Hair cuts: Up to 30 people a year report lacerations at the salon or barber

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

Figures released to the Herald by Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) under the Official Information Act (OIA) 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 “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 upward of $28,000.

The release of figures comes weeks 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 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”.

Emergency physician Dr Gary Payinda had not seen any people cut at the salon in the emergency department and suspected most were seen by GPs.

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

“We do see people come in with chemical burns and severe reactions to a hair colour or treatment,” he said.

Payinda thought some of the ACC claims could be from lacerations that had become infected and needed follow-up medical treatment.

Depending on hygiene standards at salons, there could be bacteria on blades that could be transferred into any accidental cuts.

There have been 155 new ACC claims and 141 active claims from people who have suffered lacerations at the hair salon or barber since 2018. Photo / File

A second doctor spoken to by the Herald confirmed she had treated patients for clipper lacerations that had become infected and needed either topical or oral antibiotics.

Hairdressers spoken to by the Herald were surprised at the number of injuries annually in NZ that required medical attention.

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

Kirsty Wynn is an Auckland-based journalist with more than 20 years experience in New Zealand newsrooms. She has covered everything from crime and social issues to the property market and consumer affairs.