I realise this could potentially be a controversial question, but I was thinking about insurance for beauty and nail insurance and I wondered if there were any details about how many claims had been made against techs!

No tech I know has ever had a claim made against them or their insurance AND I DO NOT advocate just because our industry is (IMHO) a safe one to work in that we do not pay our subs!

So geeky ones a poll (which will not show geeks names) to ask whether or not you have had a claim against you (or perhaps even someone you know) NO NAMED PERSONS please!

I do not expect anyone to detail what has happened if they answered yes, but what I am hoping for is an honest poll that highlights that our industry is indeed, a low risk industry to work in! I am also interested as to whether my opinions are supported by others experiences!

Please please geeks, please do not vent with names on the thread if you want to respond - I don't want to get anyone into trouble

well debs....what an intresting thread this will be...i have had no claim,s against me (nor do i want to!!!!!!)....this will make intresting reading xxxx

I've not had a claim made against me, but I used to have a client who was an insurance claims bod! Some of the stories she told me made my hair curl, but she said that most claims in the hair and beauty industry were from hair bods using heat to speed up the colour process and causing chemical burns.

It's a subject I know nothing about, so maybe hair bods can say if this is a risk ... and it may just help prevent someone from having a claim made against them.

Thanks Sass that's just the sort of info I was hoping would be highlighted (pardon the pun )

It is this sort of info that helps us be aware of what may happen and is not meant to scare anyone - just help

I have never had any claims made against me or anyone that I know,but in the beauty industry I undertsand(from reading newspapers and mags)that the main cause for concern(claims made)seems to be from waxing and eyelash tinting.

I have read a couple of real horror stories,2 that stick(quite recently)was one from a lady having an eyelash tint without having a tint test done prior,who lost her eyesight and another was from a lady who had a severe burn as a result of wax being too hot,this turned into a secondary infection and the scars were hideous.

I think it's all too easy to be complacent about treatments and not taking H&S seriously enough,I have so many clients who have told me they have tinting done and have NEVER been asked to have a tint test done before(how scary is that??)I always tint test and date when it is done,if clients dont like it they can go elsewhere,I hope they value their eyesight enough to appreciate my reasons,shame there are many therapists that dont care.

We live in a world where people seem to be making claims left right and centre and I think it's a real shame when it's a genuine accident on the therapist,hairdresser or nail techs part and the client is straight down the law courts to make a fast buck where they can.We are only human and I think it's so important to try to remember the need to cover ourselves from every angle possible,i.e checking wax temp,carrying out tint tests every 6 months etc etc.

Hi

I voted yes but it was not a professional instance, we had a dog on the premises and a young girl was tormenting it and yes it bit her! So she claimed against me!

Funny though you should mention tint test's we had a hair client storm out today, we will do off scalp (weaves) colours without a test but insist on one for on scalp, she booked for weaves as this was explained on her making the appointment when she came in she tried to bully one of my staff into putting colour on her roots on scalp, she wouldnt do it so she janked her gown off and stormed out!!

We have had this with eye lash/brow tints too as there are loads of salons in my town who dont bother testing first!!

Yup, I've had people get huffy when I say I won't eyelash tint without a test - no matter how many times they've had it done elsewhere, if they haven't been with me then no tint!

I even had one woman say that she had just sat in the hairdressers with tint all over her hair "a tint's a tint" she said ... and then went on how she was the King of estheticians (she wasn't English) and had performed loads of eyelash tints and insisted she had one done that day. Stella, being the queen of diplomacy said, sorry but it's irrelevant as we are fully booked today and can't do it ... nice one so she had her test and came in a couple of days later and was as lovely as could be.

I've learned that clients cannot dictate to me how I run my business, it's my way or the highway!

You see this just shows total ignorance on the clients part,"king of Estheticians",well if she were that good at being a skin care specialist then why dosn't she know that different hair dyes and eyelash tints have different ingredients and that is why they may have had a tint in another salon but how are we to know if that tint is the same tint that we use??

I always point this out to any 'awkward clients' and then explain it's because we care about our clients and their welfare, that we refuse to do the tint on new clients without a tint test.Works wonders

Some will suggest signing a disclaimer and indeed I was told my a boss once that it was fine to do tints on new clients IF they signed one,but these are NOT worth the paper they are written on and I would never accept a disclaimer.I value my job,reputation and my clients eyesight too much.

Exactly, in fact you'd have thought she'd have respected my professionalism, but I stood my ground and it all worked out well in the end!

Tracey mega spose this is part of the blame culture that BABSann was commenting on.

One of the things I do not understand is why people will not take responsiblity for their actions - you can bet your bottom dollar that if for example Sass, if you had just gone ahead and tinted, then something dire had happened the lady would have held you responsible - well done you for standing your ground

can someone explain to me how an eyelash tint can lead to blindness.
and how can the test prevent this.
for it to blind you wouldnt you have to get the chemical on the eyeball itself, if so how would a test done on the skin help ?

i'm not being picky or sarky by the way, i'm not a beauty tech so i dont know anything about it but just interested.

If you have a bad allergic reaction to the product you will at best get a nasty swollen eye, and at worst due to a severe reaction could indeed go blind. You patch test the skin to see if there is a likelihood of a reaction. You should do this too with the glue for false eyelashes - even home kits, as the result could be the same. The risk is minimal, but it is still there nonetheless and so should not be taken.

I had a client who had been waxed (not by me) and had a SEVERE reaction to the wax, so much so she was acutely ill and very nearly died - yup it really was THAT bad. Probably not one of those you could foresee, and she now is vary wary of ANY new treatment and is always patch tested for everything now. Thankfuly she took the common sense viewpoint and realised it was just one of those unfortunate incidents and didn't make a claim.

It appears that the people who would have every right to a genuine claim do not claim - probabaly as they realise that in the majority of cases that it is't intentional - those that do claim are doing it for a quick buck ?????? not sure - just a thought!

I think you are so right with this comment.

I get a lot of clients that trot out some exscuse for not having a tint test and im getting dangerously close to blowing my top at one them soon. Each time I get more annoyed, the usual one I get is that the previous therapist who worked at the salon did a skin test before, all very well i say but i know for a fact I use a different brand to her and i still need it for insurance ! Don't they go on though, Ive got to the point where I just say no test - no tint !

I have had a reaction myself to an eyelash tint and it was very unpleasant so I certainly wouldn't want it happening to one of my clients.

Ive always thought the clients that kick up a fuss and get really funny over skin tests are the ones that would be first down claims4u or whatever & would probably get quite nasty about it.

I know this isnt a beauty claim but did you hear about the couple who had her leg broke deliberately by her boyfriend so they could claim against the council....it must be love!!!