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Death Potentially caused by Hair Extension Glue

2012-02-09T00:55:00.001-08:00

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

2011-12-07T06:36:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-02T01:18:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-01T09:23:00.001-08:00

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

2011-11-30T07:36:00.001-08:00

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.

Skin Deep; The Business of Beauty

2011-11-15T02:14:00.001-08:00

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.

Extreme Allergic Reactions to hair dye could cause death

2011-10-14T00:33:00.001-07:00

The news of the recent tragic death of 17 year old Tabitha McCourt published in the Daily Mail addressed the risks of using hair dye. It is believed Tabitha suffered an extreme allergic reaction to the dye just 20 minutes after applying the product to her hair.

This was the second story published by the Mail in recent weeks on severe allergic reaction to home hair dyes. Earlier in the month the Mail ran the story of Mariade Kelly who ended up in a hospital high dependency unit after using a home hair dye.

Allergic reactions to hair dye can develop at any time even if you have used the same products for years. The chemical para-phenylenediamine (PPD) which is a common allergen banned in many European countries is one of the likely causes of the allergic reaction suffered by Mrs Kelly.

PPD remains in many products on the

market, it has been linked to a number of severe allergic reactions. It is toxic to the immune system, skin, liver, kidneys and respiratory system. It is a skin sensitizer which can stimulate the nervous system to cause a variety of allergic reactions.

The risks of dying hair for men

2011-10-07T04:40:00.001-07:00

More men are turning to hair dye to keep the greys at bay. Many men use progressive over the counter products, as the change in colour is gradual and less noticeable.

A risk with these products is that many of them contain lead acetate which is a known carcinogen. The levels within these products are very low but can still have adverse effects, these products should not be used on facial hair or broken skin as irritation and redness will likely develop.

This has resulted in many men turning to female hair dye or to a professional to achieve the desired outcome. It is becoming less of embarrassing subject for men with more men including celebrities like Wayne Rooney admitting that they have turned to the services of professionals to hide their greys.

There is of course always risk with having hair dyed, we would suggest that you undergo skin and strand test before any products are applied to your hair as your hair may not be able to withstand the processing.

Hair can quite easily be over processed by dying resulting in hair breakage and damage to the hair follicles, which could leave you with bald patches, dry hair, hair of varying lengths and damage to your scalp.

Hair Transplant Surgery; Is it worth the risk?

2011-10-04T00:39:00.000-07:00

Wayne Rooney underwent a much publicised hair transplant during the summer which seems to have taken quite well for the Manchester United striker. Rooney even recently had his new locks dyed brown as he was concerned about going grey.

Hair transplanting is a cosmetic procedure which is ever growing in popularity, the procedure harvests individual hair follicles from other parts of the scalp and transplants then into the balding area, the surgery can take hours to perform. Not only does the procedure take a long time but patients of the procedure will not know for in the region of 3 months if the transplant has been successful.

As with any surgical procedure there are risks; the follicle may die and the transplant may not take, the transplant can leave scarring and the hair growth maybe unnatural.

There is also the possibility of a mistake by the surgeon such as the grafts being to large, the hairline being placed in the wrong place, the hair being placed in the wrong direction or you could be left with a large disfiguring scar.

If you have undergone a hair transplant and are not happy with the outcome, please contact Martyn Trenerry on 01708 784042 to discuss the possibility of making a claim.

The Risks of the Brazilian Blow Dry

2011-09-30T02:13:00.001-07:00

The Brazilian Blow Dry which is loved by celebrities such as Nicole Richie and Lindsey Lohan is often sold to customers as a keratin boosting straightening treatment which contains no chemicals and helps to improve the health of your hair.

One of the biggest issue with this product is that it may contain formaldehyde a known carcinogen, many products on the European market brand themselves as being ‘formaldehyde free’ but this is not technically correct. Although they do not contain formaldehyde in its purest form they do contain other chemicals such as Methylene Oxide which when combined with the processing involved in a Brazilian Blow dry have the same toxic effects as formaldehyde.

We have represented clients whom have suffered adverse effects from the process including; allergic reactions, hair breakage and the severe drying out of the hair.

The heat that the hair is exposed to during this process can easily cause irreversible damage, with the only outcome being that the hair will need to be cut off and allowed to re-grow again. If you have shoulder length hair then this re-growth could take in the region of 3 years.

Not only is it the customers whom are at risk from this treatment but also hair dressers, the steam that is produced during the straightening process is potentially harmful. In the

a class action including 200 people is being pursued against the makers of the Brazilian Blowout all of whom have suffered damage to their health from the product.

Hair Dye Gone Wrong claim achieves settlement of £5250.00

2011-09-19T02:14:00.000-07:00

Martyn Trenerry a Member of Mullis & Peake LLP and head of the Litigation and Personal Injury Department recently achieved a settlement of £5250.00 for Miss Charlotte Jones for damaged caused to her hair by a Nottingham hair Salon.

As recently reported on Daybreak and in the Daily Telegraph, Miss Jones attended the salon to have her brown hair bleached a caramel blonde colour similar to Nicole Richie’s. She underwent 11 hours of treatment including five separate bleaching treatments, the first of which turned her hair orange.

The final result was that she ended up with hair that was frazzled and straw like and she said that she ‘looked like a scarecrow’. Miss Jones hair also fell out in clumps. Miss Jones was advised by a specialist to shave her hair completely off to allow it to re-grow from scratch. Some two years later Miss Jones hair has now re-grown to shoulder length.

If you have suffered injuries as a result of treatment at a hair salon or by a mobile hair dresser then please contact Martyn Trenerry on 01708 784042 or Holly Nichols on 01708 784066 whom will be able to advise on your claim

The Pink Hair Dye Fad

2011-09-19T02:12:00.002-07:00

The new hair fad as recently modelled by Katy Perry, Fearne Cotton and Amber Rose Le Bon as seen in this weeks Look magazine of dying hair pink can be damaging to hair

As with dying hair any colour the processing of the hair involved in the procedure can weaken and dry out the hair follicle. This can cause the hair to become dry and break off. Other possible side effects which can be caused by the dying of hair include allergic reaction, skin irritation, scalp burns and hair loss

Many people are surprised to find out that even if they have been dying their hair for years they can develop a reaction at anytime, this is especially more likely where a new colour dye is used due to the different chemical used in the dyes.

Hair Lawyers Settlement Publicises the Need for Regulation of the Hair Dressing Industry

2011-09-19T02:12:00.000-07:00

The settlement achieved in Miss Charlotte Jones favour as recently reported in The Sun, The Mirror and Daily Express re-raises the issue of the lack of regulation in the hair dressing industry.

Our client’s hair was severely damaged when a trainee hair dresser at a Nottingham Salon attempted to dye her hair from Brown to Blonde. The salon initially refused to accept liability for the damaged as they considered that the hair dresser was not an employee and therefore their insurance did not cover the trainee. Eventually and after a lot of legal wrangling the salon admitted liability for the damaged caused to Miss Jones and agreed on settlement.

Hair Dressers in the UK are currently unregulated so anyone even without any qualifications can open a Salon.

A person with a hair colour similar to Miss Jones should have been advised by the salon that is was not possible to make such a dramatic change in colour to her hair without causing damage.

In addition to this, Salons should carry out strand test each and every time clients have their hair dyed. This will test the hairs ability to withstand the processing that it is about to undergo. In many cases this is a pre-requisite to the salons insurance policy.

Regulation of the Hair Dressing Industry

2011-09-01T01:45:00.000-07:00

There has been recent call for the Hair dressing industry to become regulated following a campaign by Melanie Kenny whom suffered injury as a result of a reaction to hair dye.

As it currently stands the hair dressing industry is completed unregulated meaning that anyone with or without qualifications can call themselves a hairdresser. The hope is that with the regulation of the industry hairdressers would have to register to a governing body which will lead to standards of practice, eliminate unqualified and inexperienced practitioners and result in fewer injuries.

A full page feature in the Manchester Evening News recently told the story of Melanie Kenny whom suffered an extreme allergic reaction to hair dye, which resulted in her face becoming swollen and causing her to become temporarily blind in one eye. This all could have bee avoided if a skin test had been performed by the salon prior to the dye being applied. Mrs Kenny was awarded compensation of £3500.00.

Hair Lawyers has a blog!

2011-07-05T13:08:00.000-07:00

STOP PRESS! Welcome to our new blogger page!

Please feel free to come back anytime to view our latest blogs.