Had a client's hair start smoking during a color correction in my home salon

This was about three weeks ago, a Saturday afternoon. I was doing a major color correction on a client who had box dye over box dye. I was using a 30 volume developer with a high-lift tint, and I had her under the dryer cap to process. I stepped away for maybe two minutes to grab a towel, and when I came back, I saw actual wisps of smoke coming from under the cap near her crown. My heart just dropped. I ripped the cap off immediately and saw the hair there was hot to the touch and had a weird, almost crispy texture. I think the combination of the strong developer, the heat, and the existing compromised hair just created a perfect storm. I rinsed it all out right away with cool water and did a heavy protein treatment. The section was damaged, but we saved most of the length. Has anyone else had a processing reaction get that intense that fast? What's your emergency protocol?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_pat1mo ago

Holy crap, the hair actually smoked? I mean I've seen some fried hair but that's next level. I can't believe it got that hot that fast under a dryer cap, that's terrifying. You must have moved so quick to get it rinsed out.

ruby_henderson361mo ago

Actually, it wasn't a dryer cap. It was one of those old fashioned hood dryers at a salon. The kind you sit under. The plastic hood itself got way too hot and started to melt a little, and that's what smoked. My hair was fine, just a bit of a weird smell. The stylist was more freaked out than I was. They unplugged the whole unit pretty fast.

michael6691mo agoMost Upvoted

My cousin's salon had a hood dryer short out and start sparking last year.

morgan.rose2d ago

Yeah @the_pat, I just yanked the plug out first.