Teen Uses SIL’s Products Without Permission, Blames Her After Getting Chemical Burns

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Some folks simply do not listen, even when it’s for their own good. For example, if you were to visit family and they had some complicated industrial machine in the garage, you would probably not mess around with it. Similarly, you would not go through someone’s medicine cabinet, just to sample some random pills.

A woman asked the internet if she was wrong to not help her teenage sister-in-law with her chemical burns after the young woman used her prescription skincare without permission. We reached out to her via private message and we’ll update the article when she gets back to us.

Using skincare and medicine you don’t own is not a great idea

Image credits: Andrej Lišakov/Unsplash (not the actual photo)

So one woman refuse to pay the medical bills of her teen SIL after she used her prescription skincare without permission

Image credits: Daniel Martinez/Unsplash (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Educational-Rest4256

Exfoliation, if not done correctly, can cause chemical burns

It’s important to clarify the extent of what chemical burns mean in this context. After all, it can be used to describe things as extreme as chemical warfare, even though that is clearly not what’s happening here. It’s not to say that chemical burns are “fine” in any sense of the word, but ultimately, she was not applying the equivalent to a first world war battlefield to her face.

Chemical burns from skincare tend to come from using powerful exfoliants. If you are unfamiliar with skincare, an exfoliant is a chemical used to remove skin cells from the surface of a person’s body. As dramatic as it might sound, it’s generally not at all uncomfortable and a very normal part of skincare.

However, some exfoliants are more powerful than others, as they do tend to contain powerful acids and often have to be used in a very specific way. After all, applying and leaving acid on your skin is a surefire way to end up with some damage. In other cases, it can leave the person at risk of getting sunburn more easily, but in this story, it’s definitely a case of not following the instructions and allowing the acid to leave burns.

Her symptoms, red, peeling skin, are absolutely in line with misuse of a powerful exfoliant, indicating that not only did she use a product not suitable for herself, she also must have not read or ignored the instructions. In this sense, it’s pretty hard to blame the woman whose skincare was used for this situation. Even if she gave permission, how would she know that the teen would ignore all the instructions?

Ignoring safety instructions isn’t a valid reason to blame someone

This is where the real question of the post comes into play. Is the woman responsible, despite not giving permission? Some commenters (examples can be found below) argued that the teen SIL was a minor and simply could not be held responsible. She should have, one commenter argued, wrapped the skincare products in bubble wrap, as if a 16 year old would somehow be stumped by this.

After all, most “child safety” features exist to keep out much younger children, even early teens tend to be able to figure them out. Similarly, the SIL doesn’t actually live in this woman’s house, it would be absurd to childproof a home just in case a very curious teen shows up. Similarly, it also seems unreasonable for her to just assume the SIL would misuse what is clearly a prescription product.

The fact that her parents would ask for the doctor’s bills to be covered is just absurd. At this point in her life, she is old enough to understand that the things you do tend to have consequences. Similarly, while chemical burns are serious, they are not the sort of thing that actually need immediate medical intervention in most cases. It’s not like she is a toddler who caused some easily preventable damage.

Fortunately, her husband is on her side, despite the SIL’s family trying to enable her horrible behavior. This family seems to have a real entitlement issue. All too often, in-laws can be a nightmare to deal with because people’s partners make up excuses for them or even take their sides in these sorts of situations. At the very least, while it may have ruffled some feathers, the SIL will probably leave her stuff alone.

Most thought she was not to blame and some wanted more details