A young Ballingry mum who had to shave off her hair after a horrifying visit to a salon is helping spearhead a campaign to regulate the hairdressing industry.
National consumer safety group APIL the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers is calling on the government to regulate the industry so that hairdressers are legally obliged to be properly qualified, and made to follow high standards of practice.
The case of mum-of-two Lisa Elliott (26) shows how quickly things can go wrong in the hairdresser’s chair.
She wanted to have her dyed black hair lightened to blonde for the first time. She visited the salon, which was not her usual hairdressers, a couple of days before and had a strand test to see how the bleach would take, but the hairdresser did not perform a skin test for allergies.
The strand test resulted in her hair turning an orangey-red colour.
Lisa was left under the heater with bleach on her hair for 75 minutes and her hair ended up a bright yellow, she said.
“I’d never had my hair bleached before so, as far as I knew, it was normal and I was in the hands of a professional,” she said.Burning”I’ve learned from speaking to other hairdressers since that one hour 15 is an incredibly long time, and that going from black to blonde shouldn’t be attempted in one go the hair should be gradually dyed over a few sessions,” she said.
Lisa added that, when the dye was being rinsed off, she was asked if she felt any burning and when she said yes was told that was normal.
“When I stepped outside, the cool air on my head felt amazing, my scalp was so hot,” she added.
After the bleaching, Lisa had asked for a bob cut but, as the stylist worked on her hair, pieces of it were breaking off.
More broke off in the days that followed and Lisa described her hair at the time as a “bird’s nest” and said when styling her hair her fringe “just fell off.”
Lisa’s usual hairdresser said her hair was damaged beyond repair and, eventually, after a trichologist told her the same thing, Lisa shaved her head.
Lisa was prescribed medicinal lotion from her doctor for the burns on her scalp and had a special shampoo from the doctor because her scalp was so sensitive.
Now, with her hair slowly growing back, Lisa said she hadn’t left the house for three months, apart from a break in Newcastle.
“It had a huge impact on my life,” she said. “I have two children to take care of but I was nervous about answering the door. I covered my head with hats.
“It affected my life in ways I wouldn’t have been able to imagine if someone had told me this would happen.”ReactionsThe campaign comes after APIL found almost all salons surveyed were failing to protect customers from potential allergic reactions to hair dyes.
They investigated salons in Dundee, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen to find how many require clients to undergo a skin allergy test before a colour treatment.
Only 5% of salons surveyed in Scotland required a skin test. None of the Dundee salons asked for such a test.
Skin testing for allergies involves administering a small amount of hair dye, or treatment chemical, to the skin at least 24 hours before the appointment.
Denise Kitchener, the chief executive of the not-for-profit organisation, said, “While there are some excellent hairdressers, we are really concerned that anyone can pick up a pair of scissors and set up a salon.
“This is putting consumers at risk, and we know from research among our members that hundreds of people have been injured in the past 12 months alone.”
She added, “We’ve heard some horrific stories from our members, including hospitalisation, depression, scarring, baldness, and even blindness.
“Asking clients to take this simple test prior to colouring could save a great deal of suffering.”