The Hairdressing Claims Blog

02/01/2020

Woman with chemical burns undergoes recovery hair transplant
Chemical burn injury from hair dyeing

As reported recently in the Daily Mail, 25-year-old trainee chef, Izi Corner, suffered a chemical burn at the hairdresser’s whilst having her hair bleached and dyed pink.

Izi visited a Manchester-based salon, the sister branch of a hairdresser’s she’s used previously and been pleased with the results, in 2016 when aged 22. Although she’d used home hair dyes several times and never before experienced any issues, Izi decided to choose the more responsible option of getting her hair dyed by a professional stylist and didn’t expected to encounter problems.

At the beginning of her salon appointment, Izi was warned that she may feel some discomfort resulting from the bleach but was assured of the normality of this. However, once the bleach was applied and she was sat under a heat lamp, Izi’s pain levels rose to such an extent that she alerted staff and had the bleach rinsed off with cold water.

As the burn area was located at the back of her head, Izi couldn’t see the damage herself, and was comforted by the salon staff asserting that everything was fine and recommending that she continue with her treatment. After her hair was dyed and styled, she was charged £35, instead of £70, as a goodwill gesture in recompense for distress endured.

But Izi’s suffering continued at home later that evening when she noticed the burn patch was weeping and the hair around it was clumping together. Despite her best attempts at limiting damage by not washing or styling her hair the next day, when she did finally wash it the following day the pink dye washed out and the scab fell off thereby exposing an infected wound underneath.

A trip to the hospital and doctor’s surgery ensued with Izi being prescribed antibiotics by Trafford General Hospital, and cream and dressings by her GP. In time, Izi was referred to a trichologist – a specialist hair and scalp dermatologist – who gave her the details of the Farjo Hair Institute in Manchester.

The team at Farjo gave Izi a hair transplant on the burn site which cost £2,500 funded by compensation received from her hairdresser. Izi must now wait for a year to see how her scalp reacts to the transplant and ascertain if a second or third procedure is needed.

Izi is quoted as saying initially: “The physical pain was agony – I wouldn’t wish it on anybody… [I was] going to shave all my hair off. For my hair to suddenly fall out like that was really quite a shock, and it shouldn’t have happened.”

Following the corrective procedure by Farjo, Izi concluded: “I feel much better knowing that Farjo Hair Institute are able to help.”

What does a burn injury look like?

Unfortunately, hair dyeing and other chemical treatments can result in burns if mishandled by negligent hairdressers. Chemical burns are extremely painful and can cause other debilitating physical and mental symptoms. Long-term damage is not unusual.

We’ve written about hair damage and scalp burns, and the amount of compensation you can expect to receive from injuries of this nature, elsewhere on our website. Read more here.

How do I pursue a legal claim?

Another subject we’ve covered in earlier blog posts is how to go about the somewhat daunting task of making a claim against your hairdresser with the help of a legal expert. Take a look here.

If you’ve had a similar incident to Izi, don’t suffer in silence. Get in touch with us in complete confidence by emailing enquiries@hairdressingclaims.co.uk, calling 0800 970 9102 from a landline for free, phoning 0333 202 6560 from a mobile or completing our online enquiry form. We promise to stand by your side and provide all the support you need to pursue a legal claim.

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