'Bloodstain on my pillow': Woman on being scarred after using facial wipes from pharmacy to clean pimples

When we use facial products, we expect our face to look nicer after it.

But what would you do if it leaves your face with a scar instead?

In a Facebook post uploaded to Facebook group Complaint Singapore on Friday (March 24), a disgruntled customer, Huda Ismail, shared an unpleasant experience after using Guardian's facial wipes.

According to Huda, she had purchased Guardian's Exfoliating Facial Wipes from the pharmacy at Bedok Reservoir last month, which was advertised to be "dermatologically tested and proven".

This was the first time she had used a product from Guardian, she said.

"I used this facial wipe all over my face. There were multiple small dried pimples on my face," she wrote in the post.

However, when she started to wipe her face with the product, she said she realised that an abrasion has formed on her left cheek in less than a minute.

She highlighted the issue to Guardian's customer service two days later, where she was advised to seek a doctor's treatment and get a memo on the same day. 

The customer said she was then assured that she would receive a call from Guardian latest by Feb 24, for instructions to "send the facial wipes to Guardian and for further updates from Guardian".

She sent the doctor's memo before that date, but the call that was supposed to get to her did not come at all.

The following week, Huda said she emailed them to ask for a follow-up but was met with "radio silence".

Some 22 days after she sent out her last email, in which she said she didn't get a response, she decided to comment on Guardian's Facebook page on the same issue. 

This time round, a response came through – but she said she was told that she is not liable for the compensation as "the wound could have been caused by a pimple which already had an open skin (regardless of size) at the time of usage", which was seen in a screenshot of the email response that she had attached to the post.

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The customer service officer then referred Huda to a fine print at the back of the product, which said to "avoid contact with eyes and broken skin".

The woman then said she was "only offered $20 gift voucher as a form of 'good will' but not any admission of liability from Guardian".

She then said that other scar-healing remedies, as stated on Guardian's website, costs more than $20.

The abrasion left Huda with a scar on her left cheek, which is now "multiples times bigger" than her original dried pimple.

"This experience with Guardian’s denial of liability have left a bitter taste on the whole organisation, DFI Retail Group," she concluded in the post.

'Utterly ridiculous'

Speaking to AsiaOne, Huda, who is self-employed in the finance sector, said that she was at the Guardian outlet to buy other products when she decided to buy the wipes seeing they were on discount.

"It was convenient to remove dirt and any residual make-up," she said. "I have used other brands such as Gatsby or Watsons and had no issues whatsoever."

The 33-year-old also said that she initially didn't notice the abrasions when using the product as there wasn't any stinging sensation.

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But after a few seconds, she noticed blood on the wipes, and saw that an abrasion on her left cheek has formed despite not being there before she used the product.

"Initially, I panicked," she said. "The abrasion even left a bloodstain on my pillow that night."

She also added that the abrasion hurt for the next few days before the scab covered it and dried it out, and in those few days, she couldn't even wash her face.

Huda also said that she went to a doctor to get the memo as instructed by the customer service officer, and wasn't required to do any follow-up checks by the doctor.

"He suggested that after the wound have healed, to just get a scar gel," she said.

The medical consultation cost her $16.50, which Guardian has also offered to reimburse as well.

Huda also said that ever since her complaint post on March 24, there has been no further updates, with the last email being sent to her from Guardian offering her the $20 discount while "denying any liability for my facial injury".

"I can understand that at times, unpleasant events do happen," she elaborated.

"But when Guardian ignored my case for 15 days, after assuring that they would get back to me for a follow up, and then brushing aside their liability of their own product, is utterly ridiculous," she said. 

"This abrasion is now a scar. If it was on other parts of my skin, that can be covered, that would take the frustration down a few notches. Now this scar is on my face and I don’t know how long or if it will ever fade away completely."

AsiaOne has contacted Guardian for more information.

ALSO READ: Woman scarred, in pain after 'most traumatic' dental treatment at Sengkang clinic

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