As the campaign period before Turkey’s referendum on April 16 reaches its final stretch, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is pulling out all the stops to attract ‘yes’ voters.

One such move that has baffled supporters and critics alike has been to sign an emergency decree into law which gives beauty industry workers the “right to operate certain tools to perform laser hair removal,” al-Monitor reports.

People from Turkey's beauty industry chamber of commerce were invited to an auditorium at Mr Erdogan’s $615 million (£495 million) palace on March 29, where he delivered a rally broadcast live on national television - titled “For a beautiful Turkey, of course, yes” - and then signed the legislation. He was cheered on for around an hour by a crowd of beauticians and other industry workers.

Turkey's Erdogan steps up anti-Europe rhetoric

Turkey is still technically in a state of emergency following last July’s failed military coup, which gave Mr Erdogan the power to bypass parliament in passing the law.

Before the new bill was signed, the Turkish Health Ministry said that only medical staff were permitted to operate laser hair removal machinery because of thousands of burns cases caused by improper use.

The move, while criticised by some dermatologists, is expected to boost job creation in Turkey’s beauty industry, which has grown six per cent since 2014.

In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Show all 17 1 /17 In pictures: Turkey coup attempt In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish President Erdogan attends the funeral service for victims of the thwarted coup in Istanbul at Fatih mosque on July 17, 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey Burak Kara/Getty Images In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Soldiers involved in the coup attempt surrender on Bosphorus bridge with their hands raised in Istanbul on 16 July, 2016 Gokhan Tan/Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt A civilian beats a soldier after troops involved in the coup surrendered on the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, 16 July, 2016 REUTERS/Murad Sezer In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Surrendered Turkish soldiers who were involved in the coup are beaten by a civilian Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Soliders involved in the coup attempt surrender on Bosphorus bridge Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wave flags as they capture a Turkish Army vehicle Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt People pose near a tank after troops involved in the coup surrendered on the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, 16 July, 2016 Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish soldiers block Istanbul's Bosphorus Brigde Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt A Turkish military stands guard near the Taksim Square in Istanbul Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Pierre Crom/Twitter In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish soldiers secure the area as supporters of Recep Tayyip Erdogan protest in Istanbul's Taksim square AP In pictures: Turkey coup attempt People demonstrate in front of the Republic Monument at the Taksim Square in Istanbul Murad Sezer/Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish soldiers detain police officers during a security shutdown of the Bosphorus Bridge Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish Army armoured personnel carriers in the main streets of Istanbul Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Chaos reigned in Istanbul as tanks drove through the streets EPA/TOLGA BOZOGLU In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks to media in the resort town of Marmaris Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Supporters of President Erdogan celebrate in Ankara following the suppression of the attempted coup Reuters

Many Turks took to social media to express their disbelief that Mr Erdogan was allegedly using the country’s state of emergency to canvass votes.

While the president has broad support among more conservative sections of Turkish society, several theologians pointed out that the hair removal decree is not likely to go down well with deeply religious people, since the Quran goes into detail about how changing one’s God-given image for the purposes of vanity is frowned upon.

Turkey’s public will vote on constitutional reform on Saturday April 16, with current polls pointing towards a very narrow ‘no’ win.

The proposed changes – which proponents in Mr Erdogan’s ruling AK party say are necessary to deal with Turkey’s fragile economic and security situations – would abolish the position of the prime minister, giving the sitting president the power to appoint and dismiss ministers, to once again become head of a political party, and possibly govern until 2029.