A mother-of-two has been left distraught after a £12 hair toner burned through two feet of her hair.
Shanon Kent, 23, from Immingham, Lincolnshire, said she applied the silver toner to her blonde hair for ten minutes hoping it would make her platinum locks more vibrant.
Her scalp then started to itch and she washed off the product – but Shanon claims massive clumps of her hair then began to fall off her head and into the bath.
The stay-at-home mother tried to brush her diminishing locks and was devastated when some 24 inches of her long hair fell out, leaving her with spiky wisps.
Shanon Kent, 23, from Immingham, was left distraught after she claimed a £12 hair toner burned through two feet of her hair (Pictured: Shanon before the incident)
Shanon said she has spent the last three months too traumatised to leave her house without wearing a wig, which she bought the same night the incident occurred.
The 23-year-old claimed she bought the toner from Superdrug, and she has been offered £30 to spend in the store after she complained to the retailer.
But Superdrug said it had investigated the product in question and has found ‘no irregularity’.
‘I only had it on for ten minutes, and then my scalp started to get really sore, like I’d been scratching it too much,’ Shanon said. ‘The smell was so strong. I couldn’t breathe.
The mother-of-two (seen after her hair fell out) said she applied the Superdrug silver toner to her blonde hair for ten minutes hoping it would make her platinum locks more vibrant
‘I started washing it out, and all these clumps were coming out, so I tried to brush it a bit and it just kept coming out.
‘It’s absolutely not acceptable. They’re not taking any responsibility, they’re making it seem like its my fault.
‘I suffer massively with depression and anxiety, and this really set me back. I don’t think I left the bathroom for three days.’
Shanon said she bought the toner, Superdrug’s Own Brand Vibrance Silver hair dye, on November 16.
The mother, who has been blonde for around six years, said she had used the same toner before without any issues two years ago.
She said: ‘I did a patch test and an allergy test first, and then I applied the toner.’
Her scalp then started to itch and she washed off the product – but Shanon claims massive clumps of her hair then began to fall off her head and into the bath (Pictured: Shanon’s hair after she applied the toner)
The recommended time for leaving in the top-up toner is 30 minutes, according to the information leaflet within the box.
But she washed it off after just ten minutes – along with most of her hair.
Shanon contacted the company via their Facebook page on November 17, sending them photographs of the product and what it had done to her hair.
Two days later, on November 19, Shanon was sent an email by Superdrug’s Customer Service Team, telling her they were investigating and asking her to fill out a questionnaire.
Shanon claims that, six weeks later, she was offered just £5 back as a refund for the Superdrug product, as well as the £30 worth of points on her Superdrug card.
But she claimed that, as of yet, the company has not given her any money back – and she even had to pay to send the hair toner back to Superdrug could run tests on it.
Superdrug said it had investigated the product in question and has found ‘no irregularity’ (Pictured: Shanon’s hair which she claimed fell out after using the product)
Superdrug added the product had been fully tested ‘and not a single participant showed a reaction’ (Pictured: Shanon’s hair after she used the toner)
In an email sent on December 31, Superdrug said the product had been fully tested ‘and not a single participant showed a reaction’.
The email read: ‘I know that this is not the outcome you were expecting, however at this stage we are unable to accept any responsibility for your experience with our product.
‘As a gesture of goodwill, we would like to offer £30 worth of points to your Health & Beauty card.’
In a response, Shanon said: ‘This is absolutely not acceptable now.
Pictured: Superdrug’s Own Brand Vibrance Silver hair dye
‘The hair dye was £12 but I’m getting refunded £5 of it. The £30 minus £16 haircut and £4 postage to return the product, that leaves me with £3 left over… obviously not.’
Shanon, who is mother to a two-year-old daughter and eight-month-old son, added: ‘Even now it’s grown out a bit, I have to spend about four hours styling it to try and sort out the mess I was left with.
‘That’s just not practical when I have two young children.
‘I have to be really careful now with what shampoo I put on my head. I still have a really sore scalp now – whereas before this, I’d never had any problem with a dry scalp.
‘It’s still really sore for me now. I had to go to the doctors and get steroid cream for my scalp. Even now, my hair has only grown to a bob at the moment.
‘I wouldn’t go back to Superdrug again, but all they’ve given me is £30 worth of points on my card that I’m not going to use.’
A spokesperson for Superdrug said: ‘We were aware that the customer in question was not satisfied with a hair product she had purchased.
‘However, we investigated this with our supplier, who confirmed that there was no irregularity found with the product batch.
‘We were sorry to hear about the trauma experienced by the customer and therefore offered a good will gesture in light of this.
‘We always recommend that customers follow the instructions for use provided on pack, including carrying out a strand test to check for any reaction prior to use.’