SINGAPORE: When Talking Point sent in seniors undercover to find out how beauty salons sell package deals, one of them walked out with uneven eyebrows.
She had gone in for a S$60 touch-up. But after she repeatedly declined an upgrade, staff proceeded anyway and gave her a “celebrity eyebrow” treatment on one side, calling it a demonstration.
Then came the hard sell: Pay an extra S$300 for a package to make both sides match — or leave as she was.
At another salon, the sales pitch was quite cutting.
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The senior was offered 20 per cent off a S$2,888 package if she had a Merdeka or Pioneer Generation card. When she said she could not decide on the spot, the staff replied, “When do you want to decide? You’re already 70.”
Some beauty salons display prices outside while pushing pricier packages after customers enter.
These encounters were part of an undercover operation across 12 beauty salons in Singapore’s heartlands. The approaches often began innocuously enough — a free sample, a compliment, a “special” deal — before the pressure mounted.
In all but two shops, sales staff continued pushing packages even after the seniors said no. While the victims in these hidden camera encounters were actors, the losses linked to such sales tactics are real.
Consumers lost more than S$2.1 million last year after paying upfront for beauty services that were never delivered, the highest prepayment loss recorded for any industry in Singapore.
For Sarah (not her real name), the loss was nearly S$50,000.
She had bought years’ worth of prepaid packages from beauty spa Royal Secrets Wellness, which shut abruptly on Feb 28 after almost 30 years in business. Customers were left with nothing more than a notice posted on its Facebook page.
Ser speaking to “Sarah”, who does not want her parents to know the full extent of her expenditure on beauty packages.
Sarah said staff often dangled special sales or a “VIP deal”. The packages piled up until they became difficult to track. Her last purchase, worth close to S$7,000, was made in December, barely two months before the spa closed.
When it did, she was offered S$1,000 in goodwill credit at another spa. “That’s definitely not enough,” she lamented.
After bringing her case to the Small Claims Tribunals, the spa was ordered to reimburse S$20,000 by last Saturday. But she has not received anything and is unsure about her next step.
Hers is not an isolated case. The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) received 2,113 complaints against the beauty industry last year. About one in five complaints involved practices such as pressure tactics and false claims.
At the same time business closures in the industry jumped from 1,377 in 2024 to 1,647. Why does the cycle keep repeating: hard sell, prepayments, sudden closures and new salons opening in their place?
WATCH: How do beauty salons trap you into prepaid packages? Diana goes undercover (22:33)
One hairdresser who used to sell prepaid packages before he became a salon owner is Hon G, 44. These were often packages customers “didn’t really need”.
“(If) they say their hair is very dry, (then we’d say), ‘… This is due to your scalp problem,’” he recalled. “We must try to persuade them (that their) hair is very terrible (and they) really need this.”
Older customers in particular may be worried about hair loss, he added. “We’d try to feed (into) the fear.”
He knew it was “pushy”. But the pressure had started long before the customers entered, as he described it. “We had no choice (but) to sell packages to hit our monthly quota,” he said. “We needed that commission to survive.”
If newcomers missed their targets, management would extend their probation period and threaten dismissal. “We did feel the fear too,” he said, “because we might’ve been (made) jobless.”
Hairdresser Hon G is the owner of Yamamoto Hon G Color Aesthetic.
But why are prepaid packages central to the beauty trade?
Industry veterans point to a crowded market that is easy to enter but hard to survive in. There were 2,162 business formations in the industry last year, up from 1,866 in 2024, even as closures jumped.
“There are no gatekeepers for this industry. Without regulations, anybody can come into the business,” said Hair and Cosmetology Association (Singapore) founder Simon Lee.
Rachel Tang, the founder of the Nationwide Association for International Licenses and Skills (Beauty Wellness Singapore), added that many salons use packages to “get the cash so that they can roll (it over)”.
Rent is a major squeeze. A small shop in Toa Payoh, for instance, could cost S$10,000 to S$20,000 a month, she said.
Rachel Tang is also the founder of the Pink Room International Nail Academy.
“If you just do a basic haircut for S$5, … you’d need 4,000 customers to walk into your salon,” Lee said. “(So salons) will come (up) with attractive bonuses or packages to attract customers.”
To customers, the package is seen as a bargain. To the business, it is upfront cash.
The sale is not always purely transactional, however. Tang said some customers buy because they have formed a bond with their therapist. It makes any fallout even more painful.
When things go wrong, many consumers will then turn to CASE. But some of them question whether the consumer watchdog has real teeth, as they told Talking Point.
Why is CASE not lobbying to make prepayment insurance mandatory by law? Why does the burden of risk fall squarely on consumers? And if CASE cannot prosecute errant businesses, what can it do?
Linus Ng, a CASE central committee member and chairperson of its consumer education committee, said it has been pushing the government on two fronts: mandatory prepayment insurance and a mandatory cooling-off period for buying packages.
CASE central committee member Linus Ng addressing the concerns consumers raised with Talking Point.
“It’s not going to be an easy law to pass (in either case),” he said. “You’ve got to balance the interests of the consumer community against the business community.”
There is also a limit to what CASE itself can do. “We’re not the government,” he noted. “We don’t have the power to impose a sanction against the businesses.”
Its role, he added, is to collect feedback and help consumers by mediating disputes. If necessary, it can refer cases to the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore, which has enforcement powers.
The commission, in turn, told Talking Point it will act against businesses that persist in unfair practices such as exerting “undue pressure”. But it cannot step in when they fail owing to “genuine financial difficulties”.
“Consumers are therefore encouraged to conduct proper research so that they can make informed purchasing decisions. This is especially so if the transaction involves a significant prepayment,” said its spokesperson.
The near future may bring fresh hope to consumers. The government convened an independent Consumer Protection Review Panel last year to review key consumer concerns such as prepayment losses, and its recommendations are due by this year end.
Until then, here are some tips on buying prepaid packages that programme host Diana Ser picked up.
“Wait 24 hours before committing,” she shared. “Track your usage. And finally, make sure you’re buying something you truly need and not just because it feels like a good deal.”
Watch this episode of Talking Point here. The programme airs on Channel 5 every Thursday at 9.30pm.
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She had gone in for a S$60 touch-up. But after she repeatedly declined an upgrade, staff proceeded anyway and gave her a “celebrity eyebrow” treatment on one side, calling it a demonstration.
Then came the hard sell: Pay an extra S$300 for a package to make both sides match — or leave as she was.
At another salon, the sales pitch was quite cutting.
CNA Games
Show More Show Less
The senior was offered 20 per cent off a S$2,888 package if she had a Merdeka or Pioneer Generation card. When she said she could not decide on the spot, the staff replied, “When do you want to decide? You’re already 70.”
Some beauty salons display prices outside while pushing pricier packages after customers enter.
These encounters were part of an undercover operation across 12 beauty salons in Singapore’s heartlands. The approaches often began innocuously enough — a free sample, a compliment, a “special” deal — before the pressure mounted.
In all but two shops, sales staff continued pushing packages even after the seniors said no. While the victims in these hidden camera encounters were actors, the losses linked to such sales tactics are real.
Consumers lost more than S$2.1 million last year after paying upfront for beauty services that were never delivered, the highest prepayment loss recorded for any industry in Singapore.
For Sarah (not her real name), the loss was nearly S$50,000.
She had bought years’ worth of prepaid packages from beauty spa Royal Secrets Wellness, which shut abruptly on Feb 28 after almost 30 years in business. Customers were left with nothing more than a notice posted on its Facebook page.
Ser speaking to “Sarah”, who does not want her parents to know the full extent of her expenditure on beauty packages.
Sarah said staff often dangled special sales or a “VIP deal”. The packages piled up until they became difficult to track. Her last purchase, worth close to S$7,000, was made in December, barely two months before the spa closed.
When it did, she was offered S$1,000 in goodwill credit at another spa. “That’s definitely not enough,” she lamented.
After bringing her case to the Small Claims Tribunals, the spa was ordered to reimburse S$20,000 by last Saturday. But she has not received anything and is unsure about her next step.
Hers is not an isolated case. The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) received 2,113 complaints against the beauty industry last year. About one in five complaints involved practices such as pressure tactics and false claims.
At the same time business closures in the industry jumped from 1,377 in 2024 to 1,647. Why does the cycle keep repeating: hard sell, prepayments, sudden closures and new salons opening in their place?
WATCH: How do beauty salons trap you into prepaid packages? Diana goes undercover (22:33)
WHY BEAUTY SALONS PUSH PACKAGES
One hairdresser who used to sell prepaid packages before he became a salon owner is Hon G, 44. These were often packages customers “didn’t really need”.
“(If) they say their hair is very dry, (then we’d say), ‘… This is due to your scalp problem,’” he recalled. “We must try to persuade them (that their) hair is very terrible (and they) really need this.”
Older customers in particular may be worried about hair loss, he added. “We’d try to feed (into) the fear.”
He knew it was “pushy”. But the pressure had started long before the customers entered, as he described it. “We had no choice (but) to sell packages to hit our monthly quota,” he said. “We needed that commission to survive.”
If newcomers missed their targets, management would extend their probation period and threaten dismissal. “We did feel the fear too,” he said, “because we might’ve been (made) jobless.”
Hairdresser Hon G is the owner of Yamamoto Hon G Color Aesthetic.
But why are prepaid packages central to the beauty trade?
Industry veterans point to a crowded market that is easy to enter but hard to survive in. There were 2,162 business formations in the industry last year, up from 1,866 in 2024, even as closures jumped.
“There are no gatekeepers for this industry. Without regulations, anybody can come into the business,” said Hair and Cosmetology Association (Singapore) founder Simon Lee.
Rachel Tang, the founder of the Nationwide Association for International Licenses and Skills (Beauty Wellness Singapore), added that many salons use packages to “get the cash so that they can roll (it over)”.
Rent is a major squeeze. A small shop in Toa Payoh, for instance, could cost S$10,000 to S$20,000 a month, she said.
Rachel Tang is also the founder of the Pink Room International Nail Academy.
“If you just do a basic haircut for S$5, … you’d need 4,000 customers to walk into your salon,” Lee said. “(So salons) will come (up) with attractive bonuses or packages to attract customers.”
To customers, the package is seen as a bargain. To the business, it is upfront cash.
The sale is not always purely transactional, however. Tang said some customers buy because they have formed a bond with their therapist. It makes any fallout even more painful.
WHITHER CONSUMER PROTECTION?
When things go wrong, many consumers will then turn to CASE. But some of them question whether the consumer watchdog has real teeth, as they told Talking Point.
Why is CASE not lobbying to make prepayment insurance mandatory by law? Why does the burden of risk fall squarely on consumers? And if CASE cannot prosecute errant businesses, what can it do?
Linus Ng, a CASE central committee member and chairperson of its consumer education committee, said it has been pushing the government on two fronts: mandatory prepayment insurance and a mandatory cooling-off period for buying packages.
CASE central committee member Linus Ng addressing the concerns consumers raised with Talking Point.
“It’s not going to be an easy law to pass (in either case),” he said. “You’ve got to balance the interests of the consumer community against the business community.”
There is also a limit to what CASE itself can do. “We’re not the government,” he noted. “We don’t have the power to impose a sanction against the businesses.”
Its role, he added, is to collect feedback and help consumers by mediating disputes. If necessary, it can refer cases to the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore, which has enforcement powers.
The commission, in turn, told Talking Point it will act against businesses that persist in unfair practices such as exerting “undue pressure”. But it cannot step in when they fail owing to “genuine financial difficulties”.
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“Consumers are therefore encouraged to conduct proper research so that they can make informed purchasing decisions. This is especially so if the transaction involves a significant prepayment,” said its spokesperson.
The near future may bring fresh hope to consumers. The government convened an independent Consumer Protection Review Panel last year to review key consumer concerns such as prepayment losses, and its recommendations are due by this year end.
Until then, here are some tips on buying prepaid packages that programme host Diana Ser picked up.
“Wait 24 hours before committing,” she shared. “Track your usage. And finally, make sure you’re buying something you truly need and not just because it feels like a good deal.”
Watch this episode of Talking Point here. The programme airs on Channel 5 every Thursday at 9.30pm.
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