| PREVENTING DERMATITIS - THE GLOVES ARE ON! |
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The Gloves are ON!! Wearing the correct type of gloves and using moisturiser will protect your hands from the ravages of dry skin and dermatitis. That’s the message from government health officials and hairdressing industry bodies, including Salon Strategies and HABIA.
Dermatitis is a painful skin condition that occurs when the protective layer of the skin is broken leading to redness, irritation, cracking and blistering. Hairdressers are particularly vulnerable because of frequent exposure to products like shampoos, hair-dyes, hair relaxers and prolonged wet-work. The picture opposite shows allergic contact dermatitis on a hairdresser’s hands.  Up to 70% of Great Britain’s hairdressers suffer skin damage and over half of them will suffer from dermatitis at some point during their career. This is bad for business and unnecessary when simple, effective routine precautions can prevent this debilitating disease:
Because better health means better business, Salon Strategies is working with the HSE and London local authorities to help promote salon health and safety. Local authority officers in London will be visiting hairdressing and beauty salons to advise owners and managers on what they can do to prevent dermatitis. Indy Rihal from the British Skin Foundation: “Hairdressers are prone to contact dermatitis because they are in constant contact with irritants that strip the skin of its natural oils. The skin will then become red, sore and scaly with tiny water blisters. Even when the condition has not flared up, sufferers’ skin will appear hard, dry and cracked, particularly around the joints. We recommend that you look after the skin on your hands by wearing gloves and moisturising frequently.” Glove trials involving hairdressers have shown that they prefer non-latex nitrile and vinyl type gloves. Latex gloves can trigger severe allergies – avoid using them. Demand that your supplier stock these gloves or shop elsewhere! Further information is available on the HSE ‘Skin at Work’ web site: http://www.hse.gov.uk/skin/index.htm or you can phone the HSE Infoline: 0845 345 0055. CASE STUDYMaxine had been a hairdresser for over 22 years and even owned her own salon for five of them. She left work to have a family but 18 months after her return to the salon she spotted a rash on the back of her hands which she initially ignored. However, her hands swelled up and starting cracking and this spread all over her body, resulting in infection.Her symptoms got so bad that she was forced to use steroid creams. Not only was her career that she loved becoming a struggle but her home life was also suffering. Simple tasks such as washing dishes or peeling potatoes, onions or fruit, was irritating her skin and even bathing the children was causing her immense pain. Maxine now resorts to applying the strongest of steroid creams but doesn’t use them on a daily basis as it thins her skin. She wears gloves the majority of the time, especially when washing clients’ hair. |
