Contraindications are important when delivering treatments to your clients, and may prevent or restrict you from carrying out the service altogether. As part of your hairdressing training you would have been taught to check with your client whether they have any contraindications to the treatment they have booked in for.
What Is A Contraindication?
A contraindication is defined as a medical condition that may restrict or prevent a treatment being carried out. These vary depending on the type of service or treatment being performed. No hairdresser wants a claim to be made against them so to minimise the risk of receiving a claim, it is important to carry out a full consultation with your client prior to the services. It is during the consultation that you will be able to obtain any information regarding your client’s medical history – and, crucially, whether they have any allergies. It's also important to record this information on your client’s consultation record.
If your client declares they have a condition or takes medication that may affect the treatment then it's important to reflect back to your training and decide whether you need to adapt or restrict the treatment to take account of the condition or possibly whether to carry out the treatment at all. You may have to restrict the treatment, for example, if your client has a nut allergy. No product should be used during the treatment that contains any nut based ingredients. Prior to the treatment if you have discussed this with your client you would be aware that your client has a nut allergy and you can restrict the treatment accordingly.
If you use a product during the treatment that does not contain nuts then this will reduce the risk of your client having an allergic reaction and in turn will reduce the risk of the possibility of a claim being made against you. Some conditions prevent the treatment being carried out, for example, if your client has ringworm (tinea capitis) and came to you for a hair colour then this condition would prevent you from carrying out the treatment.
What Happens If You Don't Check for Contraindications?
If you don't ask your client during the consultation process whether they have any medical conditions and proceed with the treatment then this could result in an adverse reaction as well as causing distress to your client - and the possibility of your client making a claim against you.
Checking for contraindications prior to the treatment can easily prevent the possibility of a claim being made against you. A client making a claim against you may cause you stress, is time consuming and may not only affect your reputation, but may cost you in the long term as it may increase your insurance premiums in the future.
Don't have insurance? HJ Direct offers insurance for salon owners, self-employed hairdressers and students. For more information head to hjdirect.co.uk.