Who is the CF, me or the beauty salon?

Has your mum checked with her doctor about the risks of not taking her blood thinning medication for a week? It only takes a couple of days for the risks to start to increase. Would it be safe for her to just stop taking it?

Precisely my thinking. Blood thinners are not a medicine given lightly - and to come off them just to get your eyebrows done seems unimaginable to me!

I'm 64 and I get my brows done, hopefully still will when I get to 70, what's wrong with that?

Casual ageism is so rampant on here.

Mind you, I'd find a different method of maintaining them rather than stopping essential medical treatment!

Actually it depends on the type of blood thinners you’re taking. Warfarin requires regular monitoring. My mum was taking it and was offered an alternative modern blood thinner for which no monitoring was needed. The problem is that while vitamin K is an antidote to warfarin overdose, there is no antidote to the more modern ones, so the first sign of a problem was her being admitted to hospital with a rectal bleed. There was little information about the meds beyond the usual patient information leaflet. If the salon didn’t offer a pre treatment consultation and didn’t enquire about contra indications then l would think they’re liable - and they seem to be aware of that in relation to the deleted messages.

Different services have different costs and then there will be regional variations. It could be microblading which are tiny strokes to replicate hair and then topped with powder for example or powder by itself. The technician may have a decade of experience or might be a newbie. There are so many variables and when it comes to your face, it's not always the cheapest.
It is the value the individual is prepared to pay and as such "rip off' is emotive terminology.

I don't know actually, I just find it weird when it's the only way to book, I tend to prefer a business having a more "traditional" online presence such as a website or being on a third party app such as Treatwell.

It reminds me of dodgy "russian lips fillers experts" who advertise and take bookings on instagram - because they're actually not qualified to inject and therefore are doing it illegally.

Yes I know that.

But that is not what OP is saying - she has said "She is willing to come off them for a week but not with this salon now. It just seemed like a lot to pay when we cancelled almost immediately once we realised"

So why didnt she just say to reschedule for a week later in her first communication after booking - if the mum was willing to take the risk?

Varicose veins can have some pretty serious complications if left untreated.

It's not a few ink dots
Mine were hair stroke by stroke using digital machine method
Brow mapping can take 30-60 mins before they even start tattooing. Then colour matching and mixing
Plus a top up needed after the first pass has healed

Actually, whilst I agree that the salon should ideally have checked that she wasn't taking blood thinners, surely the onus was on your mother to be more aware of what the procedure involved when she made the booking. Doctors don't put people on warfarin or other blood thinners for no reason, and you are monitored regularly. Everyone is given a lot of information about diet and lifestyle when they start taking this type of medication and your mum should have been completely aware that any sort of tattooing procedure should definitely be avoided.

Super frustrating. I'd push for the refund again, and leave a review to warn others if they don't

@BrownBirdWelcomesWhiteWave I’ve got tattoos yes, one that’s larger than both my eyebrows together cost £90 and still looks clear as day 4 years later. If you want to spend that kind of money on a few ink dots to fill in your eyebrows that’s your choice. It’s still a rip off.

Possibly because coming off blood thinners for a week is potentially fatal and she needed time to consider ?

They won't know that. Call their bluff. Say you have a screenshot.

Any reputable salon would have done a pre treatment consultation prior to booking, and part of that entails asking about any health conditions or medication which contra indicates that particular beauty treatment. It doesn’t sound as though that’s been done, and the salon has deleted messages telling OP it will be fine - despite her now knowing blood thinners would have to be stopped. That suggests that they know they haven’t done due diligence, in which case they’re liable.

Blood thinner medication is often quite important. It stops people, well, dying. Nobody should be coming off important medication to get their eyebrows done.

But you didn't know initially that they would try and persuade you - so why was your initial contact (after realising she had to wait a week) not "oh sorry, can we make it the week after so she has a week off of the blood thinners?"

You went straight to "can we cancel" - why?

I run my own business and specifically use the words "booking fee" as well - as fees are non-refundable, where a "deposit" may be.

Why not just ask them to move the appt out a few days so your mum can safely go?

This is so messed up. A 70 year 0ld woman willing to come off blood thinners just to get her eyebrows tattooed , and then fighting with the salon to get her deposit back after she cancelled and somehow trying to make it the salons fault for not telling her.

Why was she on blood thinners in the first place @superdelooper ?

They were saying that taking risks with your health was pretty silly especially when you were 70

I agree. People aren't out on blood thinners for no reason. My mum had to stop taking hers for two days on two occasions before she had surgery, but I'm a bit shocked that anyone would stop them for a week to have their eyebrows done! Has she checked this is ok with her GP?

better self-conscious than dead

@superdelooper and after a bit of google searching, we realised she needed at least a week off the thinners before she could safely have her eyebrows done.

Unbelievable. I would be a bit more worried about coming off blood thinners just for the sake of vanity. She's on them for a reason. Or would you rather she had a stroke or heart attack?

1. When are deposits ever refundable? It's the point of a deposit that you lose it if you don't follow through with the booking. That's why cancellable fully flexible hotel bookings cost more, for instance. By 70 the DM's mum would surely have learned what a deposit is and the OP also.
2. Within an hour of making the booking DM realised she had forgotten about the blood thinners she takes How was the salon meant to advise the OP on her mum's medical situation that they weren't aware of and her mum had forgotten about?
3. No idea about this, maybe you're right. But it doesn't make the salon the CFs.