Girl Suffers Chemical Burns on Scalp After Salon Leaves Bleach on For 3 Hours

With Chinese New Year coming up, many people are looking to refresh their tired old tresses for a whole new look.

However, this unlucky Singaporean girl, Rachele Tan, suffered chemical burns on her scalp while getting her hair bleached and coloured. 

She shared her experience on Facebook to warn others about her terrible experience and the dangers of incorrect hair-bleaching. On January 11, Tan went to the salon to get her hair done after she saw the salon’s advertisement on Facebook.

As she opted for a silver and blue ombré hair, she had to go through four rounds of bleaching to get it light enough for her desired hair colour.

That was when her experience started to go bad as the stylist applied the bleach on her hair and even her roots. She left it on for at least three hours without washing it off before reapplying another round!

Now, anyone who has done bleaching before would know that it is a very harsh chemical and the bleach is only supposed to be left in the hair for about 40 minutes. It would be really painful if you leave it on for too long! She paid S$468 (RM1,400) for the whole package, which includes colour, treatment and hair cut. Tan said,

“I asked my stylist how come it doesn’t need to be washed off first before reapplying. She actually replied, ‘different method’. This horrible salon just kept reapplying layer after layer of bleach.”

“After finally washing it off and applying the silver dye, my scalp was extremely red and burning. I told the stylist but she said it’s normal because of the chemicals. Even the other girl getting her hair done next to me was also complaining about the burning sensation and it being unbearable.”

She only realised something was terribly wrong after she got home and felt that her scalp was moist. After careful inspection, she found that her scalp was red and oozing with pus, which are signs of chemical burns. Feeling uncomfortable and itchy, Tan couldn’t take it and went to the doctor for medication to stop the itching.

Although she loved the final result, she was supremely dissatisfied with the process and reached out to the hair salon to inform them of the issue. She messaged and commented on their social media accounts, but to her surprise, they blocked her and renamed both their accounts! Eh, how come?

Finally, the salon contacted Tan through WhatsApp and tried to get her to take down her Facebook post while offering compensation. After some back-and-forth, the salon finally gave Tan S$526 (RM1,574) to reimburse her hair colour package, S$29 (RM86) for her doctor’s visit and an extra S$29 (RM86) for future medical treatment.

However, the salon ended things with a slightly threatening message at the end as they paid her the compensation.

Tan ends her post saying that she just wants to raise awareness about incorrect bleaching methods and for businesses to be held responsible for their customers.

Luckily she’s fine now, but just remember to do proper research next time if you want to bleach your hair, people!

 

Also read: Woman Forced to Go Bald After Dyeing Hair 4 Times in Salon