19 out of 15,000 women working in beauty centers across Lebanon are licensed

The Founding Committee for the Lebanese Syndicate for Cosmetics Professionals and Owners of Beauty Centers, along with beauty expert, Jane Nassar, held yesterday a press conference to protest the decision of the Ministry of Health to close unlicensed beauty centers in the country. Surprisingly the conference revealed as pointed out by the Syndicate’s attorney, Antoine Tohmeh, that there are some 3500 beauty centers currently operating across Lebanon and hiring some 15,000 women workers, only 19 out of these women workers are licensed and authorized to practice the profession. It is to be noted that Health Minister Wa2el Abu Faoor issued in November 18 of last year a decision aiming to regulate the aesthetic industry and ordering the shut down some of 96 illegal beauty centers located in Mount Lebanon and the Beqaa regions, a decision that was subsequently implemented. Meanwhile, a large number of owners of similar centers in Beirut continued to function normally despite the Minister’s decision. Abu Faoor later admitted to Al Akhbar newspaper that the delay in closure of illegitimate aesthetic clinics in the capital was largely the responsibility of Beirut Governor Ziad Chebib who for three months and for unknown reasons, has been wavering in enforcing the closure. However, and suddenly, Chebib ordered the closure of all unlicensed centers in Beirut. Jane Nassar accused the Health Ministry of deliberately shutting down her centers and of refusing to grant her a license. During the press conference she intentionally referred to women’s rights in order to defend her private interests, and accused the Minister of a demeaning treatment of women amounting to violence and abuse. On the other side, sources from the Health Ministry confirmed that all files are being under study and that eligible centers will be legalized. For his part, the President of the Lebanese Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Dr. George Goneimi, said: “the current measures taken by the Health Minister are the minimum”, stressing that most of the esthetic centers are politically connected which explains the delay in closing them. He also added: “These centers are built on misleading advertising, since medically speaking, only medical doctors by specialty are allowed to operate under the skin. Beauty professionals are only permitted to carry out cosmetic services,” he added. (Al Akhbar, 13 March 2015)