What do trainee hairdressers know about hand dermatitis?

Abstract

Hand dermatitis is an important cause of morbidity in hairdressers. We conducted a questionnaire survey of 121 trainee hairdressers from 2 hairdressing colleges in Burnley (UK). The questionnaire concerned the number and types of hairdressing procedures performed, previous and current medical history, awareness of risks to the skin from hairdressing, and knowledge of hand dermatitis prevention. 17% of the trainees suffered currently from hand dermatitis. This is likely to be due to the large amount of wet work done by apprentice hairdressers, particularly those who worked in salons. 2/3 of trainees were not aware that atopic eczema predisposed to hand dermatitis. Formal pre-school and pre-employment counselling was limited. Knowledge on hand care among trainees was not often translated into practice, with gloves being worn by only 9% when shampooing and 58% when perming. Prevention of hand dermatitis by education and pre-employment counselling is of fundamental importance.

Knowledge of skin hazards and the use of gloves by Australian hairdressing students and practising hairdressers

“…A number of respondents also expressed concern that the gloves 'pulled' on wet hair, and occasionally the clients complained. A similar study from the United Kingdom also reported poor compliance with glove use, particularly when performing wet work (12). Hairdressers are exposed to numerous substances which are both skin irritants and allergens.…”

Skin health and safety at work in Croatian hairdressing apprentices

“…The majority of apprentices (91%) reported wearing protective gloves while dyeing hair, but a much smaller number of them reported wearing gloves for rinsing dye from the hair (45%) or for just washing the hair (4%). Similarly, hairdressing apprentices in the United Kingdom and Australia rarely wear gloves for washing hair (9% and 6.3%, respectively) (11,12), whereas the results for German and Danish apprentices are quite different (18.5% and 29.6-46.3%, respectively) (13,14). Our results are the worst in this list, suggesting poor knowledge and awareness of Croatian hairdressing apprentices, and probably their vocational teachers and tutors, regarding the irritant effects of wet work on skin and how it can be prevented by the use of protective gloves.…”

“…This represents a significant problem for young hairdressers, who can thus become unfit for work even before they graduate. The prevalence of work-related skin symptoms and the use of personal protective equipment among hairdressing apprentices was previously assessed in a few northern European countries and Australia (7,(11)(12)(13)(14), but not much in Croatia. The only study related to this issue indicated that Croatian hairdressers tend to wear protective gloves while working with chemicals for hair preparations and tool disinfection, but rarely when exposed to wet work (15).…”

Skin Protection at Work in Croatian Hairdressers (Results of the Evahair Questionnaire Developed Within the Eu Project „Safehair“)

“…Manje od polovice frizera educira se o zaštiti kože, a manje od petine o zaštiti dišnih puteva, mišića i zglobova, zaštiti materinstva i prevenciji stresa. Potrebu za boljom edukacijom frizera o zdravstvenim rizicima njihova radnog mjesta i mjerama zaštite na radu ne samo tijekom školovanja nego i kasnije, tijekom rada u salonima, ističu i istraživanja provedena u Ujedinjenom Kraljevstvu i Australiji (3,10,11). Studija Wonga i suradnika (13) potvrdila je povezanost više razine znanja o sigurnom postupanju s kemikalijama s pravilnijom i češćom primjenom mjera zaštite na radu u frizerskim salonima, potvrđujući važnost edukativnih programa o zaštiti na radu kao mjere primarne prevencije profesionalnih kožnih bolesti.…”