Have you suffered an injury because of a botched beauty treatment? Whether it’s a chemical peel gone wrong, laser hair removal burns, or a severe allergic reaction, negligent beauty salon treatments can result in serious physical and psychological injuries.
Whether you’re a client or employee, beauty treatment negligence claims can be complex, but you don’t have to navigate them alone. At How To Sue, our panel of solicitors offer support on a No Win No Fee basis. Read on to find out how to sue a beauty salon and how we can help.
Key Takeaways
- You may be eligible to claim compensation if you’ve suffered injuries due to a beauty salon’s negligent actions.
- Specific UK laws regarding health and safety protect both customers and salon employees.
- You could be compensated for financial losses and psychological trauma alongside physical injuries.
- You could work with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel, meaning you won’t need to pay any upfront or ongoing fees for their work.
Contact Us
Get in touch with a member of our expert team today to discuss your potential claim by:
- Calling us on 0800 408 7827
- Using the live chat feature
- Contacting us online
Jump To A Section
- How To Sue A Beauty Salon For Injuries
- What Injuries Could I Sue A Beauty Salon For?
- What Compensation Could I Get From Suing A Beauty Salon?
- How Long Will I Have To Make A Beauty Salon Claim?
- How Can I Prove Beauty Salon Negligence?
- Can I Make Sue A Beauty Salon On A No Win No Fee Basis?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Information
How To Sue A Beauty Salon For Injuries
To sue a beauty salon for a personal injury, you must prove the business breached its duty of care under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. This law requires all occupiers (such as beauty salons and hair salons) to take steps to ensure reasonable customer safety during treatments like waxing, facials, laser hair removal, and other minor cosmetic procedures.
A valid beauty treatment negligence claim must demonstrate:
- The salon owed you a duty of care, which means they need to take steps to keep you reasonably safe
- They failed to uphold this duty (e.g. by using faulty equipment or skipping a patch test).
- You suffered beauty treatment injuries as a direct result.
If these conditions are met, you may be entitled to beauty treatment accident compensation.
How To Sue As A Beauty Salon Employee
If you’re a beauty therapist or technician injured while working in a salon, you may also be eligible to sue your employer. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, your employer has a duty of care to take steps to protect you from risks involved in your role.
Examples of employer negligence can include:
- Lack of training on chemical peels or laser hair removal, causing burns to the technician
- Exposure to harmful substances without personal protective equipment (PPE), such as bleaches and other chemicals, resulting in chemical burns
- Spillages with no wet floor sign being left unattended, causing slip and fall injuries
If you suffered an injury while at work due to your employer not adhering to their duty of care, you could be eligible to make a compensation claim.
Our panel of solicitors can help you claim for injuries caused by your employer’s negligent actions, including burn injuries, skin damage, or hair damage.
Am I Able To Sue On Behalf Of Another Person?
Yes, you can sue on behalf of another person by acting as their litigation friend. This means that you’ll act in their best interests throughout the claim. You can usually act as a litigation friend for a child or someone under the age of 18, or for someone who lacks the needed mental capacity to make their own beauty treatment negligence claim.
Keep reading to learn more about how to sue a beauty salon, or contact our team today to find out if you could be eligible to act as a litigation friend.
What Injuries Could I Sue A Beauty Salon For?
You could sue a beauty salon for a number of injuries, including:
Laser Hair Removal Burns
If a beauty technician uses the wrong laser settings for your skin type or fails to carry out proper checks beforehand, this may breach their duty to protect you from avoidable harm. If this results in laser burns, blistering, or permanent skin damage, you could be eligible to claim compensation.
Allergic Reactions to Hair Dye
Hair dyes can contain harsh chemicals that should be tested beforehand using a patch test. If a salon skips this safety step and you suffer an allergic reaction—such as swelling, burns, or hair loss—they may have breached their legal duty.
Infections from Unsterilised Equipment
Procedures such as eyelash extensions, piercings, or semi-permanent make-up require sterile tools. If you develop an infection due to unhygienic practices, such as reused or contaminated equipment, this could form the basis of a claim.
Chemical Burns from Peels or Waxing
Chemical peels or wax treatments must be applied correctly and safely. If a therapist uses the wrong product strength, leaves it on for too long, or applies it too hot, this can cause chemical burns, hyperpigmentation, or long-term skin damage.
Bodily Injuries from Faulty Equipment or Slips
Faulty chairs, treatment beds, or unsafe salon floors can lead to slips, falls, or crushed limbs. If these hazards were known or foreseeable but not addressed, the salon might be held liable.
Do any of these examples feel familiar? Contact our team today to find out how to sue a beauty salon for physical or psychological injuries.
What Compensation Could I Get From Suing A Beauty Salon?
When making a beauty treatment compensation claim, the amount you could receive depends on the type and severity of your injuries. Compensation is typically split into two categories: general damages and special damages.
General damages compensate you for the pain, suffering, and loss of amenity (how your life has been impacted) caused by your injuries. This includes both physical and psychological injuries, such as long-term scarring, loss of confidence, anxiety, or trauma following a botched beauty treatment. Whether you’ve suffered burn injuries from laser hair removal, skin reactions from hair dye, or nerve damage caused by faulty equipment, general damages aim to acknowledge the direct impact on your daily life and well-being.
Those calculating general damages often make reference to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG is a set of guideline compensation brackets which help value injuries according to severity and lasting effects, providing a useful reference point for both claimants and legal representatives.
You can find some examples of these brackets below. Please note that these are only guidelines, and the top entry in this table is not a JCG figure.
| Injury | Compensation |
|---|---|
| Multiple serious injuries plus financial losses, including lost earnings and the cost of cosmetic aids | Up to £150,000+ |
| Complete Loss of Sight in One Eye | £60,130 to £66,920 |
| Eye Injuries (f) | £28,900 to £48,040 |
| Less Severe Brain Damage | £18,700 to £52,550 |
| Significant Facial Scarring | £11,120 to £36,720 |
| Less Significant Facial Scarring | £4,820 to £16,770 |
| A Number of Laceration Scars or One Single Scar With A Disfiguring Effects | £9,560 to £27,740 |
| Single Noticeable Scar Or Several Superficial Scars | £2,890 to £9,560 |
| Dermatitis b) | £10,550 to £13,930 |
| Damage to Hair a) | £8,960 to £13,450 |
Can Beauty Salon Compensation Cover Financial Losses?
Yes. If you’re successful, your beauty treatment compensation can include special damages, which cover the financial losses you’ve endured as a result of your injuries. Special damages can help you cover the cost of things like:
- Medical expenses and prescriptions
- Private treatment or corrective surgery
- Loss of earnings
- Cosmetic aids, like wigs
- Travel costs for medical appointments
- Home adaptations or care support
- Counselling for trauma or anxiety
You’ll need to prove these losses to claim them back, so it’s essential to keep evidence such as receipts, invoices, and payslips to support these expenses.
Contact our team today and let a solicitor from our panel help you start your beauty treatment negligence claim.
How Long Will I Have To Make A Beauty Salon Claim?
You’ll typically have 3 years to start a beauty salon claim, as per the Limitation Act 1980. However, there are some exceptions to this time limit for:
- Minors under the age of 18, who cannot claim for themselves — A litigation friend can take over the claim on their behalf at any point up until their 18th birthday.
- Those who lack the mental capacity needed to make a claim — A litigation friend can claim on their behalf at any point, unless they regain this mental capacity. Then, the time limit will run from this recovery date.
Contact our advisors today to see if you are still within the time limit to begin your claim.
How Can I Prove Beauty Salon Negligence?
An important part of learning how to sue a beauty salon is understanding the role of evidence. Strong evidence is key to any successful beauty treatment negligence claim, and can include:
- Photographs of your visible injuries
- Salon correspondence or written complaints
- Medical records from your GP or hospital
- Accident reports or CCTV footage from the salon showing the accident
- The contact details of potential witnesses
- Proof of financial losses (e.g. receipts, payslips)
Our panel of personal injury solicitors can assist you in collecting and presenting the necessary evidence. Get in touch now for help building a strong case, or keep reading to learn more about working with a solicitor.
Can I Make Sue A Beauty Salon On A No Win No Fee Basis?
Yes, if you’re thinking about making a beauty treatment negligence claim, you may be able to do so with the support of a solicitor under a No Win No Fee agreement.
At How To Sue, our panel of solicitors can offer their legal services through a No Win No Fee contract known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This means you don’t have to pay for their work at the start of your claim or while it progresses. You also won’t have to pay for their completed work should the claim fail.
Instead, payment for their services is only made if the claim is successful. This is in the form of a success fee, which is a legally limited percentage taken from your compensation.
Using a No Win No Fee agreement gives you access to expert legal support without the need to arrange payment at the beginning of the process. You can focus on what matters most—recovering from your injuries—while your solicitor handles the legal side of things.
Our panel of solicitors can manage every stage of your beauty treatment compensation claim, from collecting evidence and organising a medical assessment to calculating the correct level of compensation for your injuries and losses.
Whether you’ve suffered laser hair removal burns, a reaction to hair dye, or an infection caused by unsterilised tools, our panel of solicitors are experienced in managing complex beauty treatment injury claims.
Contact How To Sue
Contact our helpful team today to get started by:
- Calling us on 0800 408 7827
- Using the live chat feature
- Contacting us online
Frequently Asked Questions
What If I Had An Allergic Reaction To The Products Used In My Beauty Treatment?
You may still be eligible to make a beauty treatment negligence claim, especially if no patch test was conducted or you weren’t properly informed about potential allergic reactions.
Will Signing A Waiver Affect My Eligibility To Make A Beauty Treatment Claim?
No. A waiver does not exempt the salon from its duty to provide safe, competent services. If negligence took place, you can still make a claim.
Will I Need To Attend A Medical To Assess My Beauty Treatment Injuries?
You may be asked to attend an independent medical assesment as part of the claims process, as this helps prove the extent of your injuries and is essential in calculating how much compensation you could receive.
More Information
For more helpful guides on making a public liability claim:
- Learn how to sue a theme park
- Find out how to sue a gym
- Get advice on how to sue a railway station
Or, for more resources:
- Information on handling chemicals for beauticians
- NHS information on burns and scalds
- Health and safety basics from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
Thank you for reading our guide on how to sue a beauty salon.