You would be forgiven for thinking that a wash, cut and blow dry should be a safe experience as there’s relatively little that can go wrong, particularly if you’re not having a colour applied and as such don’t have to worry about the often noxious chemicals used. However, there is a key health risk involved, and one which is not widely known about.
Colloquially, this is known as ‘Hairdresser’s Stroke’. Thankfully it’s rare, but it certainly can happen; Evidence is more anecdotal than scientific at this stage, but some hairdressers – and clientele – have reported suffering from strokes shortly after attending an appointment.
The thinking behind this suggests that the issue occurs whilst your hair is being washed. Anyone familiar with salons will of course be used to leaning their head back so that their neck rests against the specially-shaped hairdresser’s sink, whilst your hair is washed.
It’s believed that this is the cause – pressure damage to the arteries in your neck caused by having your neck at the wrong angle, which can then lead to clots developing which in turn cause the stroke.
At this stage, there’s little scientific study so it’s hard to advise how to avoid it, but we would strongly recommend that you only rest your neck lightly.