Parlours offering medical services under guise of beauty

Skin treatments can only be performed by qualified professionals but there does not seem to be any check and balance

PESHAWAR:

When Hira Khan went to her local beauty parlour recently, she was not aware that a routine appointment would push her skin into turmoil she had never experienced before.

Hira, a long-term resident of Peshawar, was told by the parlour staff that the secret to a glowing and acne free skin were the beauty creams that they had on offer. Hira, who trusted the parlour staff’s advice, now regrets it. “They told me about various beauty creams and injections that would help my skin and make me look better. I was not aware that better meant having a severe acne breakout,” an irate Hira informed.

“Since the acne breakouts, I have been compelled to consult a dermatologist to help my irritated and clearly swollen skin,” she further added.

After her nightmarish experience, Hira has now realised that all beauty parlours in the city are offering beautician services without any prior training or education. “They are selling beauty as a business, without any check and balance, and for that they charge an arm and a leg,” said Hira, “it is disappointing that they can plan on people’s insecurities, making a living out of it, and the government does not bat an eye.”

As per Hira, she had to pay between an outrageous sum of Rs 50,000 to Rs 70,000 for the apparent beauty treatment that adversely impacted her otherwise fine skin. However, Hira is not the only one who has been fleeced out of her money under the guise of a glowing skin. According to Muhamma Salman Khan, a plastic surgeon, who practises in Peshawar, he routinely gets patients who have been tricked into receiving beauty treatments by parlours.

“Most of the people associated with the beauty parlour business in the city are not qualified to offer any advice on issues related to the skin such as hyperpigmentation or melasma,” he remarked.

Read also: Crackdown against beauty parlours on the cards

“To think that they can use a few beauty creams and injections to help cure deep rooted skin problems is just naive.”

Salman alleged that most of the creams and injections offered by beauty parlours or supposed beauticians are not even approved by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP). “There is a growing trend that people will set up shop on social media and offer solutions, without being qualified. Moreover, often these laser and skin treatments are performed by unskilled workers, who believe that a simple whitening injection or cream is a miraculous remedy,” the plastic surgeon contended.

“What these beauty parlours do not realise is that whitening creams and injections destroy the skin barrier, after which any exposure to the sun can severely damage one’s skin.”

In light of Salman’s revelations, the Express Tribune questioned, Mohsin Turk, a legal expert at the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Health Care Commission (HCC), about the lack of regulations and crackdown on beauty parlours, which are a health hazard for the populace. “There are two types of beauty parlours, one is a salon and the other is a medical professional offering cosmetic services. The salons are registered with the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, whereas those offering cosmetic services and medical treatments for the skin are registered with the HCC,” replied Mohsin.

The legal expert further elaborated that businesses offering medical treatments, which were registered with the HCC, had to follow as many as 26 guidelines, issued by the Pakistan Medical Council, to operate. “However, there are no guidelines for beauty parlours. There is a beauty parlour in nearly every other street of Peshawar. There is a dire need to regulate these businesses.”

When pressed about the fact that these businesses were essentially offering medical treatments and should be cracked down upon by the HCC, Mohsin said that if the businesses were doing so they were engaging in quackery. “The punishment for quackery is a Rs 1 million fine or 6 months in jail,” he concluded whilst talking to the Express Tribune.