A beautician was left baffled after a client refused to pay for her £50 lash and brow appointment - claiming she thought the treatment would be free because she planned to post it on Instagram.

The small business owner, who runs a beauty studio from her home, says she had spent over an hour carefully tinting and styling the woman's brows and applying a fresh set of classic eyelash extensions.

The client, described as "an absolutely lovely girl," had spent the entire session discussing her upcoming holiday, explaining she was getting the appointment ahead of going away. But when Lauren O'Connor politely asked whether she'd prefer to pay by card or cash at the end of the appointment, the unnamed woman's mood shifted.

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"She pulled out a selfie light and started taking pictures of her lashes," the beautician said in a TikTok video. When asked for payment, the woman then allegedly said: "Why would I need to pay? I've just took my pictures."

The client then is said to have informed the stunned beautician that she didn't think she'd need to pay at all - because she was planning to post the results on social media and tag the business.

Despite having fewer than 1,000 followers, she seemed to think her post would offer great exposure for the small business, according to Lauren.

"I said, 'right well, well negotiate, how many followers do you have?'" That's when the 'micro-influencer' revealed she had less than 1,000 across Instagram and TikTok.

At no point before or during the booking had the client mentioned being an influencer, the beautician claims.

"You're going on to me as if you're Molly Mae," Lauren raged in the video. "I'm not being rude, but from our DMs when you booked in, I sent the total, I sent the confirmation, you didn't once tell me your intention was to not pay me."

When it became clear the client was unwilling to pay, the beautician stood firm and reiterated her prices. The woman, who "seemed shocked", eventually paid - but later allegedly blocked the beautician on all social media platforms.

"Why would I let you have a free set of brows and lashes?," Lauren adds. "She didn't even post beauty content, it was her going to the gym. What is that going to do for me?

"When I have done brand collaborations in the past, they've done a whole video for me, and let me post them too. This girl literally took two photos and said 'I'll post that for you'."

After sharing the experience online, other beauty professionals and small business owners came forward with similar stories, revealing just how common this kind of behaviour is becoming.

The beautician added that while she's open to working with content creators, it's something that needs to be discussed and agreed in advance - not sprung on her after a service has already been provided.

"She eventually paid me but blocked me on everything," she claims. "She was fuming."