"Enough's enough": Why this celebrity brow stylist has banned kids from her salon.

Kristin Fisher’s brow salon in Sydney’s eastern suburbs is a place where you’ll find models, influencers and fashion industry elite being tweezed, waxed, threaded and tattooed. But what you won’t find behind the doors of the Double Bay business is children.

The celebrity brow artist has implemented a blanket ban on clients bringing their kids along to appointments; a move that has angered some.

Speaking to Mamamia, the entrepreneur – herself a mother to two kids, aged three-and-a-half and five – said the decision stemmed from an accumulation of incidents that left her staff and customers on edge. It reached the point where there would be as many as ten children in the salon at once, all unattended, and the onus was often being placed on her employees to supervise them.

“The other day there were some in the backroom bashing empty water bottles against the wall, just going ‘bang bang bang’. That was probably my breaking point. The clients were getting upset; we had one client walk out and leave. We had seven prams there. It was just insane.

“I just thought, for everyone’s safety and for the sake of the business, I’m going to call it.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

WARNING! Long rant. Apologies in advance….. To our beautiful KFE clients. This is a very hard post for me because I hate upsetting people and I feel this may do just that, but we have no other option. We are imposing a new rule that clients must not bring children or babies to their appointments. Recently we have had times where there have been ten children in the salon at one time, all unattended, whilst their mothers get treatments done. It simply isn’t fair to the other clients who have come solo, who for them this is their monthly treat/splurge and want some peace and quiet whilst they have their brows or lashes done, nor is it fair to my staff who are constantly chasing after kids and nursing babies (even though we secretly love this – they also have to answer the phones and rebook clients!). We have had kids run onto the street, we’ve had clients leave midway through their appointments as they’re too annoyed about the noise being made by children and we’ve had mums call and complain saying their brows are crooked after they’ve been nursing a squirming baby the whole appointment… I of all people know how hard it is to get away for an appointment as I have two young children myself without any grandparents here in Sydney to help out and mind them when I need to pop out. That being said I make sure all of my ‘me time’ appointments are just that – for me. I know how hard it is to book a babysitter for such a short time, but given these appointments are monthly (at the earliest) I do hope our beloved mummy clients can find alternative childcare prior to their appointments in the salon. Thank you for your ongoing support and loyalty and we are looking forward to seeing you all in the salon (relaxed!) and child free ????????????????

A post shared by KRISTIN FISHER EYEBROWS (@kristin.fisher.eyebrows) on Oct 9, 2018 at 2:35am PDT

Beyond safety, she says the new rule is also about ensuring all clients receive due attention, particularly given the prices they’re paying. (Services start from $75 for a shape and tint and stretch into the thousands for feather-touch tattooing.)

“There are people who’ve saved a lot of money to get something done. Why should they suffer?” she said. “[As parents] we’ve got to be thoughtful about everyone else and not just think of ourselves all the time.”

While Fisher claims “97 per cent” of the response has been supportive, the ban has cost her a handful of clients.

As one wrote on Instagram, “I have had my baby with me at my last two appointments and he hasn’t made a noise.

“Unfortunately for me I have no help (grandparents) in Sydney so will no longer be able to come, because I’m not going to pay for child care for a 30 min brow appointment.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

I have been overwhelmed with the support from my loyal clientele and the general public on my decision to have a child free salon. As a mum and a business owner this decision has not been made lightly so I am grateful at how positive the feedback has been! Please note the children in this photo were removed from the salon at 8.59am ????

A post shared by KRISTIN FISHER EYEBROWS (@kristin.fisher.eyebrows) on Oct 11, 2018 at 3:10pm PDT

Fisher is sympathetic to such parents, but said it simply wouldn’t be fair to act on a case-by-case basis.

“I really do understand that and I hurt for the women in a position that don’t have help readily available,” she said.

“The thing with an eyebrow appointment is you’ve got four to eight weeks [between appointments]. So perhaps arrange in advance with a friend to tag-team.”

Fisher said many of the people supporting her ban are, in fact, mothers; women for whom 30 minutes getting their brows done is a moment of relaxation, an escape from their otherwise busy schedules.

“I feel like mums should be able to have that ‘me time’. You’d arrange someone to look after your child if you were having a facial, so why should this be any different?” she said.

“The ones that are [critical of the ban] are saying ‘What’s the big deal? It’s just a quick eyebrow wax.’ But to other people it means a lot more than that.”