Permanent Make Up

Psychological problems due to cosmetic botch-up

The defendant is not aware of any guilt.(Bild: Chantal Dorn, Krone KREATIV)

A 33-year-old woman from Vorarlberg has sued her beautician for damages at Dornbirn District Court. She is not only alleged to have incorrectly tattooed the plaintiff's eyebrows, but also to have been responsible for the customer's subsequent psychological problems.

The fact that beauty must suffer applies to both the plaintiff and the defendant in this court case. On the one hand, because the beautician in question is convinced that she applied the permanent make-up to the customer's eyebrows to the best of her knowledge and belief and made corrections in further treatments. On the other hand, the plaintiff (33) says that she still finds herself unattractive even after repeated corrections and even claims to have lost her job as a waitress due to the resulting psychological problems.

 "I wanted my eyes to look more open," said the plaintiff at the district court hearing. The beautician then took measurements and drew the eyebrows. "But I didn't like that. So I did it myself." The professional then followed the customer's wishes and tattooed her brows in a two-hour session. With the unsatisfactory result that both the color and symmetry of the brows were not right.

"It was a trauma"
The beautician told her that she could not guarantee the color because every skin reacts differently. She also told her that two to three treatments were necessary at intervals of two to three months. When the customer was still dissatisfied after the fourth treatment, the beautician, who was working in the catering industry at the time, began to have psychological problems. "I was insecure and could no longer look people in the face."

Her boss noticed this too. Her employment was terminated. "It was a trauma I was in! Thanks to shiatsu and kinesiology, I stabilized again," says the 33-year-old, who now has an office job. Now an expert opinion is to clarify whether the work was carried out professionally or not. The trial was adjourned.