A salon has hit back after a furious client insisted she was given the ‘world’s s******t eyebrows’.
Melissa Ryan, 21, from Orpington, Kent, visited Cavendish Aesthetics in Murston Business Centre to get lip fillers on Monday 9 March.
But, while she was in the beauty parlour, she claimed she was pressured into getting her brows laminated, which involves correcting the shape by using a chemical solution, by a member of staff who wasn’t ‘fully qualified.’
Frustrated by the outcome of the situation, Melissa took to social media after she left the premises, in a scathing post that has prompted thousands of comments and shares.
And Melissa says it has also encouraged others to come forward, saying they had work done at the salon that later needed fixing.
However, salon owner Amanda Cavendish says she involved the police after receiving a ‘constant barrage of abuse.’
Melissa Ryan, 21, from Orpington, Kent, shared a scathing post online claiming a beauty parlour pressured her into getting her eyebrows laminated, which led her to experience a chemical reaction (pictured). The owner of the parlour, Amanda Cavendish, has since defended herself
The business owner, 56, claimed she has received more than 700 messages in the wake of the viral post.
She even says she has reported the alleged harassment to the police, who have been contacted for comment.
Part of Melissa’s post read: ‘Amanda has dealt with a situation highly unprofessionally.
‘I had my lips done today, they were fine I couldn’t fault her on that.
Melissa (pictured with her normal eyebrows) explained she felt the woman who treated her at the salon was not fully qualified
‘Then, whilst having my lips done, I was offered to have my eyebrows laminated and tinted.
I felt a bit put on the spot as you do when people try to up sell, but asked if this treatment would suit me, and both Amanda and her colleague (short blonde hair) agreed I’d look great, so I agreed to have it.
‘My eyebrows were completely unsatisfactory and nothing like the photos that are advertised on social media.
‘I was left looking like I complete fool. I probably could’ve done a better job myself blindfolded.
‘I don’t like to publish my confidence issues to other people, but I literally came home and cried. This has made me feel even worse about myself and my appearance.
The 21-year-old (pictured) complained on social media, harnessing thousands of comments and reactions, and said it had encouraged other women unhappy with their treatment at the salon to come out of the woodwork
Pictured: Melissa’s eyebrows after the procedure. Amanda Cavendish, who owns the parlour, said she faced harassment following the disgruntled client’s complain
‘I was allowed to leave the shop with my eyebrows in the worst state possible, people in public were staring at me and laughing me, it was so embarrassing!’
About half an hour after leaving, Melissa decided to contact the salon to air her concerns, but said she was dealt with ‘completely unprofessionally’.
She initially asked if washing the tint off would ‘ruin the whole lamination’, to which Amanda replied, telling her to keep them dry for at least 24 hours.
But after another hour, Melissa sent a series of messages, getting more and more concerned about her eyebrows.
Amanda, who is qualified to level seven in aesthetics, eventually offered a refund, but said Melissa did not turn up at the salon to collect her £25 and instead wanted the money via bank transfer.
In a text exchange between Melissa and Amanda shared by the client, the 21-year-old expressed she did not think he therapist who administered her with the treatment was fully qualified
Melissa threatened to spread the world about the incident to other clients, which prompted Amanda to agree to a refund
Melissa says this is because her journey cost from Orpington to Ashford would render this entirely redundant.
Amanda told KentLive: ‘It’s not a good idea for me to be responding to bullying, hate speech and vulgarity on social media, but I do want to put my side across.
‘I’ve had over 700 vile harassing, hateful things said about me.
‘Staff are worried that someone will come in and cause problems. I’ve had clients cancel today.
‘I don’t want to have anyone here put at risk. My husband is at work in London, worried sick.
Melissa refused to come to Ashford to get the refund and insisted Amanda send her the money via bank transfer
‘And the police are now involved – all because one person complained.’
Despite the withheld calls and constant messages, Amanda says her regular clients have been quick to support the salon, which has three employees.
She also said she wasn’t worried about the future of her business amid the social media uproar.
‘If you look, before the last few days, I do not have one bad review,’ she added.
‘I’m very well known in Ashford and, if anything, I hope this will raise my profile.
‘I don’t pressure anyone into doing anything in my salon and my clients will tell you that.’
In a scathing post online, Melissa complained about her eyebrow job, exposing Amanda (pictured)
Amanda explained she did not pressure Melissa (pictured) into getting her eyebrows laminated, but instead simply asked her whether she wanted to try the treatment with ‘someone in training’
Amanda says she clearly explained Melissa’s treatment was being done by someone in training. This is something Melissa strenuously denies.
‘All I said at the time was, “We do brow lamination, you’ve got lovely big brows, would you like to have your brows laminated?”.
‘I explained that we were looking for models at the moment, for someone in training, and asked if she would be happy to help.
‘She said, “Go on then, why not?” – those were her words.’
The brow lamination was booked in around an hour later, with Melissa heading to the Ashford Designer Outlet for some shopping while she waited.
After the treatment was done, Amanda said she explained to her client how the staining of the skin was to be expected.
Melissa on a night out with a friend. The 21-year-old started to express concerns when her brows got irritated after the procedure
She added: ‘I said the tint has stained your skin but that’s normal, you have to keep them dry for 24 hours. After that you can wet your brows all that staining will come off.
‘I asked “Are you happy with what we’ve done? Because I feel you need to have your brows thinned out in the arch area”.
‘And she said she didn’t want any off because someone had over-plucked them previously.
‘We agreed on this but I did say, “Next time you come back to us you need to think about having your brow arch shaped”.’
Melissa said her skin had become irritated and itchy after the treatment and insisted in her post that she should have been offered a patch test beforehand.
But Amanda claims the products she uses, made by a company called BOM, are ‘very mild’ and only need a patch test if the person involved has pre-existing skin sensitivity or allergies.
A picture of Melissa before the treatment, showing her natural eyebrows. Amanda said she was scared for her safety of her business and her employees after receiving 700 messages of insult
On the state of Melissa’s brows in the images, Amanda admitted they didn’t look perfect.
She explained: ‘Looking at them, I would say that she’s justified in what she’s saying.
‘However, I said to her the staining from the tint will wash off. It would be easily washed off with soap after 24 hours.
‘And frankly, she had every opportunity when we showed her in the mirror to say she hated it.
‘The way this has been gone about is totally wrong.
Melissa has since defended her social media post, claiming it was the only way she could get in touch with Amanda after their WhatsApp exchange.
She told KentLive: ‘I’ve tried to contact Amanda but haven’t gotten anywhere. This whole situation didn’t have to get out of hand like this if she didn’t allow unqualified people to do work.
‘She hasn’t taken any sort of responsibility for what went on in her salon or what her employee did. She blocked my number so I couldn’t contact her that’s why I took to social media.
‘I haven’t even received any sort of apology or my refund, like I said I live in London, I only went there for my treatment.’