Hygiene, abusive payments… BodyMinute, in conflict with a TikToker, faces an avalanche of criticism

Even though her setbacks date back several years, Vanessa says she still feels scarred today. In 2010, this saleswoman approached a BodyMinute beauty institute, in Cergy-Pontoise (Val-d’Oise), for leg hair removal. “I noticed the lack of cleanliness from the start,” she remembers. She notes that her beautician does not wash her hands before her procedure. But Vanessa wants to avoid fuss. Regretfully. “When I got home that evening, I had small white blisters on certain areas of my lower legs,” she describes.

Vanessa’s skin condition quickly worsened. The blisters have become “abscesses, the skin has become thin, yellow…” Diagnosis: she suffers from staphylococcus aureus. “My dermatologist had sent a letter, and I called the BodyMinute center… The manager cleared the air, telling me that the hygiene problem might have been my fault. » Not very litigious, Vanessa did not insist, concentrating on her heavy care. It will only be recovered after a year, after having tested a multitude of antibiotics, having endured showers with bandages, and spending a summer with covered legs, to limit its complexes.

This company “never accepted that I cancel my subscription even though I moved to Canada,” confides an Internet user under a publication on the subject, on the Balance ton Agency account. “Worst memory for having my hair removed there, unpleasant comment from the beautician about my hair,” says another.

A parody that goes badly

At the origin of this explosion of testimonies, a singular online conflict, which lasts. On one side, Laurène Lévy, an influencer specializing in well-being at work, followed by 336,000 people on TikTok. On the other, the BodyMinute brand, which is increasing attacks against it.

It all dates back to May 2022, when the TikToker published a short humorous video inspired by her own experience. Facing the camera, she imitates a BodyMinute beautician with a passive aggressive attitude, who criticizes her client for having ingrown hairs, mocks her desire not to do full bikini line waxing – supposedly “more hygienic”. » -, or is insistent on the sale of derivative products after her treatment.

The extract of less than two minutes could have gone unnoticed. But in February 2023, BodyMinute management sent a scathing email to its employees. Order is given to report the humorous video and to close Laurène Lévy’s account. Worse: representatives of BodyMinute denounced the video to the influencer’s employer, an advertising agency. “Five days after this letter sent to my employer, I received threats of murder and rape in my mailbox. Is this a coincidence? I don’t know anything about it. But still, in terms of timing, it’s a bit strange,” says the content creator on TikTok.

Since then, the conflict has only worsened. In the fall of 2023, bailiffs burst into the offices of Laurène’s employer, “to search computers, drives and emails”. The goal? Find evidence proving that Laurène Lévy was commissioned by her agency to denigrate BodyMinute on social networks, for the benefit of a competitor. A theory denied several times by the person concerned. At the end of 2024, the fight continues: the videographer finally receives a letter summoning her to court.

An assumed strategy

On the networks, anger is brewing just as much. On December 31, BodyMinute’s TikTok account broadcast a crazy video directly attacking the influencer, and calling her in the caption “Laurène the Hate”. “But who does this TikToker make laugh, while she mocks and criticizes everyone maliciously without any kindness? ”, we can hear in the excerpt. “Aesthetics unions questioned hundreds of beauticians and this video made no one laugh. We asked Laurène to kindly remove it, without success, so today, we are entrusting this mission to justice,” continues a robotic voice commenting on the extract.

The publication does not go through. A torrent of negative comments appeared under the video, prompting the brand to release a press release with a strange tone at the beginning of January. “We did not seek to harass Laurène Lévy,” assures the text. “We are ready to take a step towards her by removing our lawsuits and videos, but we hope that she understands and hears our request to remove her videos from BodyMinute,” the statement continued.

Contacted, Fabienne Eckerlein, general director of BodyMinute, defends her communication. “Of course we assume it. We tried to be funny, well, it wasn’t funny. Like Laurène, who did something funny, which we didn’t find funny either,” explains the manager. Asked about the negative customer reviews emerging online, she said she was skeptical. “There is a lot of false testimony in these testimonies. (…) We made a sample of 50 videos found recently. And, for the moment, none of the clients have been able to tell us where they had their service. »

Also contacted by Le Parisien, Jean-Christophe David, president of the group, is equally dissatisfied. “We do not understand why Laurène persists in keeping a video that is hurtful and humiliating towards beauty professionals. (…) At BodyMinute, the invitation to hatred is not our DNA, it is rather an invitation to love,” he writes. Contacted by Le Parisien, Laurène Lévy was not immediately able to answer our questions.

On TikTok, where the debate is strongest, some users are even calling for a boycott of the BodyMinute brand. Which hardly worries the group. Earlier this week, his account posted a new video boasting of having accumulated hundreds – if not millions – of views on his latest posts. “Does bad buzz really exist? You have 4 hours…” asks the brand. Which also highlights a promotional code for its beauty products.