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Fake cosmetic products used in some beauty parlours posing health hazards

AJMAN — For most of the customers of beauty parlours in Ajman seeking treatment to look more attractive has only resulted in hair-falling, rashes, itching, burning sensation and a host of other problems.

Despite strict regulations by the Ajman Municipality, several beauty parlours in the emirate are found to have been using fake cosmetics posing a health hazard for many, Khaleej Times has learnt.

The newspaper received several complaints about the beauty shops using fake products and their customers bearing the brunt of it.

Maha Al Ramhi, a customer who usually goes to a considerably cheap Indian ladies salon in Al Nauimia area, says that though she has been visiting the salon for quite some time now, she didn’t trust the quality of products that they used.

“I visit the salon because its charges are affordable and it is close to my house,” said Maha. “My hair keeps falling and my skin gets irritated whenever I go there,” she added. Sunita Puri, a worker in a salon in Al Rashidiya, says that she can’t distinguish the fake products from the original ones and the owner is supplying the products to the salon. “My customers should tell me if they are sensitive to any product,” she said.

Nissar, the proprietor of an Iranian salon in Al Nuaimia, said that she did not have to worry about acquiring the licence for the salon because she had a local investor. She admitted that the Ajman Municipality had not yet visited her salon to check the hygienic practices or quality of products being used for the services.

“The municipality only checks whether we have a valid license and a steriliser,” she informed.

But contradictory to Nissar’s claim, Dr Mohammed Attia, Head of the Health Section, said that some of the preparations and products used in some beauty salons contain harmful substances, which could cause both skin and respiratory problems.

He explained that the municipality had a list of all hazardous products that could be used at beauty salons, adding that employees working at these salons should make sure of the safest products available and should also comply with the Cosmetic Products (Safety) Regulations. “The municipality assesses all new products before use and asks beauty salons to store them in accordance with the manufacturers’ instructions. The civic body also monitors the hygiene standards at hairdressers, beauty salons, among others. These standards are largely related to operating practices designed to prevent the transmission of blood-related diseases,” Dr Attia explained.

He pointed out that the municipality is planning to organise awareness programmes for ladies’ salon owners and workers to educate them about the dangerous effects of these fake products on customers.

The lectures will be conducted by Petra Peinkofer, a German beauty expert who is recently in UAE, to increase awareness among workers in salons.

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