Our client, Miss J, visited her local hair salon in Cheshire to have her hair bleached and coloured using a balayage technique, with dark blonde roots fading into a lighter shade towards the ends of her hair.
Unfortunately, her hairdresser failed to perform a strand test or a patch test prior to carrying out the treatment. The stylist also failed to check our client’s hair during the treatment. Consequently, she was left with significant damage to her hair and scalp caused by the negligent application of bleach.
Our client’s injuries included numerous chemical burns and blisters to her scalp resulting in erythema (a skin reaction – read more here). The hair at the nape of her neck was also severely burnt leading to hair breakage and loss. The stylist attempted to cover the damage they had caused by smothering a large amount of oil in our client’s hair before she left the salon.
When our client reported her injuries, the salon denied any wrong-doing and said the client must have done something at home after the appointment to cause the damage. This was a false allegation entirely rejected by our client, who was left in pain, with damaged hair and wondering what to do. She researched whether she would be able to sue her hairdresser and found us online. She phoned us to see if she might have a compensation claim against the salon and we agreed to investigate her claim on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis.
Our team of expert solicitors instructed a leading hair and scalp expert (known as a trichologist) to examine our client and prepare evidence in support of her claim. The trichologist confirmed that our client’s hair was severely damaged, and it would take approximately 40 months before the hair would regrow to its healthy state. The expert trichologist also supported our client’s version of events and agreed that the damage had been caused by the negligent hairdresser.
The defendant hairdresser still refused to take responsibility for the damage caused to our client’s hair and declined to engage us. We therefore advised Miss J to take formal court action against the salon. We supported our client throughout the court process and on the day of the trial we settled her claim for £6,300.00.
We were delighted to secure this compensation for our client and whilst money can never put right an injury, our client was pleased that the defendant was made to face the consequences of their mistakes. Hopefully, they will be more careful in future, which is why this accountability is so important.
You can read more about making a hairdressing compensation claim here or read more about suing a hair salon here.
If your hairdresser has caused you an injury such as dry and brittle hair, burns, bald patches or irritation to the scalp, we would be happy to hear from you. Please contact our specialist hairdressing compensation solicitors today on 0800 141 3682 for a free no obligation discussion or complete our enquiry form. We represent clients nationally from our Cheshire offices in Cheadle Hulme (Stockport) and Kelsall (Tarporley).