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Why Buying Your Beauty Services From Groupon Seldom Pays Off

Are you a self-proclaimed “penny pincher” or “coupon clipper?” Well, so am I, but there is one place I NEVER pinch pennies: services that show on my face, hair or nails. Why? Read on and I’ll explain.

I like a good deal as much as the next person. I do choose to use Groupon to purchase deals at places my kids love to go and restaurants that we love to eat at because they are known entities. But when it comes to your face, skin, hair removal, hair color or cut, or nail services, why would you take the risk of having a total stranger work on you with unknown products and equipment? As someone in the business there are many reasons to choose your technician’s wisely.

If They Can Sell Hundreds Or Thousands Of Groupons They Must Be A Very Dead Businesssalon calendar

Let me explain it this way: how could a busy hairstylist handle the volume of a Groupon? The only way they could is if they are completely empty on their calendar. Generally speaking, isn’t it a red flag that they are dead? If they are such a fantastic hair dresser, why aren’t they busy? It’s because nobody wants to see them and usually that’s because they don’t know what they’re doing. Is this the person you want to put your trust in for your service? Not me…I’d rather wait for a good hair dresser and pay to have my hair look as great as possible. If you were going to cut corners you’re far better off dying your own hair than being in the hands of someone who doesn’t know what they are doing!

Many Times Their Equipment Is Outdated

One of the most common Groupons that I see are ones for Laser Hair Removal Services. Here’s what you don’t know about most of the places selling them….their equipment is ancient and unmaintained. Many times these “MedSpa” knock offs have purchased old, used lasers off of businesses cheaply after another place is finished with them. In other words, they would buy my laser when I no longer find it effective and that’s what they are using to laser you. With age, lasers lose their power, lose their cooling potential (which increases the risk of you getting burned) and if they are not regularly updating the filters and more, they are losing all of their effectiveness. Additionally, they can no longer get maintenance from the laser company to even update their machines, they have to dig for 3rd party service centers to do the work. My good friend, Katie, bought a Groupon for 3 laser hair removal treatments (not knowing that it’s a service that I do) but came to me after she was done with them. She had more results in my 1 treatment than she got in all 3 treatments from her Groupon combined!

Many Times Their Technicians Are New Or Not Well EducatedIPL burn

Groupons are a great way for a knock off “MedSpa” to train their technicians. They take a 3 hour class on whatever and then they are off to races – working on you! Trust me, you do NOT want to be the test subject for an inexperienced technician. There are equal risks of damage and/or complete ineffectiveness of your treatment. I’ve had to fix a woman’s face after a Groupon Microdermabrasion left rows of red broken capillaries all over her face from an obviously inexperience technician. It cost her way more than what she saved to fix the issue that this new technician created! That’s an example of a minor issue but a bad technician can actually do permanent damage to you. Do you really want an inexperienced person wielding a LASER on you?!?

Read this story for an example…

You May Get A Different Technician Every Time You Go

hire an expertWhen I am doing laser hair removal on a client I’m paying attention each step of the way to see how the laser is working on them. I’m taking notes and watching the skin’s reaction each time and it helps me decide what settings I should use on them. Additionally, 14 years of experience tells me exactly what I should be seeing each step of the way. Many times with your Groupon service you’ll see multiple technicians. Unless they are consulting with each other (which I promise you they are not), you don’t get the benefit of progressively watching how things are working on you. There are TONS of laser hair removal settings and it does make a difference how the machine is set for you personally every single time you come in the door.

They May Raise Your Price When You Get Thererejected

I’ve heard more than one story about someone getting to turn in their Groupon (mostly those buying laser hair removal) and when they get to their appointment the “MedSpa” tells them that their Groupon only covers part of their service. Many times this is in the small print of your Groupon. You could also find that when you get to your appointment that they’ll tell you that you’re not a candidate for the service and guess what…you won’t be getting your money back! It’s also possible that you can only use your Groupon at certain times or dates as well.

Summary

Just remember at the end of the day, you can leave a bounce house for your kids that you don’t like and you won’t die if you choose a bad restaurant for your Groupon, but you have to wear your face, skin, hair and nails around every day. Don’t settle for subpar services with poor equipment or poor technicians just to save a few bucks.

Jennifer Warmann-Bloss

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Sources:

http://money.usnews.com/money/the-frugal-shopper/2014/02/20/5-things-you-should-know-about-groupon

http://www.totalbeauty.com/content/blog/laser-horror-story

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2070384/Charlotte-Cripps-left-covered-burn-marks-cosmetic-Pulsed-Light-treatment.html

* Testimonials do not represent a guarantee of results for more information click here.
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Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. […] I’ve even worked at an expensive spa where some of the laser equipment was purchased from EBAY! This is one way they cut corners for sure, so beyond asking if your tech is certified, you do have a right to know where (and when) they purchased their equipment as well. If you want to read more about my feelings on used equipment, check my former blog, Why Buying Your Beauty Services From Groupon Seldom Pays Off. […]

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