I have been in the industry 27 years, educator for 15 and I run a tight ship but here I am with someone trying to put 2 claims in against me and my salon.

The salon is not at fault and the “incidents” are almost 3 years apart. My insurance company have been amazing and have fully backed me.

I was determined to use this for good and to educate people on how to protect themselves. I spoke to the person defending me at length and he reassured me we had done everything right and our paper trail was in order. So, I asked him what more can I do, do I have to put you may die on the forms? And his reply was you can’t stop people from attempting to sue you.

The claims in question where for redness of the eyes following a lash extension appointment, which those of you who do extensions will know this can happen for various reasons. The lash tech who did her lashes did everything by the book and the second she was told the client was in discomfit she stopped.  

The 2nd claim was for a skin graze following a brow wax that happened over 2 years ago. The client never informed us and continued coming to the salon for 2 years following this.

She admitted she had used retinal but insisted we should have had her fill out a new client record card at every visit. My consultation sheets ask if they are using retinal, my waxing pre-care states it and we have it on our consent forms that it is up to the client to notify us of changes

The things I see online and the things that go on in this industry I don’t understand how people aren’t getting sued left right and centre! And even worse finding out their insurance aren’t protecting them.

I read through forums daily and I see people saying clients should just know, its common sense, that things happen its part of life and many, many bad opinions on how things should be done.

I thought I would talk through what I was asked for and the things you can and should be doing to protect yourself, because what most people don’t realise is many (unless you have a really great insurance company) do not want to defend you and spend money. This means they will look for ways to not cover you and put it down to you not following the terms and conditions or they will pay out to avoid a full claim

• Certificates – I highly recommend sending copies of all of your certificates to your insurance and getting it in writing that you are covered for every single one. I have spoken to so many people who have found out they aren’t covered, and they didn’t read the small print
• They wanted receipts and safety data files on the products that were used. This demonstrated just how important it is to do your homework on products.
• I had to provide risk assessments on the treatments
• I Had to show proof of patch test and everything we do to limit risks
• They asked for copies of all of my paperwork
• I had to provide a copy of my accident book

• Always fill out consultation forms and keep records. Absolutely nobody has a treatment in my salon until they have filled out a consultation form. This includes medical questions, medication, allergies etc.. My clients also have to sign this, and I have a section that states it’s their responsibility to let us know if there are any changes
• Make sure you can prove you provide aftercare advice. Again, we have clients sign this
• Informed consent, I can’t tell you how important this is and can make all the difference in defending a claim. This is the part where you demonstrate you told the client of any risks and document it. I have individual consultation sheets and aftercare for every service, on there we list all what can go wrongs. This is right down to bruising can occur after waxing, so if it’s their first time it may not be a good idea to do just before a holiday. If they were to bruise, and you did not inform them the client could argue you ruined their holiday. We do this for everything…
• Do you have a terms and conditions? I send out a fully detailed terms and conditions and we don’t do any treatments until its signed.
• Always go with the best insurance company you can, not the cheapest

Please, please get your ducks in a row, get a good solid risk assessment done and look at your business with the potential to be sued.