Chandigarh salon ordered to pay Rs 54,000 after woman suffers allergic reaction to hair colour

Indian Express

5 days ago

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission of Chandigarh has directed a salon in Chandigarh to pay Rs 54,000 to a Mohali woman for failing to provide the latter a first-aid kit or an ambulance to the hospital after she developed an allergic reaction to hair colour.
In her complaint, the woman stated that she went to Hair Masters Salon in Sector 9, Chandigarh, for hair colour services, and the salon recommended the services of its hairdresser Sahil Ali — their most skilled hairdresser. The complainant was informed that the cost for hair colouring by Sahil Ali would be Rs 12,000, and the cost for Botox would be Rs 5,900. The salon, thus, began the process of colouring the complainant's hair on March 10, 2023.
The complainant alleged that after the hair colour was applied, she started experiencing nausea, a feeling of sickness and an urge to vomit. Her condition worsened, and she began to vomit heavily due to an adverse reaction to the hair colour, she alleged.
'At this point, her mother asked the salon to arrange for an ambulance or cab to transport her daughter to the nearest hospital, but the salon declined to provide any assistance. The complainant's mother immediately took her to the nearest private hospital, CHD City Hospital, in Sector 8C, Chandigarh, and it was diagnosed that the complainant was suffering from multiple episodes of vomiting, abdominal pain and one episode of loose stool. These symptoms were due to an allergic reaction that the complainant underwent hair colouring treatment at the aforementioned salon,' the complaint reads.
The complainant said that after admission to the hospital for three days, she was finally discharged on March 12, 2023, after incurring a total amount of Rs 21,907 on medical treatment.
She, thus, submitted a formal complaint before the Consumer Commission.
The Hair Masters Salon in reply stated that the complainant, before initiation of the services, mentioned that she was already unwell and uneasy, and thus, the complainant was advised to cancel her appointment and come on another date. 'However, she insisted that she was fine and wanted to proceed with her hair colouring and other services as scheduled,' the salon stated, adding that the complainant was aware of her condition and chose to proceed with the treatments, indicating that her initial unease was not severe enough to deter her from continuing.
After hearing arguments, the Commission perused the medical prescription of the complainant and observed, 'It is clearly mentioned that the complainant had allergic reaction after hair colouring…using a variety of chemical products dyes, bleaches and other compounds, which can cause health problems to some of the persons receiving such treatments, as they have different sensitivities…'
'The salon did not have the first-aid kit or the SOS medication, nor did they arrange any taxi or ambulance service, while the complainant developed complications, such a negative attitude and lack of first aid services, definitely makes them deficient in providing services,' the Commission added.
The Commission, thus, directed the respondents in the case, Hair Masters Salon, Nadeem, Sahil Ali, and Jitender Kaur, all of Hair Masters Salon, to jointly refund an amount of Rs 17,900 to the complainant towards hair colour treatment and to pay Rs 21,907 expenditure incurred towards the treatment of complainant, Rs 7,500 as compensation and Rs 7,000 as costs of litigation.