A 75-year-old Chinese woman spends Rs 4.3 crore of her life savings on beauty treatments, including a Rs 5.7 lakh lip tattoo; forced to sell jewellery to pay rent

A 75-year-old woman in China spent her entire life savings of three million yuan, or around Rs 4.3 crore, on beauty treatments at a single salon, leaving her without money for basic living expenses. Her daughter eventually discovered the extent of the spending and sought help from a Shanghai television programme.

According to the South China Morning Post, the elderly woman, identified only by her surname Yu, had been visiting a branch of Yongqi Beauty and Hairdressing Company, along with a medical beauty clinic linked to the business, since 2016.

Yu underwent a range of treatments, including skin tightening, thread lifting and meridian massage. Billing records later obtained by her daughter showed that she had also paid for eyebrow and lip tattooing procedures at the salon.

Beauty treatments cost her Rs 4.3 crore

The daughter discovered that some of the charges were allegedly 10 to 20 times higher than prevailing market rates. One lip tattooing session, which involved multiple procedures, cost 39,800 yuan, or around Rs 5.7 lakh.

The records also showed that Yu had undergone the same tattooing procedure several times, despite there apparently being no need to repeat it once completed.

Yu told the outlet that she had not paid much attention to the cost because she believed she was financially comfortable. Her savings had come from selling her home.

By the time her daughter realised what had happened, Yu had exhausted her retirement savings, could no longer afford rent and had started selling her jewellery to cover her expenses.

Rs 42.8 lakh 'intimate care' treatment

The situation took another turn when staff at Yongqi referred Yu to another clinic, Rouyi, where she was charged 300,000 yuan, or around Rs 42.8 lakh, for an "intimate care" procedure.

Although Yu paid for the treatment, she never underwent it. Instead, the clinic replaced it with other skincare treatments.

Rouyi's invoices also listed unusual services such as "happiness chair" and "space capsule", which Yu said she could not explain.

Her daughter later discovered that the charges from Rouyi had been billed through Yongqi's own account.

Salon denies misleading the woman

Yongqi denied the allegations. A staff member said Yu had repeatedly requested the procedures herself because of what the employee described as "appearance anxiety".

The staff member also claimed that all treatment prices were clearly displayed and that Yu had accepted the charges by choosing to pay for the services.

The case has since raised questions about the way elderly customers are marketed expensive beauty and cosmetic treatments and the safeguards in place to prevent vulnerable consumers from exhausting their savings.