7 scary (and funny!) beauty horror stories that will make you cringe

If there’s only one thing we know for certain in life, it’s that most hobbies have some sort of risk. The dangers are obvious for rock climbers and divers, but have you ever thought about the hazards of being a beauty junkie?

We constantly experiment with new products, techniques, and even the latest treatments in town – all in the name of vanity self-love. With proper usage and trusted professionals, you’re unlikely to face any dangers.

But let’s face it, all of us have heard of at least one beauty fail (of others, if not our own!) before – botched hair dye job, getting your hair fried to the point of no return, less-than-stellar facials that left your face worse than before you stepped in to the salon, the list goes on.

In a split second, our lives can instantly transform into a series of unfortunate beauty-related events when someone – be it you or the supposed professional – decides to go rogue, and we have the horror stories to prove it!

Ahead, the Daily Vanity community – together with our team members – recount their most tragic beauty horror tales of beauty treatments gone horribly wrong. Grab some popcorn, kick back, relax, and let our compilation of terrifying, distressing, and hilarious beauty disasters entertain you!

“My girlfriend and I got unlucky with two toxic (and utterly noisy) facialists”

“I went for a facial together with a girlfriend and we got assigned to a couple’s room since we’re acquainted (which we didn’t mind at all). Obviously, we had one facialist each and both of them never stopped chatting throughout the entire session. As if having their own personal conversation wasn’t enough, they went up a notch and started gossiping about their colleagues, bosses, and customers!

We booked a facial to relax and enjoy some quiet time but rather than getting any relaxation and peace, all we got was the noise and negative energy from the two people whom we trusted our faces with. To say that we walked out of the salon annoyed and disgruntled was an understatement. All we wanted was a relaxing facial with some peace and quiet – was that too much to ask?” – HJ, 35

“I paid for hair rebonding and ended up with frizzy, pubic hair-like hair”

“I wanted more manageable hair and decided to book myself a hair rebonding session at a salon. But instead of silky smooth tresses, my whole head of hair turned out super frizzy beyond the point of salvaging. I had to use a hair mask daily for six months in order to tame the frizz slightly and it felt like I had to wait forever to cut my hair and remove all the damaged bits. Oh, and I paid full price for the monstrosity on my head – the salon merely cajoled me with a bottle of hair oil.” – Corrine, 35

“I went to a hair salon for a makeover and walked out with a burned scalp instead”

“I booked myself for a complete hair makeover at a salon: one-tone colour with unlimited bleaching plus treatment and haircut thrown in the session – sounds like a good hair pampering session, right? Well, the joke’s on me because it was just a disaster right from the start and I didn’t notice it. Consultation wasn’t done properly at all; I was merely given a form to note down what I had done to my hair previously (colouring, bleaching, perming, the works) and whether I have sensitive scalp.

The hairstylist that was assigned to me didn’t assess my scalp thoroughly at all to see if it was in a good condition for colouring and bleaching; I was simply asked what colour I would like to get and the bleaching process began not long after. The bleaching agent was left on my scalp for more than an hour (yes, I counted) before I was ushered to the washing area to get rid of the bleach.

Throughout the entire bleaching and colouring process, my hairstylist did not even check on my hair or scalp for a second. All I got at the end of the very painful (literally!) session was a scalded scalp and me wishing I had never stepped foot in this dreadful salon.” – Rachael, 24

“The beautician forgot I was in the room and left me there with mask on my face for almost a full hour”

“It was just meant to be a regular 60-minute facial with the usual drill: cleansing, extraction, mask, moisturise, and SPF. So at the midway mark, the therapist left the room to attend to other patrons after applying the mask on my face. I usually have no issues with that but the thing is, she was gone for an extended period of time.

At first, I thought to myself, “Maybe she got caught up with something urgent or there’s an extra fussy client that’s holding her up. So I waited, and waited, and waited some more, until I finally had enough. After being stuck in the room with mask all over my face for close to an hour, I decided to take my chance and called out to someone to help me.

The good Samaritan then fetched my beautician, who then told me that she got so busy with the other customers that she forgot about me completely! She was very apologetic about the blunder but it did little to allay my frustration of being left in the lurch for so long. As she proceeded to clean off the mask and wrap up the facial, I was just thankful there weren’t any negative side effects on my face.” – Karin, 34

“The hairstylist lied to me about leaving scabs all over my scalp and tried to cover it up”

I got enticed by one of the salons offering 50% discount on hair services and seeing that my hair was in need of an update, I decided to go for it. The good news? My hair colour actually turned out very nicely. The bad news? I ended up with scabs all over my scalp, no thanks to the bleaching agent.

The hairstylist insisted that the scabs were “stubborn hair dyes” that would go away after a few washes (they didn’t), and even tried to shush another stylist who saw the wounds on my scalp. I’m no hair dye virgin – I’ve let my hair get bleached professionally numerous times before and never have I ever experienced a stylist letting bleaching agent touch my scalp. This one however, just full-on slathered the paste on my scalp like it’s some sort of scalp-nourishing mask.

Oh, and I got charged double the price when it was time to pay up at the end of the horrible season. Needless to say, the salon is now in my black list for as long as I shall live.” – Jade, 23

“The hairstylist got downright sarcastic with me when I refused to sign up for the hair salon’s membership programme”

“I wanted to pamper myself with a post-Christmas beauty treat at one of the popular hair salons, and decided to go for a hair rebonding session. Almost immediately after serving me a welcome drink and conducting a hair assessment, the hairstylist started hard-selling and persuaded me to top up for a hair treatment – which I agreed to.

But that didn’t seem to be enough as the hairstylist continued on with the pressure and tried to up-sell me a more premium hair rebonding (the one I chose was supposedly the basic version) plus another hair treatment that were allegedly better for my hair. When I declined the offer, the stylist moved on to a slew of hair care products instead – to which I caved in to purchasing just a hair conditioner.

Towards the end of my very uncomfortable session, the stylist tried for the final time and asked me to sign up for the salon’s membership program (chargeable, of course). When I flat-out refused this time, the stylist simply uttered in Singlish, ‘No money is it?’ I’ve never felt more disrespected in my life as a paying customer.” – Krystabelle, 42

“My masseuse won’t stop burping and even massaged my boobs – without asking for permission”

“A few years ago, I went for a couple’s massage with my now-husband at a spa which set up shop in a converted bungalow (think zen and rustic). It was like any other couple’s massages I’ve been to, until my masseuse started burping as she was kneading all the tensed knots in my body. I swear, she just wouldn’t. Stop. Burping.

Now, I have heard from others prior to this that some therapists belch as they massage you because they’re supposedly “removing” all the trapped air inside your body (I later learned that this is simply not true) but it was my first time experiencing it firsthand, so you can only imagine how awkward and mortified I was the entire time. I also couldn’t help but keep thinking about what my partner was thinking about all the burping that was coming from my side of the room.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, my therapist proceeded to lift the tiny cloth that covered my chest to massage my breasts… without permission! Yes, you read that right – she just went right for it for a good 10 minutes before moving on to my shoulder area. I was so appalled by her action that I just laid there frozen, unable to get any words out of my mouth. It goes without saying that I’m never returning to this spa centre ever again.” – Lynnett, 30

Don’t become the next victim with another beauty horror story to tell: Find out which salons are trusted by our team and readers

With all the tales we just read above, it’s clear that they are valuable lessons for us all to learn (despite the physical and emotional damage inflicted on our sharers). Moral of the story: Always go for beauty treatments and providers that are well-reviewed by trusted industry insiders and your peers alike.

Nothing beats the honest review of beauty salons by experienced beauty enthusiasts with high standards who have tried it all, which is exactly the reason why the Daily Vanity Spa & Hair Awards was created three years ago. This year, more than 300 reputable treatments were evaluated, and we couldn’t be more proud to present to you the winners of the Daily Vanity Spa & Hair Awards 2020.

Together with our Editorial Director, over 3,000 readers voted for this year’s top winners across 12 categories based on their amazing personal experiences, so you can be sure that these beauty salons and the treatments they offer are the cream of the crop in Singapore.

On top of special perks lined up exclusively for Daily Vanity readers, there’s also a massive giveaway to celebrate the Daily Vanity Spa & Hair Award 2020 winners. What’s up for grabs, you ask? Well, we’ve got prizes worth more than S$6,000, including one year’s worth of beauty treatment hampers from Shunji Matsuo, Browhaus, Spa Esprit, Zupon Beauty, and many, many more!