Joneseys blog

What to do if your hair treatment goes wrong.

For most people, going to the hairdressers is normally a real treat but just occasionally, for one or two of our clients it’s turned out to be a nightmare

One of the problems that can happen is an adverse reaction to the colour dyes used in re-colouring your hair. It’s not something that has personally bothered me (just look at my profile picture to see why – and that was when I had hair!), but it has been a problem for some of my clients.

A few years back I received a phone call from a very distressed lady who had just come back from a hair dressing appointment she had booked, for a complete colour change.

This lady was distraught as the dyes used to colour her hair had caused a dramatic reaction. Her scalp was reddening by the minute and she could feel her neck and other parts of her skin burning.

Having been involved previously with many of these cases, I could advise and empathise with her problems.

You will know that your hair dresser will have undertaken a patch test on you when having your hair coloured, or applying other hair treatments. If they haven’t then certainly they should have done.

This test should show whether or not you are likely to have an adverse reaction to any products used in the process.

Sadly not all hair dressers carry out this patch testing or do so incorrectly.

The failure to do this can be devastating, from a red and itchy scalp, through to severe allergic reaction to the chemical used, including loss of hair, either partially or in extreme cases complete hair loss.

So what should you do?

Jonesey’s top tips for a safe visit to the hairdressers:-

1. Always ask your hair dresser about the product they are using.

2. Is it something they have used before and if so have their clients ever had any adverse reaction to it’s use.

3. If it’s your first time, be aware that they should and must carry out a patch test and discuss the results of the patch testing with you.

4. If you’re a regular, then take note of the product type and manufacturer name being used and if it’s changed since the last time, then go through the patch testing routine again, as being cautious is a good idea in these circumstances.

Chances are everything will be fine and you will leave looking like a million dollars and feeling great

But what if it goes wrong?

Sadly, although it is not that common, this can and does happen.

Here’s what to do if it happens to you:-

1. Go back to your hair dresser and report the incident. Find out what product was used, including the type and manufacturer.

2. Go to your GP as soon as you can. Get some medical help – don’t just hope it will go away and self treat. Early intervention by qualified medical help will certainly make things better, even if it doesn’t cure the problem immediately.

3. In severe cases your GP/Hospital may suggest you contact or be treated by a Trichologist. These people are experts in problems of the hair and have assisted us in many cases where people have been affected in this way.

What else can you do?

It is possible for you to make a claim for injuries if this kind of thing happens.

As in other compensation claims, you first have to prove that the hair dresser did something wrong. You know the old saying, before you can claim, someone has to be to blame.

But also it would be a good idea to make sure your hairdresser is actually insured to cover such problems in the first place. It’s not always just proving someone is at fault, you have to make sure that if they are, they have the money available to pay you the compensation you deserve.

Recently we have had a number of cases where, although clients were badly affected by incorrect use of hair products and with our clients help we could prove that the hair dresser was negligent, and should have known better, they were unable to pursue the claim as they did not have insurance cover for such problems. If they don’t have the money and don’t have insurance then it can be like trying to get blood out of a stone.

It’s hard to believe that this could be the case, but hair dressers don’t have to have ‘negligence’ insurance, only employee liability and cover for you as a client visiting the building they operate from.

After that, there are no obligations on a hair dresser to take out any other form of insurance at all.

So my client found themselves, injured, with hair loss and other problems, only to face suing the hair dressers themselves for alleged negligence, and to face the prospect of chasing down personal assets if they were successful. In one case this was impossible as the hair dresser had gone bankrupt, and in the another the client faced the prospect of winning the case, but then failing to recover any compensation ordered or the expense of taking the case to court.

Most of the time hairdressers do have an extended policy on insurance covering such claims, but its better to be safe than sorry and ask them upfront, especially if it’s your first time there and you are considering hair dyeing or other intensive chemical treatment.

If you do find yourself suffering in this way, I’m happy that you contact myself or my colleague Rebecca Brough. Perhaps the easiest way to do it is to fill out this simple personal injury contact form and we’ll let you know free of charge whether we think you have a claim or not.

Post script

IN THE NEWS

APIL hairdressing campaign begins in Wales

APIL recently conducted a survey of Welsh hair salons to find out how many undertake skin tests on clients before they have their hair dyed.

This week, Welsh national newspaper Wales on Sunday ran a story on the results, which revealed 84 per cent of salons surveyed by APIL in Wales will dye hair without following the dye manufacturer’s instructions.

Wales on Sunday has a circulation of 35,000 readers. The story has since been picked up by other Welsh newspapers, boosting APIL’s campaign to highlight the lack of regulation in the hairdressing industry.

APIL chief executive, Denise Kitchener, said: “While there are many reputable salons out there, others have a careless attitude towards the safety of their customers.”