Ludhiana, March 23
In great pain, Rubina came to the doctor and was diagnosed with follicellites. A hair massage at a beauty parlour had left her with infection of follicles (tiny holes in the skin from where the hair grow out). She had a fever and the swelling of glands had increased the pain. She had to take a seven-day course of antibiotics.
Dr G.K. Nakra, a physician, says that Rubina’s case is not an isolated one. He receives many patients like her. He says, “The root cause of infection is a lack of hygiene in beauty parlours, use of substandard products and incompetent beauticians who rub the hair the wrong way and damage the follicles.”
Sue and Rippy, who own a beauty parlour, support the doctor’s opinion. They say: “These days, girls do short-term causes and set up their own parlours to make a quick buck. Quality is sacrificed at the altar of greed, the results of which are disastrous.
Even waxing of arms and legs, if not done properly, can cause pustules that are not only painful but also make a person sick. Sometimes, the hair are not pulled in the right direction, which causes infection.”
Rosy and her friend had to suffer pain because the powder puff applied on them after waxing had caused an infection. A beautician, on the condition of anonymity, said all processes in a beauty parlour could turn out to be hazardous wherever substandard products were used.
Dr Nakra says that the application of ‘henna’ can also be dangerous because some beauticians use strong chemicals to give a dark shade. Saroj’s face puffed up after she had washed ‘henna’ off her hair.
Her beautician told her that she had mixed hibiscus with henna and Saroj was allergic to hibiscus. Being a doctor, she knows that about 90 per cent people are allergic to hibiscus, but beauticians don’t bother to find out if their clients are allergic to anything.
“Even the nose and the ear are pierced in a primitive way in some parlours, which causes infection. In many cases, the infection trickles down to glands under the ears. I put such patients on antibiotics to save them from going deaf,” says Dr Nakra.
Pamela fainted after she had applied a hair colour that had caused an allergy. The colour carton carries an instruction that an allergy test should be done before application, but it was not done. Rippy Chatwal, a beautician, says: “Girls who work in my parlour have instructions to wash the hair immediately if a client complains of itching while colour is being applied. The face bleach can cause skin burns and one has to monitor such delicate operations. Hair colours are manufactured commercially and beauticians have to take a full course to learn new techniques. Colours have to be mixed in a right proportion and a substance which is good for one client may be harmful for the others.
Skin type, season and age have to be kept in mind before a facial.”
“Many clients end up losing the hair after they have had their hair permed or straightened. Sometimes, it takes two years for the hair to grow again. Even simple manicures and pedicures, if done with unclean sets, can cause infection,” says Sue.
Though all women want to look good, they should see that the parlours they visit are clean and having qualified beauticians.
They should check whether combs, scissors, manicure sets and gowns have been properly sterilised or not. The client has the right to know the quality of the products being applied on her. Promises that dandruff, wrinkles and dark circles under the eyes will vanish overnight are all false. No beautician can turn you into a Cinderella in one sitting.
