Conflict - inevitable or ..? Recommendations for permanent makeup masters

The service sector is a field of collision of two psychologies, two concepts, two different truths. This is the nature of the conflict between the client as a customer and the master or enterprise as service providers.

For those who understand the essence of the technology of permanent makeup, the complexity and ambiguity of implementing the very idea of distributing pigment in the upper layer of the skin of the face with the desired quality for several years, it is obvious that permanent makeup is one of the most potentially conflicting cosmetic services. Neither side is, of course, interested in a conflict. However, practice shows that the number of customers who are dissatisfied with the quality of permanent makeup is growing so fast that at present, permanent makeup removal technologies are in demand no less than permanent makeup itself.

The problem is there. In Ukraine, unlike in many other countries, a client's appeal to the court for poor quality services and even damage to appearance is an exceptional case. The reasons for this are, firstly, the low legal culture in society, and secondly, the difficulty in formulating and filing a lawsuit in court.

Makeup problems

How often do we hear complaints of this kind: “The sketch on the eyebrows was drawn in such a way that I did not understand what would actually turn out, and trusted the master. I thought that he knew better” or “I trusted the specialist and lay down on the couch, completely relying on his taste. We did not draw a sketch on the lips.

Permanent makeup is makeup by definition. A medical education with this cosmetic service to a makeup artist, of course, gives an advantage. But you must be a makeup artist, if not by profession, then by nature you must have the gift of seeing the harmony of lines and colors on your face. That is, after analyzing such appeals, it is possible to draw general conclusions? Perhaps. Very often, clients cannot document that they did permanent makeup in a particular salon, clinic or with a particular master. Clients are also to blame for this, and masters and salons contribute to this by not properly documenting the permanent makeup procedure.

From master to master

Often, clients do the first procedure in one salon, the second in another, the third in the third, and in the end, if they are unlucky, it is not clear who to complain to. Why is there such a mess with procedures? The explanation is simple. Non-professional masters cannot properly present the essence of the service during the preliminary consultation, explain that an additional procedure is the norm. They cannot inspire confidence in the client. And even an absolutely normal result of the first procedure in the form of a semi-finished product, natural for this stage of performing permanent makeup (in one form or another), can cause a lady to doubt: did I fall into the wrong hands? And the run through the salons begins in search of the best master. And the client just needs to finish the work that has begun.

Dishonest advertising

Dishonest advertising such as: "permanent makeup does not require correction with us" leads to the same result. Very harmful is the famous phrase that has set the teeth on edge, which has become an advertising slogan for many illiterate or simply dishonest masters: "permanent makeup for 3-5 years." When talking with a master advertiser, he agrees that in practice, permanent makeup most often requires periodic procedures to maintain its quality, usually with an interval of 1-3 years.

Psychologically, there is nothing worse than promising something that you cannot give. The saying "permanent makeup for 3-5 years" has nothing to do with practice. Yes, there are cases when permanent makeup keeps well even after one procedure for several years (however, the criteria for evaluating what is “not bad” may be different). But these are just isolated cases and cannot be elevated to the rank of a rule. In the early 1980s, when permanent makeup was in its infancy as a service, it was expected to last 3-5 years with good quality. But practice has shown that after 3-5 years, a significant decrease in quality is almost guaranteed. But permanent makeup is not done for the same, to wait until it becomes completely bad and only then go for the next procedure to the master. Thus, it turns out that the advertising phrase "permanent makeup for 3-5 years" not only has no practical meaning, but, on the contrary, is very harmful and even discredits the service in the eyes of deceived customers.

“Honestly and professionally” is the motto of a good master

To do this, he must have professional training and understand the theory of permanent makeup himself. The foundation for the prevention of conflict situations between the master and the client is vocational training. The client is always right. He just has his own truth. And the master must be able to work with it.

Many clients, when choosing where to get permanent makeup, assume that all masters are the same. The one who chooses not a master, but a salon that is conveniently located, offers inexpensive services and which has the opportunity to sign up for today or, in extreme cases, tomorrow, is mistaken. Ironically, this client can get to the master, who once, before learning permanent makeup, first chose a convenient time for training, and then selected a place where there was an opportunity to sign up for courses on that date. In such cases, they say that they found each other.

Having made a mistake in the choice of whom to do permanent makeup, some clients also thoughtlessly, without having studied the complexity of the issue, rush under the first hand that came across to fix the marriage. But here, as they say, "everyone has what he deserves" in accordance with his mentality. Many clients blame not the master, but themselves, realizing that they lay down on the couch without approving the sketch, but simply trusting an unverified specialist. And the master, having taken responsibility for the sketch, it turns out, was not interested in the opinion of the client. He was going only to satisfy his financial interest, and not to fulfill the order. Some masters do a little better when they make a sketch in such a way that the client, approving the option proposed by the master, does not really understand how the final result will look, and it may be unexpected.

Eyebrow tattooing is the most artistic part of permanent makeup. And if the master does not have an artistic vision of the face, drawing an eyebrow, then there will be a corresponding, misleading client, a sketch and an unpredictable result for both of them. If before performing the lip tattoo, the contour on the sketch was drawn with a cosmetic pencil without a clear drawing of the border, then what should the client say? And this happens all the time. The client sees the boundary of the contour in his own way, and the master means it in a different place. Such negligence is unacceptable. The master should not mislead the client, but rather do everything in his power so that the client understands the sketch, approves it, taking responsibility for the geometric parameters of the sketch. Masters who have not received a clear and unambiguous order do not have the moral right to transfer responsibility for approving the sketch to the client, and even more so to start work. If the client signed the phrase “I allow me to do permanent makeup… according to the sketch approved by me”, then she, in turn, has no legal right to make claims in cases where she ultimately does not like, for example, the shape or width of her eyebrows. Although, if permanent makeup precedes a careless sketch made by the master, then the moral responsibility in conscience lies with him. But he does not understand this if he is not a makeup artist, does not have an artistic vision of permanent makeup, and besides, he did not study at a normal school.

Performing permanent makeup should always be based on mutual understanding and cooperation between the master and the client. Throughout life, taking into account the periodic quality-supporting procedures, there will be a lot of meetings between the master and the client, and ideally, a reliable tandem should be formed at the first procedure. This is also a guarantee of quality and, therefore, conflict-free cooperation between the customer and the contractor. And what kind of tandem can we talk about if the procedure is irresponsibly performed by the master, with whom it will be difficult or impossible to see later. Sometimes masters, having not received training in a professional school, undertake to perform work for which they cannot vouch for the quality. At the same time, they conduct a deliberately risky experiment on clients, just to make money. Such works include attempts to make shadows on the eyelids, blush on the cheeks, camouflage depigmented areas in vitiligo, “fill in” one’s own or others’ flaws in permanent makeup with flesh color. The result that can be obtained in this case does not correspond to the expectations of the client. And this is an outright deception.

What should be done to minimize the chances of conflict situations with the client? The first and most important thing to prevent conflict situations is the high-quality implementation of permanent makeup. The second is a well-conducted preliminary consultation with the client. The third is legally competent documentation of the procedure.