How would you feel about receiving a deep pore cleansing facial from a murderer? How about getting your eyelashes lengthened and curled by a serial arsonist?
Inmates at the Pasig City Jail Female Dormitory (CJFD) located in the Philippines have been offering such treatments to members of the general public, in their very own makeshift spa.
Undergoing an inmate body massage might sound like a painful experience (I stereotypically assume all female inmates start to lift dumbbell weights in their cells out of complete boredom), but this and the teams’ other spa services have proved more popular than you might suspect. The low price of each treatment on offer is one possible reason for this; a massage comprising the use of aromatherapy oils costs just 150 pesos (equivalent of $11 US), a facial P80 (approx $6) whilst the eyelash treatment is 50 pesos only (a little under $4).
Now that’s what I call budget beauty!
Located in the visitors’ area of the prison, the ‘spa’ was set up with funding from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP). Officer-in-Charge Lourvina Abrazado hopes that the program will help prisoners to ward of boredom, and has commented:
“Our main goal for this spa is skills development and enhancement for our inmates. […] Aside from these projects’ support to their daily needs, it can be their livelihood once released.” Obviously, not all the ladies behind bars will have committed crimes as severe as those cited in the introduction of this post, but it is unlikely that each criminal will declare their wrongdoings as they smear enhancing products into the epidermis of customers! The 32 inmates that perform the beauty-boosting procedures have been specially trained and certified by the Technical Education and Skill Development Authority though, which does make the prospect of jailbird treatments seem a little less scary – no one wants their skin rubbed red raw by an amateur!
