Wellness Lounge Fined for Operating Without a Licence
Acton Lane salon was illegally carrying out laser tattoo removal
The Wellness Lounge (left) and the laser treatment equipment found on the premises (right). Picture: Hounslow Council
A Chiswick beauty parlour has been fined £2,000 after Hounslow Council discovered it was offering specialist beauty treatments — including laser tattoo removal — without the legally required licence.
Olga Cika, owner of the Wellness Lounge on Acton Lane, pleaded guilty at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on 9 June to offences under Section 14(1) of the London Local Authorities Act 1991. The case followed an investigation by the council’s Health and Safety team, who acted on an anonymous tip-off.
When officers inspected the premises, they found the business was advertising licensable treatments such as laser tattoo removal and that the equipment for carrying out those procedures was present. The court heard that the Wellness Lounge had reopened in October 2025 after closing during the pandemic, and that Ms Cika continued to operate while waiting for certification and before securing the appropriate licence.
Although she had previously held a Special Treatment Licence for eight years, it had lapsed in 2021 and had not been renewed.
After considering mitigation and her early guilty plea, magistrates imposed a £1,000 fine, along with a £400 victim surcharge and £600 in prosecution costs, bringing the total penalty to £2,000, payable within 12 months.
Councillor Amy Croft, Hounslow’s Cabinet Member for Infrastructure, Enforcement and Recycling, said the case underlined the importance of licensing rules designed to protect the public.
“This business had been operating without the licence required by law and that is completely unacceptable,” she said. “These regulations exist to protect the public and ensure treatments are carried out safely and responsibly. We will not hesitate to take strong enforcement action against businesses that ignore the rules.”
Special Treatment Licences are required for a wide range of procedures, including tattooing, semi-permanent makeup, cosmetic piercing , acupuncture, massage and laser treatments. It is illegal to provide or even advertise these treatments without a valid annual licence.
Hounslow Council is urging residents to report any business they suspect of offering licensable treatments without authorisation. Concerns can be sent to the Health and Safety team at HealthandSafety@hounslow.gov.uk.
Guidance on which treatments require a licence — and how businesses can apply — is available on the council’s website under Massage and special treatment licences.
Value Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |