Islington Council is raising awareness of contact dermatitis in local hairdressing salons up and down the borough.<br><br>Janice Gibbons, Islington Council's Service Manager, explains "Hairdressers were identified as one of the occupational categories with the highest incidence of occupational skin disease in the UK which is why we looked at what could be done to help.<br><br>"Through a series of visits and a seminar in July we aimed to get across the message that simple steps could prevent dermatitis."<br> <br>Officers from the council's Environmental Health Department visited 90 of the local high-risk hairdressing salons over three months. A questionnaire was developed in partnership with the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) Disease Reduction Unit to find out:<br><br>· the level of knowledge that hairdressers have about dermatitis<br>· their experience of dealing with staff with dermatitis<br>· what they did to control and prevent dermatitis<br><br>Visits revealed that hairdressers were largely aware of the potential risks of dermatitis and in particular the risk of allergic contact dermatitis. Although the majority of hairdressers visited were unaware of the requirement to report cases of dermatitis to the local authority under RIDDOR. (Reporting if Injuries Diseases and Dangerous occurrence Regulations 1995). <br><br>Some of the hairdressers had suffered from dermatitis and others knew of someone in the profession who had to give up hairdressing because of dermatitis. <br><br>She continued "All hairdressers were using gloves when applying hair dyes, perming solutions etc to minimise the risk but very few of the hairdressers visited, used gloves when shampooing clients. <br><br>"The risk of developing irritant contact dermatitis through 'wet-working' is less understood and is not being controlled." <br><br>Where gloves were provided, almost all salons were providing the use of powdered latex as the only option for staff to use, and none of the hairdressers had considered the risk of allergic dermatitis using this type of glove. <br><br>She added: "The choice of glove is often based on what is available from the local salon supplier and a lack of knowledge of the risk of dermatitis by using powdered latex. <br><br>"We've found that salon managers biggest challenge is getting staff to use single use gloves for not only applying colours and other chemical solutions, but also for shampooing. We don't recommend using powdered latex gloves because latex is a known allergen and with the powder increases the risk of asthma. It's also important that the clients are aware of why hairdressers need to wear gloves."<br><br>The council's seminar held in July at the Resource Centre, Holloway Road gave another opportunity for the council to work with hairdressers. The council invited Dr. Dil Sen, a Senior Medical Officer from the HSE to give a presentation on the causes and types of dermatitis that affect hairdressers. He also gave guidance on the ways hairdressers could prevent the condition. <br><br>During the session, hairdressers looked at various case studies to increase their knowledge of the causes of the different types of dermatitis and to encourage them to think about the practical solutions. <br><br>A draft risk assessment outlining the suggested control measures was provided so that salon managers could use it to assess their own procedures and make any necessary changes to reduce the risks. The hairdressers were given the opportunity to try synthetic gloves such as vinyl and nitrile.<br><br>As a result, two hairdressers actually stopped using powdered latex gloves and started to use vinyl gloves for shampooing. <br><br>Isabel Vazquez, the owner of Snippets Hair Studio, at 2a Kings Cross Road, said " The vinyl gloves do not pull on the hair and I can feel the water temperature easily through the glove. There have been no client complaints. "<br><br>For further information on the work undertaken at Islington, please visit www.islington.gov.uk or contact Cathy Daniels on 0207 527 7095.<br><br><br><br><br> <br><br>
Page Last Updated: 17 December 2009