BROWBEATEN BY LASER
A GOLD COAST woman says she is still having to hide her face seven months after botched eyebrow tattooing and subsequent laser treatment by a beautician left her “scarred for life”. Joanne Taylor was left with split skin, crusting, pussing and weeping above the eyes. Experts say her story is not an isolated case.
JOANNE Taylor has to “cake on” make-up each day just to go out. Unfortunately, it does not mask the burning headaches.
The 37-year-old Ashmore woman says she is still having to hide her face seven months after cosmetic tattooing and subsequent laser treatment left her “scarred for life”.
Ms Taylor was left with split skin, crusting, pussing and weeping above the eyes after a botched attempt to correct a bad eyebrow tattooing attempt.
And industry experts say her story is not an isolated case with cheap cosmetic laser machines being bought online and inadequate policing by Queensland authorities.
Ms Taylor visited a beautician in December for eyebrow tattoos after her usual artist had moved on.
At the beginning of her appointment Ms Taylor said she requested a touch-up, costing $300, to her existing tattooed brows, “without the final product turning orange”.
Ms Taylor said the operator failed to do a colour patch test on the skin, and she was left with two blue, uneven blocks.
“She apologised and offered laser removal at no cost,” she said. “Three weeks later, she lasered off what
she’d done. Immediately, I was in pain and it was getting worse. My husband said I looked like I’d been beaten up, and took me to hospital.”
Ms Taylor said she ended up in the emergency department at Gold Coast University Hospital.
“They had to consult the burns specialist at Brisbane because my face was so badly burned.”
Ms Taylor said she was required to wear “a lot of makeup” to cover up the burns.
“The whole pigment around my eyebrows has changed – burn scars. The hair isn’t growing back, so I can’t go anywhere without caking make-up on my eyebrows.
“I still get headaches from having what was a laser beam fired at my skull.
“This woman was uninsured. She told me that on camera. I was contemplating taking it to court, but a solicitor told me it wouldn’t get me anywhere. The Ombudsman said the only way forward would be mediation.
“The Laser Governing Board for Queensland Health said it is the operator’s choice to be insured or not … that’s the hardest part.”
The beautician did not respond to requests for comment.
Gold Coast plastic and cosmetic surgeon Dr Dilip Gahankari warned people to do their research after coming across a number of instances where cosmetic tattooing and laser removal had gone wrong.
“A lot of this unskilled, inexperienced work is being done, and it is leaving people quite disfigured in some ways,” he said. “How do you police the training of a person?
“It’s not an everyday occurrence, but there are issues.”
Dr Gahankari also said with access to eBay and online websites, anybody can get their hands on equipment.
“It's not just the equipment, it’s the hands behind it. All the lasers are pretty dangerous if the incorrect parameters are used. It’s a real concern.
“The policing part in Queensland is pretty bad in my opinion. It doesn’t take long to own a machine and run it.
“It's a requirement for all health and cosmetic practitioners to have indemnity insurance. If they don’t, they shouldn’t be practising.”
I STILL GET HEADACHES FROM HAVING WHAT WAS A LASER BEAM FIRED AT MY SKULL JOANNE TAYLOR