Waxing nightmare for Cape woman
A visit to a beauty salon to have her eyebrows shaped turned into a nightmare for Vannessa Stoltenkamp-Tewary.
|||Cape Town - A visit to a beauty salon to have her eyebrows shaped turned into a nightmare for Vannessa Stoltenkamp-Tewary when extremely hot wax was applied to her eyelid and ripped off.
On Tuesday, Stoltenkamp-Tewary’s niece, Carla Kalila Satram, said the incident happened at Dream Nails Beauty in Kenilworth Centre, Cape Town, on Christmas Eve.
Satram said her aunt’s eye was swollen after the wax had been put on it, and the next day the skin was inflamed and she was in a lot of pain.
The swelling had gone down, and Tuesday was the first day Stoltenkamp-Tewary had been able to leave her Athlone house since the incident.
“This is totally unprofessional and unacceptable service. Kenilworth Centre branch should be ashamed! She deserves more than an apology and you have lost a client,” Satram said on Dream Nails' Facebook page.
Satram said her aunt had been waxing her eyebrows for about 20 years and this was the first time something like this had happened.
Her aunt had asked for a refund and money for the medication required to treat the affected area.
“There’s definitely an issue with untrained and/or inadequately trained beauticians working at Dream Nails. I also had a terrible wax at one branch years ago. I truly hope this gives Dream Nails a wake-up call,” said Satram.
Dream Nails spokeswoman Lorraine Morris said the wax used by the beauty therapist had probably been too hot.
“We have apologised to Vannessa about the incident and will be giving her a full refund for her medical bills,” said Morris.
She added that they would also pay for Stoltenkamp-Tewary’s treatment at their Placecol Salon, where a soft laser would be used to treat the injured skin.
Despite the fact that Stoltenkamp-Tewary’s therapist had one year’s experience in beauty therapy, Morris said she would be getting extra training in waxing and would not be allowed to do wax treatments until her training was complete.
But Morris insisted that they only took on therapists who had the required experience before they were employed.
“We do understand that Vannessa was understandably upset about this incident because it happened just before Christmas,” she said.
7de Laan actress Vinette Ebrahim commented on Satram’s Facebook post, stating that “when you are over 35 you should stop having your eyebrows waxed”.
“Sorry ladies, the skin on your face, and especially around your eyes, becomes thin and vulnerable. Yes, I agree this is unacceptable. They should cover medical costs,” said Ebrahim.
nicolette.dirk@inl.co.za
Cape Times