Hair Salon Trainee Causes Client To Suffer Neck Injuries

Case Overview

The case involves a male hair salon client that suffered an injury to his head and neck while his hair was being washed. While the stylist was washing the client’s hair, the man’s head and neck were pressed down on the rim of the sink which had no padding or protection of any kind. The man felt a sharp pain in the right side of his neck and head. He complained that he was in pain and was dizzy, but the stylist continued to wash his hair. As a result, an artery in the man’s neck became torn from hyperextension causing severe pain and inability to work. The stylist who washed the man’s hair was a new trainee who had started at the hair salon only 3 weeks before the incident. It was alleged that the salon did not adequately train the new stylist to provide safe hair-washing care to clients.

Questions to the Business expert and their responses

Please briefly describe your work training hairdressers.

I have 29 years of experience as a beauty school director. I directly oversee the training of students at the beauty school and my own salon. In addition, 8 out of the 9 staff members at my salon were personally trained by me.

What steps must be taken when washing a client's hair?

Although I do not normally use padding on the sink edge, there needs to be proper draping of a towel around the neck area and a waterproof shampoo cape in order to create a cushion for the neck.

Is applying downward pressure to the client's head during washing proper practice? Please explain.

It is hard to imagine someone using an extensive amount of pressure and this should not be done. I have reviewed many cases while serving on the disciplinary review committee.

About the expert

This expert has three decades of experience in the beauty career training field. He received his AB in Business Administration from Grambling State University and is a licensed cosmetologist and certified master trainer. He is a member of the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, has been featured in the Tress Documentary: Hair Culture in 2013, and has won the Cosmetology Educator of the Year Award in 2006 from the West Coast Hairstyling Competition. Currently, he serves on the disciplinary review committee of the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology. Additionally, he is the owner of a salon and the school director of a beauty college, both in California.