A beautician has been sentenced to 200 lashes for secretly visiting the homes of Saudi women to cut their hair and apply their make-up. The Lebanese man - who is also a tattoo artist nicknamed the 'master of tattoos' by his clients - was also sentenced to one year in prison for tattooing women by the Jeddah District Court. The hairdresser was caught by members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (A Hai'a) in an undercover sting operation in the western city's Al-Rawdah district. He was stopped while walking into what he thought was a client's house with hair dyes and scissors, according to the Saudi Gazette. Strict gender segregation is enforced between men and women that are not married or related in the conservative Gulf kingdom. The unnamed man claimed the products and tools were for use in his hairdressing shop in Lebanon, but investigators from the Investigation and Prosecution Bureau in Jeddah later found text messages from female customers on his mobile phone, as well as images of women with tattoos and business cards. His bags were also reported to contain breast firming and skin whitening creams. The expat, who had been working in Saudi for nine years on a business visa, initially operated out of an apartment but began visiting clients in their homes after starting to suspect that he was under surveillance. He was caught when the Hai'a enlisted the help of an undercover policeman to pose as the driver of a potential client. The hairdresser was then arrested as he entered the supposed home of the new 'customer'. Prosecutors are understood to be seeking a tougher sentence for the beautician. Tattoos are not officially banned in Saudi, but they are not in keeping with Islamic tradition. The kingdom's feared religious police patrol the streets enforcing rules including dress codes and the strict separation of men and women.