Woman with brain tumour gets headaches after facial treatments, AMK salon says she didn’t declare medical history
A woman with a brain tumour said she suffered headaches after facial treatments that she later found out may be unsafe for someone with her medical history.
When Stomper May complained to the beauty salon, the latter claimed that she never informed them about her brain tumour, but the customer insisted she did.
She told Stomp: “When I bought the package in 2024, I clearly disclosed my brain tumour. Despite this, the staff sold me a dynamic pulsed light (DPL) machine treatment, which uses light and heat that could be dangerous for my condition.”
The $6,318.20 package she bought at the La Vida salon at Ang Mo Kio Hub also included eyebrow embroidery and eyeliner sessions.
“I trusted the salon’s professional advice in 2024 when they claimed DPL was safe. However, I experienced headaches after every session, which is why I waited a long time between appointments,” explained May.
Her first DPL session was on May 31, 2024. Her next two were on July 10, 2024, and March 26, 2025. The Stomper said she had to repeat her medical history with every new therapist she encountered.
It was only during a visit to the salon two months ago on Feb 4 that the Stomper was told by a therapist the DPL treatment was “unsuitable” for her due to her health condition.
May alleged: “They tried to pressure me to pay over $3,000 extra to ‘upgrade’ to a non-machine treatment. This is a clear attempt to profit from their own safety oversight.”
She also discovered that her medical declaration was not in La Vida’s records. “When I brought this up, the therapist admitted that she couldn’t find my original form in their system,” said the Stomper.
May wrote a complaint to La Vida on the same day, requesting a full refund for the remaining value of her package as the DPL treatment sold to her were contra-indicative for her condition.
She also wanted a “formal explanation” as to why her medical history was not recorded and why she was sold an unsuitable treatment.
La Vida replied to the customer on Feb 10: “Please note that according to the treatment card that you had completed at the time of consultations, there was no declaration or record of any medical history or brain tumour condition.”
May wrote back: “I wish to clarify that your staff, not the customer, completes the treatment card. I explicitly filled out your initial registration form where I declared my health conditions.”
The salon also told the Stomper that her package had no remaining value for refund as the eyebrow and eyeliner services in the package had been utilised.
May called this “blatantly false” as there were three eyebrow sessions and one eyeliner session of eyeliner plus six facial treatments left in her package.
She told Stomp on March 26: “I want to warn other consumers — especially those with medical conditions — about the aggressive sales tactics and administrative ‘errors’ at this outlet.
“I am demanding a full refund for services not rendered and for them to produce my original signed legal documents.”
In response to a Stomp query, La Vida addressed the issues raised by the customer.
“Based on our review, the client’s treatment card and records do not indicate any declared medical condition, including the alleged brain tumour,” the salon told Stomp on April 8.
Explaining why May’s package has no value left despite the unused sessions, La Vida said: “As per our company’s policy, utilised sessions are charged based on prevailing a la carte rates.
“Upon recalculation using these rates, the total value of services consumed fully offsets the package value. As such, there is no remaining balance eligible for refund.”
La Vida added that it has responded to the Stomper’s concerns via email and provided detailed explanations regarding the issues she raised.
“We remain committed to maintaining transparency and professional service standards,” said the salon.
La Vida also has outlets in Clementi, Bedok, Pasir Ris and Yishun.
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