," a rare skin disorder that can even be life threatening (see box). Initially she was given only fluids and nutritional supplements but now she can eat and drink. "The consultant Dermatologist Dr. W.D.H. Perera told her that a full recovery will take at least one and a half years," said Dushan, who has lodged a complaint with the Cinnamon Gardens Police. He related how, when he complained about Niranjala's condition to the beautician's daughter who manages the beauty salon, she visited them with a nice bouquet of flowers, apologised for the "mistake", and promised to pay the hospital bills. "But when she came to know that the bill was Rs. 125,000, she vanished", he said. He telephoned the salon the day that Niranjala was discharged and the person at the salon had refused to take responsibility. When contacted by the Sunday Observer, a spokeswoman for the salon who did not want to be named, denied the allegations levelled against them, and refused to accept responsibility. She said the consultant physician who initially saw Niranjala told them that this client may have been on some other medication. She maintained that the damage was not due to the attempted perm. The spokeswoman said that this salon had been in the business for the past 44 years and this was the first such allegation made against them. They do over 10 hair perms a day, and there have been no complaints about allergies she said. Contrary to Niranjala's statement that it was a herbal product, she said they used an internationally recognised perming lotion on this client. "It is absurd. This lady's husband is very angry and trying to take revenge on us. We did not do any wrong to his wife. We did our best to satisfy this customer," she said. Niranjala warns others against the dangers of being misled by eye-catching advertisements which promise wonders. "I went there because they claim that they are one of the best herbal treatment centres in the country. They even advertised the international awards won for their herbal cosmetics. I did not have any suspicions about them," she said. Dushan and Niranjala who are Australian residents, say there is no branch of this beauty salon in Sydney, Australia, though they advertised a "Sydney branch." Dushan and Niranjala invite others who have had similar experiences to contact them at 0777-375838. The Drug Regulatory Authority (DRA) of the Ministry of Health, which checks on the quality of locally manufactured and imported cosmetics says in the absence of laws any person could set up a beauty salon. "We need laws to regulate the trade to stop malpractices, especially to avoid health risks," said P. Madarasinghe, Drug Inspector of the DRA. According to him there are over 10 local cosmetic manufacturers whose products have been registered with the DRA. "Their licences will be cancelled if their products fail the laboratory tests, which we carry out randomly," he said. When asked about the herbal products of this particular beauty parlour he said they had been registered under the DRA and not found to be substandard. The Director General of the Consumer Protection Authority (CPA) Kithsiri Gunewardena however says there is no need to have separate laws to regulate beauty parlours. Since they are a service, they come under the purview of the Consumer Protection Authority. The Authority would deal with complaints about irregularities. Gunewardena said that when there is a complaint they would investigate without fear or favour, regardless of the power and influence of the alleged offender. "We want to protect the rights of the consumer." The Consumer Protection Authority may be contacted at Tel: 2399149 (Director General) or 2393577, 2393496 (general). The Sri Lanka National Cosmetology Association (SLNCA) strongly condemns irresponsible behaviour of beauty parlours and says it is ready to help any victims who have lost their looks at the hands of unqualified beauticians. Rochelle Ekanayake, Joint President of the SLNCA and the proprietor of Mr. Pierce Studios, told the Sunday Observer that it is high time to regulate the beauty culture industry. "There are so many allegations about beauty parlours and hair treatments that went wrong, as well as skin and eye damage," she said. Ekanayake says Mr. Pierce Studios gets over five cases a day for correction of scars, permanent make up and tattoos that went wrong, or damage to hair, skin and eyes caused by perming, "re-bonding" and hair straightening. "Most of the assistants working for beauticians are not qualified and do not even know the basics of beauty culture. Today this has become a quick money generating business," she says. SLNCA, which is the largest professional organisation for hair and beauty in the country, has a membership of over 1200 beauticians. It urged the government to introduce standards and to set up an authority to make the industry safer. According to Ekanayake, a teacher training institute for beauty culture is an urgent need. "The number of people getting into the beauty culture industry is increasing daily, but the quality of service is deteriorating." She also claimed that many students who obtained "Diploma Certificates" from popular beauty culture "teachers" did not know how to do a proper perm and lacked the basic equipment needed for it. "They have not been given practical training. You can not become a beautician without proper practical training", she said. "Normally the beautician should use a timer and the job should be done under the supervision of the chief beautician. The assistants should not be given full responsibility", she said. The SLNCA is ready to investigate complaints which may be addressed to: The President, Sri Lanka National Cosmetology Association, 27, St. Albans Place, Colombo 04, or at Tel: 074 513316-7. Dr. Nimal Jayatilake, Assistant Commissioner of Ayurveda said that if somebody was practising herbal treatment he or she should be a doctor registered with the Ayurvedic Medical Council. " There is no provision under the present Act - No 31 of 1961 - to control herbal cosmetics and beauty culture. This is still a grey area and tough laws are needed to control the trade," he said. ##### Steven-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) is a rare inflammatory skin disorder that can be life- threatening. In particularly severe cases, the kidneys, lungs and digestive systems will also develop lesions. In some cases, permanent skin damage and scarring occur. Lesions on internal organs can cause serious inflammation of the lungs, heart and kidneys. Up to 27 per cent of those affected with SJS incur long-term damage to the eyes or vision loss and up to 15 per cent of patients with sever SJS die from this condition. Source : Internet |
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