Dear Shopping Mall Manager,

Something that I find quite disgusting is happening in your Shopping Mall. Things that should be done in private are being done in public. I’m not talking about public displays of affection, drunks falling down and vomiting all over the place or even men urinating on public buildings, no, it’s the ubiquitous Brow Bars that are springing up everywhere. I note you have one in your Shopping Mall.

This abomination is not confined to eyebrow plucking either. People are having their whole face plucked by a young girl hovering over them wielding a triad of dental floss, one strand in her teeth, plus a strand in each hand, extracting aberrant facial hair in full view of an audience of gawping shoppers. Since when did depilation become a public event? Is this really a spectacle worthy of performance in a public arena?

In your Mall I have seen women having their hair styled, either straightened or curled, whichever is your preference, their nails filed and polished, their faces made-up and even witnessed the removal of superfluous hair from other parts of the body, all in full view of the passing public.

I appreciate that manufacturers of beauty products want to sell their wares, but surely this could be done more discreetly. At one time women’s beauty routines were shrouded in mystery, enhancing women’s femininity, (they were called ‘beauty secrets’ for a reason). I know that men sometimes trim their nasal hairs, dig out wax from their ears, pick their noses and excavate fluff from their belly buttons, but I don’t want to see them doing it! Why should men be subjected to the sight of women being plucked and polished in public? Some things are best confined to the bedroom or bathroom, or salons where comfort and privacy prevail. Since when did plucking one’s face become a public entertainment?

What next? Bikini waxing in a pub near you? Toenail cutting competitions? Prizes for the fastest hard skin removal, or, how about complete body depilation in public?
If you wish to enhance people’s ‘shopping experience’ I suggest that you confine activities with your Mall to those appropriate to family entertainment, i.e. shopping.

Yours in haste, (I have an appointment with my doctor now),

Kay Seeley