Hairdressers exposed to many respiratory problems

Nasal congestion, dry cough, wheezing, fatigue and lack of energy affect many female hairdressers. Just one month after returning from holiday, their quality of life has decreased drastically as a result of working environment problems. This was made evident in a study from Lund University.

“Many people have dreamt of becoming a hairdresser ever since they were young. If they experience any problems caused by their working environment they try to adapt to them but it can be very difficult”, explains Kerstin Kronholm Diab. She is a regional environmental nurse at the Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at Region Skåne as well as a researcher at Lund University.

In both capacities she has worked extensively with hairdressers and the problems they encounter in their working environment, particularly the respiratory problems caused by bleaches, hair dyes and sprays. Hairdressers have a significantly higher risk of developing asthma, nasal congestion, dry cough and wheezing compared to the rest of the general population.

In an earlier study, Kerstin Kronholm Diab discovered that some of the hairdressers try to deal with the problem by taking a couple of days of holiday when their symptoms have become too severe; however, this means that they can seldom take long holidays.

“In one of our studies we wanted to observe a group of hairdressers who had returned from three weeks’ holiday, but we failed to find a sufficient number who had been off work for that length of time. Therefore, we had to change the terms to only two weeks’ holiday”, she explains.

The hairdressers were then observed over the course of a month, during which time the hairdressers who were bothered by bleaches experienced an increase in problems and, thus, a decline in their quality of life. On the other hand, the healthy hairdressers experienced an immediate improvement in their quality of life after a month at work.

“The hairdressers enjoy their occupation in many ways. They like the relationship with their customers, the sense of community with colleagues and that their job offers a lot of freedom and scope for creativity. I imagine this is why even the hairdressers who suffer from respiratory problems wish to continue working in the profession”, says Kerstin Kronholm Diab.

The vast majority of hairdressers in Sweden are female and self-employed. Many hair salons are owned by one of the hairdressers, while the rest of the staff rent their working space. The unclear responsibility for the working environment along with the hairdressers’ low affiliation with the unions and occupational health services makes it difficult to deal with these problems, which can require expensive investments.

“Some hairdressers try to protect themselves through the use of a fan or respirator mask. However, the fan does not provide much help as it only blows the chemicals around the room and the respirator mask can be off-putting to customers. The best solution is to install a good ventilation system in the salon and a fume hood in the room where hair dyes are mixed”, explains Kerstin Kronholm Diab.

It would be even better if the various hair products were milder. The road ahead is long, however, as we are still unsure as to which specific substances in hair chemicals cause the problems. For the time being, awareness should be raised among hairdressers, as well as teachers and pupils of hairdressing schools, regarding the importance of their working environment.

Text: Ingela Björk

Published: 2014