GINGERS ONLY DATING SITE LAUNCHES DEBATE ON WHETHER RED HAIR IS A CURSE OR A BLESSING?

A new dating website called Top Carrots has been launched to cater for redheads looking for redheads, or for those with another colour hair who are keen to date those with ginger locks.

The launch of the site has attracted a lot of press attention with the creator of the site being featured on This Morning and in numerous newspapers including the Daily Mail.

The site has provoked much, often heated debate as to whether red hair is a curse or blessing. Rebeckah Vaughan, the Big Brother 2012 contestant says she was bullied and her life made hell because of her ginger locks.

However red hair is seemingly the colour of the moment with Prince Harry, Ed Sheeran and Rupert Grint flying the flag for natural gingers. Many celebrities like Christina Hendricks, Cheryl Cole and Amy Childs can only follow suit and go red by choice.

Death Potentially caused by Hair Extension Glue

In the Evening Standard on the 2^nd February 2012, it was reported how a fun loving clubber collapsed and died after a suspected allergic reaction to glue in her hair extensions.

The tragic case was before the Southwark Coroners Court who were told how she had suffered an anaphylactic shock, which could have been caused by the latex glue she used to attach her extensions to her natural hair.

Pathologist Dr Michael Heath who conducted the post mortem, said ‘I have seen cases where people use solvents to apply hair pieces which can cause an anaphylactic reaction. There are about 10 to 20 deaths in this country, many more in America. I have seen four in the last three months. Whether latex got into her system through perspiration is a possibility. An analysis was not able to identify the specific cause of the reaction’

If you have suffered injuries as a result of treatment at a hair salon or by a mobile hair dresser or you are a hair dresser that has suffered with damaged to your health as a result of your job then please contact Martyn Trenerry on 01708 784042 or Holly Nichols on 01708 784066 who will be able to advise on your claim

Counterfeit goods and the Damage they can cause

Buyer beware should be the philosophy at the front of your mind when Christmas shopping this year. The internet has made it much easier for counterfeit goods to be sold to unsuspecting purchasers.

Hair straighteners are one of those products that are now being counterfeited. It was reported that a member of the public who purchased branded straighteners believing them to real later suffered considerable damage to her hair.

As the goods are counterfeit this hugely limits her potential in being able to bring a claim for the injury she has suffered from this product. The manufacturers will not be liable as they did not produce the goods and it is likely to be very difficult to be able to locate the seller.

APIL comments on Regulation of the Hairdressing Industry

Following Martyn Trenerry attendance at a reception at the House of Commons hosted by David Morris MP who introduced a 10 minute Bill promoting better regulation of the hairdressing industry. Deborah Evans, Chief Executive of The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers has made the following statement

 “Terrible injuries, including chemical burns, anaphylactic reactions, scarring and blood poisoning are too frequent for the hairdressing industry to continue to be left to its own devices. As a result of Parliament’s failure to act we will unfortunately continue to see these injuries in their hundreds each year. For MPs to dismiss this issue so quickly is very disappointing.

We can hope that, at the very least, the Bill has made people aware of the risks carried by particular treatments so they will seek to visit a qualified, professional hairdresser who can handle them with the expertise they need and deserve.”

STATE REGISTRATION FOR HAIR DRESSERS: THE FACTS

Martyn Trenerry, specialist personal injury solicitor, president of the Trichological Society and founder of HairLawyers recently attended a reception at the House of Commons hosted by David Morris MP who has introduced a 10 minute Bill promoting better regulation of the hairdressing industry. The event was supported by the Hair Council

The following information is extracted from the Hair Council’s Leaflet.

• Hair dressing has a £5 billion turnover
• There are 245,000 people working in the  hairdressers industry in the UK- that 1% of the total UK workforce
• There are 34,000 salons
• There are 38.8 million consumers
• Most consumers believe hairdressers have to be qualified before they can practise on the public and are shocked when they find out this is not the case
• Outside of family members, women now rank hairdressers as one of the top five professionals they confide in alongside their doctor, nurse and priest.
• Hairdressers are expected to use dangerous chemicals to achieve a desired look.

YET THE HAIR DRESSING INDUSTRY IS COMPLETELY UNREGULATED

Unlike other 'hands on' industries ranging from doctors, nurses, dentists, chirop­odists and dentist hygienists, hairdressing stands alone in being unregulated. Other profession such as gas fitters, taxi drivers and electricians all have a regis­ter of qualified practitioners. Hairdressers should be drawn into line with these other professions

The Current Situation

Currently anybody without a single day's training can set up as a hair­dresser, open a salon and practise on the public. They can employ other unqualified hairdressers who also practise on the public using chemicals that can ruin lives. They can even show the new unqualified hairdressers what to do without really knowing themselves.

There is currently an Act of Parliament (The Hairdressers Registration Act 1964) where qualified hairdressers can voluntarily become regis­tered. Currently there are only 5% of hairdressers on the register. Despite this, the entire hairdressing industry are behind the campaign for regis­tration.

What the Hairdressing Council are campaigning for

The Hairdressing Council are campaigning for the current Act to have a simple update to make it mandatory for all those coming into the hair­dressing industry to be taught to a standard where they are competent in whatever aspect of hairdressing they carry out. David Morris MP is a member of the Hairdressing Council and is looking for support for his ten minute Bill - the first step to achieve this.

Those already practising in the Hairdressing industry would need to join the register when moving work place either through qualification or time service proof. Anyone new joining the industry would have to be quali­fied.

Benefits to Mandatory Registration

The Hairdressing industry will be seen as the profession it is - one to be proud to work in. The consumer will have the knowledge that the person doing their hair has been trained to a required standard

It would prevent those who wish to practise on the public, without any training, doing so.

MP CALLS FOR REGISTRATION OF HAIRDRESSERS

A Bill that seeks to regulate the hair dressing industry has been introduced to the House of Commons by a Lancashire MP.

David Morris, Tory MP and former hair dresser tabled a 10 minute rule debate on the 30^th November. The 10 minute rule debate allows backbench Members of Parliament 10 minutes to put forward proposals for new bills to be introduced to the commons for a first reading.

The MP wants hairdressers, who use potentially harmful chemicals which can cause injury to their clients, to be registered in the same way as gas fitters, taxi drivers and electricians.

The present position is that anyone can open a salon and start trading as a hair dresser without training, regulation or insurance. At the moment of the estimated 250,000 hair dressers in practice only 6000 of them are registered with the British Hairdressing Council (BHC). Registration with the BHC requires hairdressers to have NVA level 2 qualifications.

If the Bill is successful it would mean that only qualified hair dressers could practice and those guilty of malpractice and negligence could be struck off.

If you have suffered injuries as a result of treatment at a hair salon or by a mobile hair dresser or you are a hair dresser that has suffered with damaged to your health as a result of your job then please contact Martyn Trenerry on 01708 784042 or Holly Nichols on 01708 784066 who will be able to advise on your claim

Skin Deep; The Business of Beauty

A recent episode of the new BBC3 programme Skin Deep; the Business of Beauty presented by Jessica Jane Clement of “I’m a Celebrity Get me out of Here” addressed the issue of the lack of regulation in the beauty industry.

The programme highlighted the experiences of two women who were injured as a result of poorly performed beauty treatment. One suffered scalp damage due to a hair weave whilst the other women suffered scarring as a result of a dermal piercing.

Traction alopecia can occur where a weave is performed to tightly then this can lead to the hair being pulled out of the scalp, pulling with it the scalp tissue. This can lead to permanent scarring which may result in the hair being unable to re-grow in these areas.

If you have suffered injuries as a result of treatment at a hair salon or by a mobile hair dresser or you are a hair dresser that has suffered with damaged to your health as a result of your job then please contact Martyn Trenerry on 01708 784042 or Holly Nichols on 01708 784066 who will be able to advise on your claim