26
Jun
2026
26
Jun
2026
Reports of inappropriate behaviour during beauty and aesthetic treatments are raising important questions around client safety, professional boundaries and clinic safeguarding standards in the UK.
BBC report on the growing number of beauty professionals receiving sexualised comments and inappropriate messages from male clients have brought a long-standing issue back into the spotlight. While many therapists have quietly accepted such behaviour as "part of the job" for years, industry leaders say enough is enough.
From requests for "happy endings" and suggestive remarks to behaviour that leaves therapists feeling uncomfortable or unsafe, beauty professionals say inappropriate conduct remains far too common. Some women have even begun questioning whether they should continue treating men altogether, with widespread frustration and concern across the industry.
Jenny Storey, who has been in the industry for more than 25 years, owns salon and training school Urban Retreat and is a spokesperson for the British Association of Beauty Therapy & Cosmetology (BABTAC), one of the UK's largest beauty membership organisations dedicated to raising standards across the industry. She says there has been "a bit of an uproar" surrounding inappropriate messages on social media, with some therapists now choosing not to treat male clients.
"As bad as it sounds, I feel almost desensitised by it now because it happens so frequently," she says. "Comments such as, 'do you give happy endings' and various inappropriate remarks like that. As much as some people obviously just mean it as a joke, it's minimising what we do in the industry and it can make people feel really uncomfortable as well."
Storey says the problem is far from new and should not be tolerated. In her first spa job at the age of 19, she says a client locked her in a treatment room with him. She managed to escape through another door, but the experience has shaped how she trains her own team today.
"Obviously it doesn't always happen to people and it is unfair to tar all men with the same brush, because we've got some amazing male clients, but it is important to prepare therapists for what could happen and how to cope with it," she says.
Storey, who owns Urban Retreat, does not exclude men from treatments and BABTAC stress that excluding men from treatments is not the answer. Instead, the focus should be on creating safer working environments, establishing clear professional boundaries and ensuring therapists feel confident in dealing with inappropriate behaviour which she now implements in all her training.
Lesley Blair MBE, Chief Executive and Chair of BABTAC says:
“We believe no therapist should feel unsafe at work and encourage salons to implement clear reporting procedures, lone-working policies and staff training so that professionals feel empowered to challenge inappropriate behaviour and seek support when needed. We are calling for greater respect for beauty professionals and for inappropriate behaviour to be recognised for what it is - unacceptable workplace harassment, not something therapists should simply be expected to put up with.”
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