Although we have been closed for the best part of a year, and not only has this lock-down created long locks, the length of time between us seeing our valued clients, means that many will need to visit the salon for an allergy alert test (AAT) which also is known as a patch test this needs to be performed before we can tackle your roots or defying those brows safely.
Trust Salons & the hair and beauty industry has continued to evolve. There have been some considerable changes one of which is the protocols & procedures related to the way our industry uses colour and tint containing PPD. This is the ingredient in hair & brow dye etc that can cause a severe allergic reaction. The reactions are rare but could have a very serious risk, which we wish to protect you from. These changes have come directly from the Government, our insurance company, industry governing bodies, colour houses and The World Health Organisation (WHO).
Due to these changes, the protocol around AAT (‘patch testing’) has changed dramatically.
Trust salons have always taken this area of our business seriously & has previously skin tested every client before any colour service for allergies. I am sure it fills you with confidence that the industry and Trust salons offer and insist on this service.
We want to be sure you are safe & that we adhere to every rule & take every precaution possible.
Who Needs to be tested?
You will need a skin test at Trust salons if:
- You are new to hair colour at Trust Salons.
- You have coloured your hair using a box dye since your last visit.
- If it has been more than 3 months since your last colour application at Trust Salons
- You are CHANGING your colour service, or you may wish/need the addition of a toner to your service or think you might need one to refresh your previous highlights.
- You are having a significant change of colour, for example going much darker, going from semi-permanent to permanent hair colour.
- You have had any type of skin tattoo including henna or semi-permanent make up since your last colour.
- You have had ANY allergic reaction to ANY products since your last hair colour.
We know that many of you feel that this is unnecessary as you may be having the same shade you have always worn, however put yourself in our shoes – a reaction to hair dye, is serious, and can cause fatal anaphylactic shock, – we would be devastated if this happened.
We care about you, we will not proceed with any service that might do you harm, why would you want to risk it? It would be amiss & poor service of any salon were not to take these precautions in order to protect their client & reputation. We are called Trust for a reason!
Hay and popping by the salon is not all that bad is it? It takes just a few minutes to have a dot of colour placed behind your ear and you know it’s the sensible thing to do. You do not need an appointment, just turn up a minimum of 48 hours before your colour booking.
If you are booked in the first few weeks of opening and you need an AAT we have that sorted for you, we will be in the salon on the 12th April ready & waiting to pop your ear forward you do not need to make an appointment.
If you live a considerable distance away and need a skin test, we have a solution for this too please get in touch with us.
You may think the above criteria does not apply to you, but if you have had a significant change in health, medication or are concerned about skin reactions after vaccination or post-COVID-19, then please just turn up for an AAT.
We are insisting that all of our colour clients to get re-tested. We feel this is best practice. You can be skin tested as often as you like, even before every colour if that suits you, we will proactively encourage this & gladly protect you.
Creatively, your colourist would like the widest range of options to update your colour during your salon visit. To achieve this without you having to wait until next time, an annual skin test logged on your client card is a requirement. We have also updated our internal systems to comply with new requirements, which means there is a short form that you will need to complete before we start any colour application, every visit. Your stylist will discuss this with you.
We are testing our clients because we care. We want your next visit to be all about your hair and cannot wait to see you!
You can read more about hair dye reaction safety via the NHS: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hair-dye-reactions/