A woman has been left with facial burns after a skin treatment at an Auckland beauty clinic went wrong.
And five months on from Shirley Agostinha de Oliveira’s February 13 appointment, her face remains scarred.
The 36-year-old has now complained to the Health and Disability Commissioner, believing the clinic should not have used the device on her skin.
“The damage it created mentally was really strong. I don’t go out much because I feel awful. Even with makeup I still feel awful. I wanted to improve my skin, but it was the worst day of my life.”
The clinic, About Skin, has defended its safety protocols as “rigorous” and says the situation is “highly unusual”.
Director Jody Burke said the Elōs AC Acne treatment used on Agostinha de Oliveira was specifically designed to be safe and effective on darker skin tones when used correctly.
The device uses light and radio frequency to treat the skin.
Burke told the Herald the customer had been patch tested for Sublative and Elōs AC Acne treatments in August 2024, though she confirmed the February appointment was Agostinha de Oliveira’s first Elōs AC Acne treatment.
Agostinha de Oliveira said she only recalled receiving one patch test.
Asked about the six-month gap between the patch test and treatment, Burke said seasonal factors could impact the skin’s response to advanced treatment.
“For this reason, our protocol always includes a pre-treatment assessment at every appointment to ensure suitability. In this case, Shirley’s thorough pre-treatment assessment on the day was deemed appropriate to proceed.”
Agostinha de Oliveira said she was at the clinic to treat black spots on her face.
“I trusted the lady because I had been there for a few months already and she said it was fine.”
When she got home, her skin felt burned.
“My friend was saying, ‘Shirley, are you sure this is all right?’
“It wasn’t fine. The next day it felt worse.”
Agostinha de Oliveira said she returned to the clinic and a worker said it looked like she was having a reaction.
The next day the burn worsened so she visited an emergency doctor.
“The lady [at the emergency room] said this was actually a burn.
“They burned me.”
When she informed the clinic she had been burned, she said staff offered to refund her appointment fee and provided ongoing treatments to reduce the issue.
After the incident Agostinha de Oliveira was too ashamed to return in person to her office and has worked from home since.
“I didn’t even turn on the camera [for video meetings].
“I don’t feel confident going to the office, I don’t feel confident going out.”
She felt she had lost a year of her life.
Agostinha de Oliveira has also recently been made redundant.
Burke said the clinic took client concerns seriously and had always acted with the highest commitment to client safety, ethical standards and transparency.
“Following Shirley’s experience with us, we’ve provided consistent and compassionate care, taking proactive steps to support her recovery and wellbeing, including regular complimentary treatments, a fully covered skincare regimen, and additional gestures to support her confidence and wellbeing.”
Burke said the Elōs AC Acne treatment was specifically designed to be safe and effective with darker skin tones when correct parameters were used.
The medical aesthetician who treated Agostinha de Oliveira had 15 years’ experience, and the team had been responsive and supportive at every step of this process, Burke said.
“We remain open to continuing this support should Shirley wish to engage with us collaboratively.
“We’ve done all of this with care and good intent, and because we genuinely wanted to help her. I still hope we can see that through.”
As soon as the issue was raised, Burke said the clinic responded promptly with tailored aftercare.
“We then implemented a personalised recovery plan, providing complimentary medical-grade skincare, professional makeup support, and a series of free in-clinic treatments to aid her recovery.”
Agostinha de Oliveira continued the sessions until she chose to transition her care to a private dermatologist in late May, Burke said.
“Once Shirley informed us that a doctor had diagnosed a first-degree burn, we responded by reimbursing her medical costs and escalating her care to our director, who offered a tailored recovery plan which was commenced immediately and extended support.
“About Skin will reimburse Shirley for the dermatologist’s consultation fees and any medically necessary treatment related to the burn and pigmentation changes that arose after her February procedure.”
Burke provided a breakdown of all the costs the clinic had reimbursed Agostinha de Oliveira for so far, including about $350 for makeup, $184 for her doctor’s consultation and medication, as well as $1350 worth of skin treatments.
The clinic also gave her about $650 worth of products.
“Our clinic has never experienced an incident of this nature with any treatment. We uphold rigorous safety protocols.
“This situation is highly unusual and we are treating it with the seriousness it deserves.”
Auckland Council is responsible for regulating local beauty salons under the Health and Hygiene Bylaw.
The council’s licensing and environmental health manager, Mervyn Chetty, said it had been unable to find any complaints regarding this type of treatment.
“It may be that complaints of this nature are reported to ACC rather than council, and are also at times referred to the Health and Disability Commissioner.”
Katie Harris is an Auckland-based journalist who covers issues including sexual assault, workplace misconduct, media, crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2020.
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