Terms and conditions

Sirens City Retreat, 12 Market Place, Durham, DH1 3NG
Last updated: July 2026

About these terms

Sirens City Retreat is an award winning hair, beauty and skin salon and training centre in the centre of Durham. These terms apply to every appointment, course, gift voucher and product purchase, whether you book online, by phone, by message or in person.

By booking with us you are agreeing to these terms on behalf of yourself and anyone you book on behalf of. Please read them properly. They are not here to catch you out, they are here so that everybody knows where they stand, and so that you are properly protected if anything ever goes wrong.

If there is anything in here you are not sure about, ask us before your appointment rather than after it. We would far rather explain something twice than have you agree to something you have not understood.

Insurance, consultation and paperwork

This is the most important section on the page, so we have put it near the top.

Sirens City Retreat holds full public liability and treatment liability insurance. Every therapist working here is qualified for the treatments they carry out and is insured to carry them out. Our training centre is separately accredited and insured for the courses we deliver.

That insurance only holds if the paperwork behind it is done properly. This is why we ask you to complete a consultation record before your first treatment, and to keep it up to date afterwards.

Completing your record is not a formality and it is not us being difficult. In the event of a claim, your consultation form, your medical history, your patch test record and your signed consent are the documents that allow that claim to be assessed and settled. If any of that is missing, incomplete or inaccurate, cover can be refused. That would leave you unprotected as well as us, which is the last thing either of us wants.

So that we can keep you covered:

we cannot begin a treatment until your consultation record is complete and signed
we will ask you to confirm or update your details at every visit, and to complete a fresh record at least once every twelve months
we will ask again before any treatment type you have not had with us before, and before starting any course of treatments
some treatments carry their own separate consent form, and that form has to be signed on the day, every time
if you would prefer not to complete the paperwork, or you ask us to record something that is not accurate, we will not be able to treat you

We keep these records securely and for as long as our insurers and our professional bodies require us to. How we look after your information is set out in our privacy policy.

Telling us about your health

You must tell us about any medical condition, medication, allergy, recent surgery, recent treatment elsewhere, pregnancy or breastfeeding before your appointment, and tell us if anything changes between visits. If you are not sure whether something is relevant, tell us anyway and let us decide.

Some conditions and some medications mean a treatment has to be adapted, postponed, or supported by written consent from your GP or consultant before we can go ahead. Diabetes, epilepsy, blood thinning medication, roaccutane and recent injectable treatments are common examples, but the list is much longer than that.

We are beauty and skin professionals, not medical practitioners. We do not diagnose, we do not treat medical conditions and we do not prescribe. Nothing we say in the salon is a substitute for advice from your GP, pharmacist or consultant.

If information is withheld from us, or a form is completed inaccurately, we cannot be responsible for the outcome of the treatment, and your treatment may not be covered.

Patch tests

Some treatments require a patch test before we can carry them out. This includes tinting, lash treatments and certain skin treatments. A patch test is required before your first appointment for that treatment, again if you have not had it with us for twelve months, and again if the product or your medical history changes.

A patch test has to be carried out at least 48 hours before your appointment. This is an insurance requirement and we cannot waive it, no matter how many times you have had the treatment somewhere else. If you arrive for a treatment that needs a patch test and you have not had one, we will not be able to carry the treatment out, and the appointment will be treated as a late cancellation.

Booking your appointment

You can book online at any time, or by phone or message during salon hours. Please check that the treatment, date and time on your confirmation are correct as soon as you receive it, and let us know straight away if something is wrong.

Please book enough time for what you actually want done. If you arrive wanting more than the appointment allows for, we will do as much as we can in the time booked rather than run late for the client after you.

If you are booking on someone else’s behalf, please make sure they have seen these terms, and please do not book a surprise appointment for anyone who has not agreed to have the treatment.

Booking fees, cancellations and no shows

A non refundable booking fee is taken at the time of booking. It secures your appointment slot and it comes off the cost of your treatment on the day.

More than 48 hours before your appointment. Change or cancel freely. Your booking fee moves to your new appointment.
Between 48 and 24 hours before your appointment. Your booking fee is not refundable and cannot be moved to a new date. You are welcome to rebook, with a new booking fee.
Within 24 hours of your appointment, and for rescheduling requests made within 24 hours. The full price of the treatment is payable.
No show. The full price of the treatment is payable, and we may ask for payment in full at the time of booking in future.

We know that life happens, and we would always rather you told us early than not at all. A late cancellation is not just an empty chair, it is a therapist who could have been treating someone on the waiting list.

If we have to cancel or move your appointment, for example because of illness or something outside our control, we will contact you as soon as we possibly can and offer you the earliest alternative. Your booking fee moves with you, or is refunded in full if you would rather not rebook.

Running late

Please arrive a few minutes early, particularly for a first appointment or anything that needs paperwork.

If you are running late, please ring and tell us. We will always try to fit you in, but we may need to shorten your treatment so that we do not run late for everyone after you, and the full price will still apply. If you arrive more than fifteen minutes late we may not be able to carry the treatment out at all, and it will be treated as a late cancellation.

Payment and pricing

Payment is due in full at the end of your appointment unless we have agreed something different in writing. We accept card and cash.

Prices are as displayed at the time of booking. We review our prices from time to time and reserve the right to change them, but the price you were quoted at the point of booking is the price you will pay for that appointment.

Some treatments are priced by area, by time or by the amount of product used, and a few, such as some colour and some lash work, can only be priced accurately once we have seen the hair or the eyes in question. Where that is the case we will always tell you the price before we start, not after we finish.

Courses of treatments and packages are paid for in advance. Unless we say otherwise, a course must be used within twelve months of purchase, and part used courses are not refundable once the first treatment has been taken.

When we may refuse or stop a treatment

We reserve the right to decline or stop a treatment, and this is always a judgement made on safety grounds. The most common reasons are:

the consultation form or consent form is not complete
a required patch test has not been carried out
a medical condition or medication means the treatment is not safe or not appropriate today
there is a skin condition, infection, open wound or contraindication in the area
the area has not been prepared as we asked, for example not shaved, trimmed or cleaned for a waxing appointment
you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs
the behaviour described in the section on respect and safety below

Where we stop a treatment for a safety reason we will explain why and, where we can, offer an alternative. Where we stop a treatment because of behaviour, the full cost remains payable.

Results, reactions and aftercare

We will always tell you honestly what a treatment can and cannot do. What we cannot do is promise a specific result, because skin, hair and hair growth vary enormously from person to person, and results depend as much on what happens between appointments as on what happens in the chair.

Some reaction is normal after some treatments. Redness, warmth, small bumps and sensitivity are common after waxing and after most skin treatments, and they usually settle within a day or two. Your therapist will tell you what to expect and give you aftercare, and we ask you to follow it. Where aftercare is not followed, or where a home product or another treatment is used against our advice, we cannot be responsible for the result.

If you have any reaction that worries you, ring us. We would much rather hear from you the same day than find out three weeks later.

Respect and safety in the salon

Our team look after people all day, often in situations where a client is undressed, vulnerable or nervous. They are entitled to feel safe at work, and we take that seriously.

We ask every client to treat our therapists, our trainees, our students and our other clients with basic courtesy. In return you will always be treated with courtesy by us.

We do not tolerate:

aggressive, threatening or abusive behaviour, whether in person, on the phone, in a message or online
shouting at, swearing at, belittling or intimidating a member of our team
discriminatory language or behaviour of any kind, including anything directed at a person’s sex, gender identity, race, religion, disability, age or sexuality
sexual comments, sexual propositions, unwelcome advances, or any unwanted physical contact towards a member of our team
requests for anything outside the treatment that has been booked
filming or photographing our team, our students or other clients without their permission
attending an appointment under the influence of alcohol or drugs

Where any of this happens, the treatment will stop immediately, the full cost of the appointment remains payable and you will be asked to leave. We reserve the right to refuse any future booking. Where the behaviour is directed at a member of our team we will support that team member fully, and where appropriate we will report the matter to the police.

Intimate treatments are carried out professionally, with appropriate draping and privacy, by therapists who are trained and insured to carry them out. Our waxing is priced by area and open to everybody. The only treatment we do not offer is male genital waxing. Any suggestion that a treatment is anything other than a professional treatment will end the appointment on the spot and will be reported.

Abuse of our team online, including in reviews and on social media, is treated in exactly the same way as abuse in person.

A child free salon

We are a child free salon. This is a safety decision as much as an atmosphere one, because we work with hot wax, electrical equipment, chemicals and sharp implements, and because many of our clients are undressed or having intimate treatments.

Please do not bring children with you to your appointment, including babies in prams and car seats. We will not be able to treat you, and the appointment will be treated as a late cancellation.

Clients under eighteen

Some treatments are not available to anyone under the age of eighteen. Where a treatment is available to a client aged sixteen or seventeen, we require written consent from a parent or guardian, and that parent or guardian must be present in the salon for the whole appointment.

We do not carry out intimate waxing, skin peels, or any advanced skin treatment on anyone under the age of eighteen.

We may ask for proof of age, and we would rather ask and be wrong than not ask.

Gift vouchers

Gift vouchers are a lovely thing to give and we are always glad when someone chooses one. The rules are straightforward.

Vouchers are valid for twelve months from the date of purchase unless the voucher says otherwise. Expired vouchers cannot be extended, refunded or exchanged for cash.
Vouchers can be used against any treatment at Sirens City Retreat unless the voucher says otherwise. They cannot be used against retail products, and they cannot be combined with another offer, promotion or discount.
Our booking and cancellation terms apply in full to appointments booked with a voucher, including the booking fee. If an appointment booked with a voucher is cancelled within 24 hours, the full treatment price is deducted from the voucher balance.
Vouchers are non refundable and cannot be exchanged for cash.
If a treatment costs less than the voucher, the balance stays on the voucher and can be used within the validity period. If it costs more, the difference is payable on the day.
Please treat a voucher like cash. We cannot replace one that is lost, stolen or damaged.

Retail products

Unopened and unused retail products can be returned within fourteen days with your receipt for exchange or refund. For hygiene reasons we cannot accept the return of a product that has been opened or used unless it is faulty. This does not affect your statutory rights.

If you have a reaction to a product bought from us, stop using it and contact us straight away.

Courses and training

Separate terms apply to our accredited courses and training days, and they are issued with your course booking. In summary, course fees are payable in advance, course places are non refundable within four weeks of the course date, and certification is issued only on successful completion of both the practical and the written assessment. Course dates may be moved where numbers are too low to run, and where that happens you will be offered an alternative date or a full refund.

If something is not right

Please tell us. Speak to your therapist or ask for Helen while you are still in the salon if you can, and if that is not possible contact us within seven days of your appointment so that we can see the treatment while it is still fresh.

We will always ask you to come back in so that we can look at it properly. Where something has genuinely gone wrong on our side we will put it right, and we will not charge you to do so. What we cannot do is assess a complaint from a photograph alone, or put right work that someone else has since worked on.

We are required to notify our insurers of certain matters within set timescales, which is another reason why telling us quickly matters.

Our responsibility to you

We will carry out your treatment with reasonable care and skill, using suitable products, by a therapist qualified and insured to carry it out.

Nothing in these terms limits or excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited or excluded. Your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 are not affected by anything on this page.

Subject to that, we are not responsible for:

a reaction or outcome that arises because information was withheld from us or recorded inaccurately
a reaction or outcome that arises because aftercare was not followed, or because another product or treatment was used against our advice
an outcome affected by work carried out elsewhere, before or after your appointment with us
loss or damage to personal belongings brought into the salon, so please keep valuables with you

Photographs and social media

We love showing our work, and we will always ask before we photograph you or your treatment. You are completely free to say no, and it will make no difference at all to your appointment. If you have said yes previously and change your mind, tell us and we will take the image down.

Please do not photograph or film other clients, our team or our students.

Your personal information

We collect and hold personal information about you, including health information, because we cannot treat you safely or lawfully without it. We hold it securely, we keep it for as long as our insurers and professional bodies require, and we do not sell it or pass it to anyone for marketing. Full detail is in our privacy policy.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time, and the current version will always be the one on this page. The date at the top tells you when it last changed. Booking an appointment after a change means accepting the updated terms.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and any dispute will be dealt with by the courts of England and Wales.

Getting in touch

Sirens City Retreat, 12 Market Place, Durham, DH1 3NG
0191 447 7570
sirens-beautysalon@hotmail.co.uk

Thank you for choosing us. Around thirty industry awards and hundreds of five star reviews later, we still think the most important thing we do is look after the person in the chair.