Shanghai elderly woman spends 3 million yuan on beauty services

A 75-year-old woman in Shanghai has reportedly spent nearly 3 million yuan on medical beauty services over the past decade, leading to severe financial distress for her family. Her daughter discovered the spending after noticing the elderly woman was struggling to pay rent and had begun selling jewelry.

Bank records reveal that since 2016, the woman spent millions at two different beauty institutions. The expenditures included repetitive “semi-permanent” eyebrow and lip treatments priced at 10 to 20 times the market rate. Between 2021 and 2025, these specific services alone cost approximately 350,000 yuan. Other unusual charges included a 300,000 yuan “female intimate care” item that was never performed but converted into other services, as well as charges for items labeled “happiness chair” and “space capsule.”

Staff at the beauty institutions claimed the client had high standards and “appearance anxiety,” suggesting she requested the frequent appointments herself. Following media intervention and mediation, the beauty institutions reached a settlement with the family, allowing the woman to recover a portion of her unconsumed funds.