What to do with breastfeeding client?

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asteropi

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Ok so I recently trained in lashes too and I've started doing some models to get my speed up and get some experience under my belt. I charge 10€ for these appointments just to cover part of my costs and all the models already know that these are just practice cases and not the actual price.
Because I haven't set up my place yet and I have a cat which tends to use people as pillows, in most cases I prefer going to their home.

Anyway yesterday I had one such appointment. I went to the lady's house and she had a baby which she failed to mention. The kid was 1.5 year old and when I went there he was really quiet. So I set up everything and we started.
Not 5 minutes passed when he started asking for her attention, continuously shaking her hand and bringing all sorts of things to us to get our attention, from a handful of coins to the sucker of the vacuum cleaner to half his toys. You can't believe the noise he made!
At some point he started to climb on his mother, shaking her all the time, and started breastfeeding! Yup you read correctly! Breastfeeding! While I was doing her lashes!
It was a horrible appointment and I hated every minute of it. Took me an hour longer and even the work I did was horrible. She wasn't a friend, just a complete stranger. I understand having a small child, being a full time mum and all that, but really breastfeeding him during my being there? She couldn't understand how difficult that was to me, not being able to control or do anything about it? She couldn't find someone to babysit him for a couple of hours?
In any case, what with everything going on I forgot to take a picture so I asked for one last night which she happily sent. However, this morning she sent me another one with half the lashes left. She's saying that they are shedding like crazy, and wants me to see them again. I asked her if she had a shower or if she used any creams and she said no.
I don't think I can have another one of that sort of appointment but what should I do?
 
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I don't think there's anything wrong with her breastfeeding while anyone is there however not actually during the service.
I'd agree to go back and fill them but on the understanding that you can concentrate on the service without interruption.
I don't do lashes however I wear them most of the time and I think having a child climbing over the client is a safety issue.
 
I should have been more clear. I don't mind breastfeeding on its own. On the contrary, I support it and every mother's right to breastfeed her child anywhere and anytime. It's not the nudity I minded.
I just don't want it during my service. I couldn't handle that kid and she was blind at the time. Is that too much to ask?
 
BLOCK HER!!! YOU DON'T NEED PEOPLE THAT INCONSIDERATE AND RUDE...
 
I sent my client home [emoji537] once ! She arrived for lashes and waxing and brought her toddler who started to destroy my salon, after half an hour of me running behind to pick up stuff the kid threw and tore up my cards etc I stopped and told her to pls come back for her lashes when she is able to get a baby sitter.
I told her it ansafety hazard as she it a toddler and I understand kiddies need to explore and she is adorable but I have a lot of dangerous items lying around and I am concentrate on your lashes I can't see what she is doing. Plus if you moving I can apply the lashes skew and then it will be a waste of ur money and my time bcoz I prob have to re do them.

She totally didn't mind at all and returned the next week without her toddler.

It's just the way you approach the topic , moms are naturally overly sensitive so just be very professional and also come across as a caring for child's safety too.
 
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. :eek:

I think you need to follow @nailpod's example and explain that having a baby/toddler around is a safety risk for them and that you are willing on this occasion to re-do (or whatever you feel comfortable with) but only on the understanding that there will be no children present for the duration of the appointment.

Can you also add something to this effect in your advertising?
 
I'm mobile and I always make people aware lashing takes quite a bit of concentration and the client needs to be relaxed and still as well as me having a lot of equipment and tools around, so it's really not the environment for children. I've forgot to mention this on a couple occasions and learnt the hard way, it's bad enough with nails but lashing is very different to nails xx
 
She's the only one of the ladies I did who mentioned lashes had fallen off. I didn't do anything different and if we take her word for it Can it be because she's still breastfeeding? Too many hormones for instance?
This case is a nightmare, top to finish!
 
Did I mention the toddler tried constantly to get in his mother's bosom, putting his hands inside her blouse and making "slurp slurp" sounds? I can't stop laughing now that I think of it!

Slurp slurp!
 
To be honest, despite you saying you don't have a problem with her breastfeeding, it kinda sounds like you do. Asking if the client didn't understand how embarrassing it was for you (before editing your original post) and commenting on and laughing the child putting his hands inside her blouse...

To put it in perspective, your client was breastfeeding her child (which WHO and UNICEF recommend she continue to do alongside solid food up to 2 years and beyond and her right to do so, wherever she likes and in front of whoever she likes is protected by law, providing she is in a place where her child is legally allowed to be) in her own home. That's something she does every day, without even thinking about it. As normal to her as getting him a snack from the kitchen - it probably didn't occur to her that she couldn't feed him during the treatment. That might seem strange to you, but you didn't mention it to her, so how is she supposed to know?

Laughing about how a child, who is too young to know any better, tried to get his mother's attention or asked for milk, is rude and unnecessary. If your client read this (which is possible, being that it's a public forum), I'm sure she'd be very embarrassed. Perhaps she honestly couldn't get a babysitter. Or perhaps she did and they let her down at the last minute. Perhaps, being the mother of a small child, she doesn't often get to be pampered so she didn't want to cancel, or maybe she thought it would be rude to cancel at the last minute.

Perhaps she was laying there, blind and vulnerable, while you stood there judging her in her own home, thinking "oh no, he wants to feed, what do I do? Do I ask her to stop so that I can feed him? Maybe she can't stop halfway through. What a nightmare. Maybe if I just feed him, he'll stop making a fuss." Yes, breastfeeding a child while you're doing her lashes is a health and safety issue, but maybe she wasn't aware of that.

I don't understand why the case is a "nightmare, top to finish". As nailpod suggested, just approach the subject in a professional manner (from your last post, I can see how that might be a little bit difficult for you, but go ahead and give it a try) and explain that it isn't safe for the child to be so close to the products you use and that you were unfortunately distracted by trying to make sure he didn't get hold of anything that was dangerous to him, so it would be best if she could have someone there to look after him when you go back.

Questioning whether you can take her word on the fact that the lashes are shedding is also unnecessary - you admitted in your first post that the work you did was horrible, so perhaps they just weren't very well applied, because you were distracted and couldn't handle the situation.

I apologise (although not much), if my reply is a little harsh. But it's 1:30am and I just finished feeding my son (a twin, so his sister is next), who also likes to embarrass me by pulling my top up or down in front of whoever happens to be there, depending on his mood, to let me know that he's hungry, because (like your client's child), he's old enough to know what he wants and where to find it, but not old enough to understand how to "ask" politely.

If you really support every mother's right to breastfeed her child anywhere and anytime, stop talking about it like she was doing something wrong and just make it clear that it isn't appropriate to have an unsupervised child present while you're fixing her lashes for her.

(Edited to add that I've just realised that you're in Greece and I have no idea whether her right to breastfeed in public is protected by law, like it is here. But the rest of what I've said stands, since she was in her own home anyway)
 
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To be honest, despite you saying you don't have a problem with her breastfeeding, it kinda sounds like you do. Asking if the client didn't understand how embarrassing it was for you (before editing your original post) and commenting on and laughing the child putting his hands inside her blouse...

To put it in perspective, your client was breastfeeding her child (which WHO and UNICEF recommend she continue to do alongside solid food up to 2 years and beyond and her right to do so, wherever she likes and in front of whoever she likes is protected by law, providing she is in a place where her child is legally allowed to be) in her own home. That's something she does every day, without even thinking about it. As normal to her as getting him a snack from the kitchen - it probably didn't occur to her that she couldn't feed him during the treatment. That might seem strange to you, but you didn't mention it to her, so how is she supposed to know?

Laughing about how a child, who is too young to know any better, tried to get his mother's attention or asked for milk, is rude and unnecessary. If your client read this (which is possible, being that it's a public forum), I'm sure she'd be very embarrassed. Perhaps she honestly couldn't get a babysitter. Or perhaps she did and they let her down at the last minute. Perhaps, being the mother of a small child, she doesn't often get to be pampered so she didn't want to cancel, or maybe she thought it would be rude to cancel at the last minute.

Perhaps she was laying there, blind and vulnerable, while you stood there judging her in her own home, thinking "oh no, he wants to feed, what do I do? Do I ask her to stop so that I can feed him? Maybe she can't stop halfway through. What a nightmare. Maybe if I just feed him, he'll stop making a fuss." Yes, breastfeeding a child while you're doing her lashes is a health and safety issue, but maybe she wasn't aware of that.

I don't understand why the case is a "nightmare, top to finish". As nailpod suggested, just approach the subject in a professional manner (from your last post, I can see how that might be a little bit difficult for you, but go ahead and give it a try) and explain that it isn't safe for the child to be so close to the products you use and that you were unfortunately distracted by trying to make sure he didn't get hold of anything that was dangerous to him, so it would be best if she could have someone there to look after him when you go back.

Questioning whether you can take her word on the fact that the lashes are shedding is also unnecessary - you admitted in your first post that the work you did was horrible, so perhaps they just weren't very well applied, because you were distracted and couldn't handle the situation.

I apologise (although not much), if my reply is a little harsh. But it's 1:30am and I just finished feeding my son (a twin, so his sister is next), who also likes to embarrass me by pulling my top up or down in front of whoever happens to be there, depending on his mood, to let me know that he's hungry, because (like your client's child), he's old enough to know what he wants and where to find it, but not old enough to understand how to "ask" politely.

If you really support every mother's right to breastfeed her child anywhere and anytime, stop talking about it like she was doing something wrong and just make it clear that it isn't appropriate to have an unsupervised child present while you're fixing her lashes for her.

(Edited to add that I've just realised that you're in Greece and I have no idea whether her right to breastfeed in public is protected by law, like it is here. But the rest of what I've said stands, since she was in her own home anyway)
I didn't mean anything offensive. Let me try to explain this more clearly
I did edit my post, because what I felt was embarrassing wasn't the breastfeeding itself but the fact that I had to ask her not to move so much and explain I couldn't work properly. We had already started and even if we stopped she'd be blind for some time. I know everything you say, that it was probably difficult for her as well, that it's her usual situation, so how can I ask her to stop what's normal? I just felt really uncomfortable with the whole situation.
She did admit that she didn't even look for a baby sitter or even thought to take him to his granny's. It just didn't occur to her. And we did stop halfway, after I had finished with the one eye, so she would take care of him for a while, but it didn't really make any difference.
The funny thing was the slurping sound, which I had heard no child make before! Just the sound, not the situation.
I work with children all the time during the past 10 years, literally every day, so this isn't something new to me. Which is why I say I support every woman's right to breastfeeding. However I never had a situation like this before, where I had to ask someone to stop or not to and I really was at a loss there. I wasn't judging the breastfeeding, I just had no idea what to do at the time.
What was horrible, was that I had to be paying attention to the child as it was constantly in our way, trying to grab my tools etc. and I couldn't concentrate as I wanted. Hence the terrible job I did. However, once I finished, everything seemed normal and fine, which is why I'm wondering why they should fall like she's describing.
 
To be honest, despite you saying you don't have a problem with her breastfeeding, it kinda sounds like you do. Asking if the client didn't understand how embarrassing it was for you (before editing your original post) and commenting on and laughing the child putting his hands inside her blouse...

To put it in perspective, your client was breastfeeding her child (which WHO and UNICEF recommend she continue to do alongside solid food up to 2 years and beyond and her right to do so, wherever she likes and in front of whoever she likes is protected by law, providing she is in a place where her child is legally allowed to be) in her own home. That's something she does every day, without even thinking about it. As normal to her as getting him a snack from the kitchen - it probably didn't occur to her that she couldn't feed him during the treatment. That might seem strange to you, but you didn't mention it to her, so how is she supposed to know?

Laughing about how a child, who is too young to know any better, tried to get his mother's attention or asked for milk, is rude and unnecessary. If your client read this (which is possible, being that it's a public forum), I'm sure she'd be very embarrassed. Perhaps she honestly couldn't get a babysitter. Or perhaps she did and they let her down at the last minute. Perhaps, being the mother of a small child, she doesn't often get to be pampered so she didn't want to cancel, or maybe she thought it would be rude to cancel at the last minute.

Perhaps she was laying there, blind and vulnerable, while you stood there judging her in her own home, thinking "oh no, he wants to feed, what do I do? Do I ask her to stop so that I can feed him? Maybe she can't stop halfway through. What a nightmare. Maybe if I just feed him, he'll stop making a fuss." Yes, breastfeeding a child while you're doing her lashes is a health and safety issue, but maybe she wasn't aware of that.

I don't understand why the case is a "nightmare, top to finish". As nailpod suggested, just approach the subject in a professional manner (from your last post, I can see how that might be a little bit difficult for you, but go ahead and give it a try) and explain that it isn't safe for the child to be so close to the products you use and that you were unfortunately distracted by trying to make sure he didn't get hold of anything that was dangerous to him, so it would be best if she could have someone there to look after him when you go back.

Questioning whether you can take her word on the fact that the lashes are shedding is also unnecessary - you admitted in your first post that the work you did was horrible, so perhaps they just weren't very well applied, because you were distracted and couldn't handle the situation.

I apologise (although not much), if my reply is a little harsh. But it's 1:30am and I just finished feeding my son (a twin, so his sister is next), who also likes to embarrass me by pulling my top up or down in front of whoever happens to be there, depending on his mood, to let me know that he's hungry, because (like your client's child), he's old enough to know what he wants and where to find it, but not old enough to understand how to "ask" politely.

If you really support every mother's right to breastfeed her child anywhere and anytime, stop talking about it like she was doing something wrong and just make it clear that it isn't appropriate to have an unsupervised child present while you're fixing her lashes for her.

(Edited to add that I've just realised that you're in Greece and I have no idea whether her right to breastfeed in public is protected by law, like it is here. But the rest of what I've said stands, since she was in her own home anyway)
If there was a '❤' option like on facebook i would use it. I am also a breastfeeding mum and completely agree with your view in how that poor lady may have been feeling. Couldnt have put it better myself xx
 
To be honest, despite you saying you don't have a problem with her breastfeeding, it kinda sounds like you do. Asking if the client didn't understand how embarrassing it was for you (before editing your original post) and commenting on and laughing the child putting his hands inside her blouse...To put it in perspective, your client was breastfeeding her child (which WHO and UNICEF recommend she continue to do alongside solid food up to 2 years and beyond and her right to do so, wherever she likes and in front of whoever she likes is protected by law, providing she is in a place where her child is legally allowed to be) in her own home. That's something she does every day, without even thinking about it. As normal to her as getting him a snack from the kitchen - it probably didn't occur to her that she couldn't feed him during the treatment. That might seem strange to you, but you didn't mention it to her, so how is she supposed to know?

No-one on this thread has suggested that breastfeeding a child is unnatural. You're being overly dramatic and a bit ridiculous and completely ignoring the valid issue raised by the OP.

The fact is that the mother actively chose to book a busy therapist to visit her at home and perform a lash treatment. Surely it's basic common sense that the therapist will need your complete attention whilst performing a treatment that involves you lying with your head back and your eyes closed? If you have a young toddler, you need to ensure that they're either safely enclosed in a playpen for the duration of the appointment or (preferably) that someone else is available to mind them.
The child's welfare remains the sole responsibility of the parent, not the therapist (or the salon).

Unfortunately, there are a few self centred parents who think that the rest of the world should revolve around them (and their children).

When booking a treatment at home, the therapist/hairdresser will have allocated a block of time to include travelling to/from the appointment. If the treatment takes longer due to the mum stopping to deal with her child, this will have a domino effect on the remaining clients booked in afterwards.

I haven't even begun to address the obvious health and safety implications. In this instance, the parent prioritised having the treatment over the welfare of her young toddler and so I think to target your annoyance towards the therapist is looking in the wrong direction.

I agree with @nailpod and to cancel the service if a client turns up with a very young child (and charge a cancellation fee).
 
To be honest, despite you saying you don't have a problem with her breastfeeding, it kinda sounds like you do. Asking if the client didn't understand how embarrassing it was for you (before editing your original post) and commenting on and laughing the child putting his hands inside her blouse...

To put it in perspective, your client was breastfeeding her child (which WHO and UNICEF recommend she continue to do alongside solid food up to 2 years and beyond and her right to do so, wherever she likes and in front of whoever she likes is protected by law, providing she is in a place where her child is legally allowed to be) in her own home. That's something she does every day, without even thinking about it. As normal to her as getting him a snack from the kitchen - it probably didn't occur to her that she couldn't feed him during the treatment. That might seem strange to you, but you didn't mention it to her, so how is she supposed to know?

Laughing about how a child, who is too young to know any better, tried to get his mother's attention or asked for milk, is rude and unnecessary. If your client read this (which is possible, being that it's a public forum), I'm sure she'd be very embarrassed. Perhaps she honestly couldn't get a babysitter. Or perhaps she did and they let her down at the last minute. Perhaps, being the mother of a small child, she doesn't often get to be pampered so she didn't want to cancel, or maybe she thought it would be rude to cancel at the last minute.

Perhaps she was laying there, blind and vulnerable, while you stood there judging her in her own home, thinking "oh no, he wants to feed, what do I do? Do I ask her to stop so that I can feed him? Maybe she can't stop halfway through. What a nightmare. Maybe if I just feed him, he'll stop making a fuss." Yes, breastfeeding a child while you're doing her lashes is a health and safety issue, but maybe she wasn't aware of that.

I don't understand why the case is a "nightmare, top to finish". As nailpod suggested, just approach the subject in a professional manner (from your last post, I can see how that might be a little bit difficult for you, but go ahead and give it a try) and explain that it isn't safe for the child to be so close to the products you use and that you were unfortunately distracted by trying to make sure he didn't get hold of anything that was dangerous to him, so it would be best if she could have someone there to look after him when you go back.

Questioning whether you can take her word on the fact that the lashes are shedding is also unnecessary - you admitted in your first post that the work you did was horrible, so perhaps they just weren't very well applied, because you were distracted and couldn't handle the situation.

I apologise (although not much), if my reply is a little harsh. But it's 1:30am and I just finished feeding my son (a twin, so his sister is next), who also likes to embarrass me by pulling my top up or down in front of whoever happens to be there, depending on his mood, to let me know that he's hungry, because (like your client's child), he's old enough to know what he wants and where to find it, but not old enough to understand how to "ask" politely.

If you really support every mother's right to breastfeed her child anywhere and anytime, stop talking about it like she was doing something wrong and just make it clear that it isn't appropriate to have an unsupervised child present while you're fixing her lashes for her.

(Edited to add that I've just realised that you're in Greece and I have no idea whether her right to breastfeed in public is protected by law, like it is here. But the rest of what I've said stands, since she was in her own home anyway)


. It is really unsafe and really rude to breastfeed a child when getting a LUXURY treatment. Having eyelashes done is not a necessity and it is common sense not to eat around chemicals. The op should not need to explain to the PARENT has and should know they have done something wrong that is potentially damaging to the child.
Parents do not have the right to breastfeed anywhere and anytime as that would be a MAJOR safety issue. It is common sense.

Op cut clients like that and next time walk out and leave. For future reference make it clear that children under a certain age are not allowed to be in proximity to a client having treatment.
 
No-one on this thread has suggested that breastfeeding a child is unnatural. You're being overly dramatic and a bit ridiculous and completely ignoring the valid issue raised by the OP.

The fact is that the mother actively chose to book a busy therapist to visit her at home and perform a lash treatment. Surely it's basic common sense that the therapist will need your complete attention whilst performing a treatment that involves you lying with your head back and your eyes closed? If you have a young toddler, you need to ensure that they're either safely enclosed in a playpen for the duration of the appointment or (preferably) that someone else is available to mind them.
The child's welfare remains the sole responsibility of the parent, not the therapist (or the salon).

Unfortunately, there are a few self centred parents who think that the rest of the world should revolve around them (and their children).

When booking a treatment at home, the therapist/hairdresser will have allocated a block of time to include travelling to/from the appointment. If the treatment takes longer due to the mum stopping to deal with her child, this will have a domino effect on the remaining clients booked in afterwards.

I haven't even begun to address the obvious health and safety implications. In this instance, the parent prioritised having the treatment over the welfare of her young toddler and so I think to target your annoyance towards the therapist is looking in the wrong direction.

I agree with @nailpod and to cancel the service if a client turns up with a very young child (and charge a cancellation fee).

exactly it is so self centred and rude. The irony is it has NOTHING to do with the child, or women's breastfeeding rights but being a selfish parent as exposing young children to the chemicals in hair and beauty is damaging to the child. You cannot even breastfeed in a swimming pool due to this let alone allowing a child to potentially inhale glue.
One of the first rules of breastfeeding is you cannot do it around chemicals and hazardous materials. The fact that eyelashes are a luxurious treatment makes any justification for such behaviour really odd.
 
Bloody ridiculous imho to expect to even keep an eye on a baby or child while having lashes done let alone breastfeed one! I had a client ask to bring her dog - no. Another her autistic brother - no. I've allowed a mum once and a boyfriend who need zero attention and can sit there quietly while I concentrate.

Asteropi could you have a list of questions to run by somebody booking in so you cover all eventualities and leave no stone unturned?
 
Thank you guys for your amazing support! Truth is I kinda chickened and couldn't ask her to stop. And I really think she didn't know what to do either. It was just an awkward situation. She realized she had done a hazardous mistake but it was hard to control at that moment.
However, ever since I always ask if they have any children that they should be left with a nanny or a family member. Or they can't have the treatment. End of story.
 
Nothing wrong with breast feeding in public, not been able to have kids myself I love to see it.

But, not in the situation you were in.

I would ask the person when they ring for an appointment, is thereany reason they can't give me their full attention during the treatment. As having to keep getting up to attend to other things will cause problems with it.
 
Everything else aside, especially the part where you're mocking the child making 'slurping' noises, which quite frankly is pretty immature, I'm not quite sure how your lashing is ever going to be successful if you're doing it mobile, no wonder you're getting retention issues as you're completely unable to control your environment. You need to get your temp and humidity spot on for the glue you use to have a cats chance in hell of those lashes staying where they should.
 
I wasn't mocking the child! But I did find the sound funny as well as cute! I had never heard it before like that. Similar yes but not quite the same and I loved it! It was like a ray of sunshine amidst all that very difficult situation and the only thing I remember with delight from that appointment. The mother herself commented on it in a good way, something about being very funny yet very effective! I'm sorry if my previous posts make it sound as if I was mocking it but truly I wasn't.
For crying out loud, this topic has nothing to do with breastfeeding on its own accord! Which I 100% root for otherwise. My boss breastfed her kid while having a pedi or a mani on numerous occasions. I never said anything about that! But I could stop at any given moment and I did once when her daughter needed her attention. However, having already had a bad experience, I banned it from when I was doing her lashes and she was fine to leave her with someone else.
It's about lack of control on my behalf as well as the parent's irresponsibility to think that a toddler might be a problem in this situation. How am I supposed to keep an eye on it? And why couldn't she just find someone to look after him? She admitted she didn't even bother! And why should I be put in the difficult position of having to ask them to stop - which I didn't at the time - something that is otherwise normal, risking like from many in this forum to be considered rude or worse just for mentioning it! Regardless of how calmly you explain why it's a problem, and I'm not usually a great diplomat, many parents just won't see it like that.
I don't do lashes mobile anymore and hers were the only practice case that shed overnight, hence my concerns. Admittedly my practice cases weren't great at first, but no one else had that big of a problem. I now work with a salon and either do their clients or mine there and I pay them by the appointment. Or I work at home. And in any case kids are not welcome because I'm simply not their nanny and can't take care of both mother and child.

Sorry for the frustration but this is getting out of hand.
 
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