Many beauty service businesses are dishonest and operate illegally.

Money lost, trouble gained.

At the age of 51, Mr. NVT (Hung Dung ward, Vinh city) noticed his hair was falling out increasingly. He was worried that hair loss would have a significant impact on his appearance.aestheticsTherefore, he sought treatment at beauty clinics. Believing the advertisements, Mr. T purchased a treatment package worth tens of millions of VND from a beauty clinic in Vinh City that advertised "super technology to stimulate the growth of 3,500-4,500 new hairs, hair follicles develop 10 times faster; safe, painless, and no downtime required."

After a period of treatment, Mr. NVT's hair loss did not improve and even worsened. Mr. T recounted: He requested a refund from the beauty salon as promised. However, the salon claimed his hair loss was due to a medical condition, requiring continued treatment and the purchase of additional services including hair nourishing products, and refused to refund him. He was very upset about losing money unfairly.

Similarly to Mr. NVT, Ms. VTT (33 years old, from Que Phong district) also followed the advertisement and went to a beauty salon on Nguyen Van Cu street, Vinh city, to treat her facial melasma. With a service package worth over 28 million VND, this establishment guaranteed that the melasma would completely disappear after 10 treatments using modern technology.

Ms. VTT angrily recounted: “Every 1-2 weeks, I went to the facility for treatment according to the scheduled appointment. Each treatment lasted about 30 minutes, sometimes involving light therapy, sometimes injections. After 10 treatments, my facial melasma did not improve but worsened. When I requested a refund as promised, the facility explained that my melasma was due to various causes such as hormonal imbalance, sun exposure, and the use of unsuitable cosmetics… This facility asked me to continue treatment until it was cured without charging any more money. I didn't have the time, money, or health to travel back and forth, so I accepted stopping the treatment and lost the money I had already paid.”

While Mr. NVT and Ms. VTT only lost money, there have been cases of people suffering serious consequences. On April 28, 2023, Ms. HTT (35 years old, Vinh City) filed a complaint and requested an investigation into the illegal activities of a beauty salon located on Tran Phu Street (Vinh City) to the relevant authorities. According to Ms. HTT's complaint: On April 19, 2023, she went to this beauty salon for a beauty care package priced at 5.833 million VND. However, upon arrival, she was "persuaded" by the salon to purchase additional packages totaling 130 million VND.

Despite assurances that no injections or surgery would be performed, staff at the facility still took blood from Ms. T's arm and injected it into her chest. After returning home from the facility on April 20th, Ms. T experienced chest tightness, shortness of breath, allergic swelling of the face and chest, and fainted twice. Ms. T went to the hospital for examination. Blood tests revealed several abnormal indicators, and the doctor diagnosed her with "Non-specific vascular damage of the chest"... Ms. T requested a refund and that the facility take responsibility for her health, but this request was not met.

According to information from the Nghe An Department of Health, in 2022-2023, the Department's Inspectorate suspended the operation of a beauty service facility for 3 months (Beauty business 108, address No. 30 Le Nin Avenue, Vinh City); and suspended the operation of a beauty service facility for 4.5 months (Nguyen Thi Chi business, address No. 26T, Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Vinh City).

According to the Vinh City Health Department, in the first eight months of 2023, the Vinh City People's Committee fined two beauty service businesses a total of 32.7 million VND. These businesses include: the North American International Beauty Clinic (286 Nguyen Van Cu Street, Vinh City); and the MEDIC SKIN Beauty Clinic Vinh branch (238A Tran Phu Street, Vinh City). Both establishments violated regulations by providing beauty services to customers outside the scope of their business licenses.

Currently, only 40 out of 120 beauty service businesses in Vinh City have notified the relevant authorities about their operations.

Difficult to manage and handle violations.

Upon investigation, it was found that in the entire province of Nghe An, there is only one hospital and three cosmetic clinics licensed by the Department of Health. These are facilities permitted to provide cosmetic services using drugs, substances, and equipment to intervene in the human body (surgery, procedures, interventions involving injections, injections, radiation, waves, burning, or other invasive interventions) to change skin color, shape, weight, or defects of body parts; tattooing, permanent makeup, and embroidery on the skin using injectable anesthetics.

All other establishments are businesses providing cosmetic services, including sauna, massage, tanning, non-surgical cosmetic treatments, haircuts, hair washing, manicures, and makeup. These establishments provide services that do not cause bleeding and are not permitted to perform surgery. According to Decree 155/2018/ND-CP dated November 12, 2018, these cosmetic service businesses are not under the management of the Ministry of Health.

While the requirements for establishing hospitals and cosmetic clinics are very strict, the requirements for establishing cosmetic service businesses are very easy. According to regulations, these establishments only need to register as a household business or enterprise and register the appropriate industry code. Not requiring an operating license, these establishments only need to submit a notification form confirming they meet the requirements to provide cosmetic services, following the prescribed format, to the district/city/town health department at least 10 days before commencing operations.

Common violations by cosmetic service businesses today include: using signs that mislead people into thinking they are clinics or hospitals specializing in cosmetic surgery; failing to display service prices; advertising and performing services beyond permitted scope; lacking training in bloodborne and biological infection prevention; failing to notify relevant authorities of their operations; and using drugs, chemicals, and equipment of unknown origin.

These violations by cosmetic service businesses pose a high risk to people's health. However, managing and handling these violations is very difficult. According to Ms. Ho Thi Hoa, Head of the Health Department of Vinh City: The ease of registration has led to a large number of establishments springing up. Many operate illegally without notification. Enforcement is difficult because it requires direct in-person arrests to impose penalties, while these establishments often conceal or deny their violations. They use the excuse of the owner being absent to delay service or stop procedures when authorities appear via camera. Furthermore, local authorities have limited management resources; each inspection requires a multi-agency team, which is why the number of establishments inspected and penalized remains low.

Stronger sanctions are needed.

In August 2023, the Provincial People's Council's monitoring team conducted inspections of non-public medical facilities in the province. Through monitoring and working with districts, cities, and towns, the team noted the confusion of local authorities in managing and handling violations by cosmetic service businesses. While no cases of cosmetic clinics allowing cleaning staff to perform cosmetic surgery on clients, as seen in Da Nang, were detected, instances of untrained individuals performing invasive beauty procedures were noted.

Given the current situation, pharmacist Tran Minh Tue, Deputy Director of the Nghe An Department of Health, stated: Currently, regulations concerning the field of aesthetics such as spas, tattooing, and beauty services lack clear licensing requirements and do not mandate prior assessment and licensing by the Department of Health, unlike other medical clinics and services. These establishments, after receiving business registration certificates from the district-level People's Committees, self-declare and operate. Penalties for violations in the fields of spas, tattooing, aesthetics, and eyewear are still unclear and not strict enough, causing difficulties in enforcement.

The Nghe An Department of Health has proposed to the Ministry of Health that the fields of aesthetics, spas, tattooing, and beauty services be included as a form of licensing. The Legal Department of the Ministry of Health is amending and supplementing the Decree on administrative penalties in the health sector, proposing to clearly specify violations related to spas, beauty services, tattooing, aesthetics, eyewear, etc.

People need to be discerning when choosing cosmetic clinics that ensure effectiveness and safety for their health, as recommended by the Ministry of Health. These facilities must meet the following criteria: transparent operation, licensed by the Ministry of Health; a team of skilled and experienced doctors; sterile operating rooms; clear and reliable warranty policies; and up-to-date with modern cosmetic methods and trends… If violations are discovered, they should be reported to the relevant authorities and local government where the cosmetic service facility operates.