Chemical Burn from Foil Highlight

A customer is claiming she recieved a chemical burn in my salon but I don’t think it is the correct diagnosis. She claimed that several days after she recieved a foil highlight with bleach she noticed a bald spot in her hair. She was not burned on the skin and the hair is not broken off but a bald spot is present. She felt nothing unusual during the service but insists it is from the foil. Is it possible we are responsible even with no scalp irritation or does it seem more likely there is another explanation.

Your question is a delicate matter in terms of liability and almost certainly will have legal implications. All chemicals and or medications may have a potential for side effects. It is impossible to know the cause of your customer’s hair loss without examining her scalp and hair. We all look for a cause and effect relationship, but sometimes the two may not be related and be serendipitous in terms of cause and effect. It is possible that the bald spot was there at the time of the bleaching (and not noticed) or that it would have developed, even without bleaching. Unfortunately, this person has control over what they will do about the bald spot. Aggressive lawyers may see $$$ while a doctor may look for a diagnosis like alopecia areata. The decision on her response is clearly out of your hands. In conclusion, there may or may not be a relationship with the bleaching she underwent. Even if there is a relationship, you may have done nothing wrong.