Cut above? Not all the time

Some people are walking away from the hairdresser with a fresh cut in more ways than one.

Figures released to the Weekend Herald by Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) under the Official Information Act show there are up to 30 new claims and more than 20 active claims annually from people who have been injured getting their hair done.

ACC searched using the keywords “hairdresser, barber and hair salon” in combination with words such as “cut, clipped, wound, slice, gash, nick, slash, graze, slit, scissor, clipper, stab, and puncture”. This revealed 155 new claims and 141 active claims since the beginning of 2018. The total cost to ACC of treatment for hair salon injuries was upwards of $28,000.

The release of figures comes after a mother claimed her 2-year-old son had part of his ear cut off during a trip to the barber.

The boy’s mother described it as one of the “most horrific experiences” and said it required treatment at Auckland’s Starship children’s hospital. The incident, which Worksafe is looking into, led to the sale of the barber shop.

A breakdown of the injuries recorded with ACC showed that while some people needed medical treatment, there were no fatal claims and no claims considered ‘serious’.

Dr Gary Payinda had not seen any patients who had been cut at a salon in the emergency department and suspected most were seen by general practitioners.

More common in ED were chemical burns and allergic reactions to hair colourants and straightening treatments, he said.

One barber said grazes from clippers and small cuts with sharp scissors were common but most were able to be handled in-chair with clean gauze and pressure.