Pregnant woman's horror beauty treatment

A pregnant woman claims her eyes were glued shut after a botched eyelash extension at a West Auckland salon.

Sarah Tyson, 24, says that instead of being given a refund, the salon owner yelled at her and told her to leave.

She is now wanting to make other women aware of the dangers of going to beauty therapists who aren't trained or qualified.

The salon denies her claims, saying all of its staff are fully trained and Ms Tyson had been happy with her treatment.

Ms Tyson had eyelash extensions applied at the West Auckland salon last week.

She claims that during the $65 treatment, her eyelids were glued shut together.

"My eyes were really stinging. I couldn't open them."

Ms Tyson, who is 31 weeks pregnant, also told the beautician her throat and nose were stinging due to the strong chemicals used for her eyelashes.

When she voiced her concerns, she claims the beauty therapist was dismissive and assured her the pain was "normal".

The beautician then pried her eyelids open by using her fingers.

Ms Tyson said when that didn't work, the woman used what looked like nail scissors to open her eyes.

At this point, Ms Tyson said she felt "uncomfortable" and demanded a refund.

However, the owner refused, and reportedly told her, "it will feel better tomorrow".

The next day, Ms Tyson woke up with swollen eyes and she was unable to close them as her eyelashes were so "hardened".

"It started to swell and it was so itchy. When I tried to touch it, [eyelashes] were pinching my skin."

She said the glue used for her eyelashes had started to come out of both her eyes.

When she called the salon, she said the owner again refused to give her a refund and told her to come in the next day.

However, Ms Tyson was afraid to wait another day so pleaded for help on social media. Luckily, a lash artist came to her aid.

The eyelash extension removal, which usually take 30 minutes, took two hours as clumps of glue continued to come out of Ms Tyson's eyes.

The lash artist, who did not wish to be named, said she was horrified by what had happened to Ms Tyson's eyes.

"It was dangerously applied. Her eyelashes were so hard, it might as well be tar.

"There was glue from the top to the bottom of eyelashes and all her eyelashes were pushed up to her eyelids which was causing so much pain."

She said Ms Tyson could have caused "serious damage to her follicles".

The day after having the lashes removed, Ms Tyson again went to the store to demand a refund.

"She yelled at me and told me to get out of the store," she said.

"She didn't apologise or show any remorse. She blamed me for the pain I was feeling in my eyes."

Ms Tyson now plans to start an online petition to protect customers from receiving botched beauty treatments.

The owner of the salon, which the Herald has chosen not to name, denied Ms Tyson's claims.

She said Ms Tyson left her salon "happy" with no complaints.

"She didn't complain once to me. She was happy when she left. She told me she loved her eyes."

The owner also said Ms Tyson should have given the salon the opportunity to fix her eyelashes, rather than going to another beauty therapist.

She also denied claims she was rude, and refused to give a refund as she didn't want to encourage people getting "freebie treatments".

This was the first complaint she had received from a customer in the six years she had been in business.

The lash artist who helped Ms Tyson remove her extensions said botched eyelash treatments were all too common as the industry was unregulated in New Zealand.

"Basically anyone can pick up a pair of tweezers and do this."

However, applying eyelash extensions required a high level of skill.

"It takes years to perfect. It takes you a few years to become good and then you're always needing to improve all the time," she said.

She said the industry needed to be regulated. At present an industry group, the Association of Registered Beauty Therapists, regulates its 700-odd members, but membership is voluntary.

Under the Auckland Council Health and Hygiene Bylaw, businesses providing services such body piercing, tattooing and removing hair by waxing or tweezing were inspected every year to ensure it was clean and hygienic.

Auckland Council environmental health manager Mervyn Chetty said the West Auckland salon had a beauty licence for waxing. However, eyelash extension treatments weren't included under the bylaw and therefore didn't require a licence.

He said the council had not received any complaints about the salon.