I am a South Asian woman living in Hong Kong for a decade. I never had any complex about my skin tone. But after moving to the city, I became more conscious of skin health as I noticed the flawless skin around me. I was not thinking about lightening my complexion, but just needed some help with my acne. I went to one of Hong Kong’s beauty salon chains for a basic facial. I had very little idea about the trap I was walking into. I was told my skin was in very bad condition, and I needed multiple therapies. I was offered skin lightening treatments so I could look “fair”. I was still new to Hong Kong and didn’t know hard selling could reach scam levels . I bought a package, but left the salon wondering what I had just spent a lot of money on. When I returned to use the package, I would be pushed to purchase this or that. This technique is quite persuasive – shameless, even. Staff start by telling you your skin suffers from wrinkles, fine lines and dark patches. Then they explain how their wonderful new technology can help you look like Cinderella. If you say no, they appear offended, and try to convince you with an offer valid only for that day, which they say only a fool would turn down. If you don’t have the money, they let you pay by instalments. The amount, of course, is never small. Treatments cost at least HK$1,500-HK$2,000 per session and you are recommended (forced) to purchase at least 10 sessions. That means a commitment of HK$20,000, which is equal to the monthly household earnings of a lower-middle income family in Hong Kong. It is easy to fall into this trap. I did, and regretted it big time. It is not that there are no benefits; my skin sometimes improves after treatments. But these salons should not shame people into giving their business, especially when such persuasion borders on body shaming and racism . Worse still, some procedures can be risky for people with underlying conditions. There have even been instances where people died after undergoing liposuction. I would urge the authorities to take a deeper look into this issue and introduce more regulation. Self-improvement is well and good, but it should not entail spending hard-earned money on trying to meet some phoney standard of beauty. Munira Rahman, Lantau
