Is My Salon Liable for My Hair Damage

Is My Salon Liable for My Hair Damage

A person’s hair is their crowning glory. It has been relatively common for people to spend hundreds of pounds on beautifying their hair. In response to this demand, salons offer a wide range of services such as hair colouring, perming, and straightening or curling, among many others.

Although these treatments aim to make your hair appear better than before, there are an unfortunate few instances where customers suffer the fate of botched hair treatments. Salon services gone wrong are often caused by incompetent or inexperienced beauticians, faulty equipment, and the use of harmful chemicals, to name some common causes.

Besides the shame brought by horribly damaged hair and potential physical wounds, victims of this fate may feel angry over the salon tragedy. Thankfully, in most cases, salons can be sued for the misconduct as they are legally answerable for the incident: and your damaged hair is more than enough evidence to support the claim.

When is your salon liable?

As a business, your salon has no exemption from the laws. Employees are expected to be qualified to do the job, equipment is required to be compliant to specific safety standards, and hair treatment used, like hair colours, bleach, or hair chalk, should also have passed safety tests conducted by the authorities.

Customers of the business are therefore, by law, deemed to be safe, unless you and the salon entered an agreement, in writing, that you accept the risks of contracting the services as otherwise specified. More often than not, no person will expressly agree to have his or her hair treated if there are risks.

Salons are therefore liable for hair damage claims if they violate your right as an unassuming customer. Nobody would compromise their safety. Salons that place you at risk without your permission may, therefore, be subject to legal action, and charges accordingly.

Check your safety

Unless you completely trust your salon, you should conduct specific safety checks before you sit on a parlour chair. Here is a brief list of questions that can guide you in doing this:

  • Are the beauticians equipped with safety and sanitary gear (hair nets, gloves, and the like)?
  • Do their equipment and products have stickers issued by the General Product Safety Regulation or Health and Safety Executive?
  • Is the salon area sanitary?
  • Do they have their business permits and other legal documents posted?
  • What are the experiences of previous customers?
  • What do people say about this salon (testimonials online)?

Common causes of hair damage include misuse of hair colour or bleach or use of unapproved and therefore unsafe chemicals (like straightening treatment). In worse cases, victims not only incur hair damage but also sustain physical wounds like burns and cuts which are caused by mishandling hair irons or scissors.

Helping others and yourself

If you are a victim of hair damage by a salon, remember that filing a claim not only helps yourself in recovering or getting the medical aid that you need; this also helps other victims as your case will boost the credibility of theirs against a salon.