Summer is on the way, so people are shaking off the cold and peeling free of layered clothing, hats, and gloves—so it's probably not surprising that many are heading to beauty salons for a little extra beauty care. Just be careful—a routine hair appointment or manicure can go awry in unexpected ways, leaving you injured as a result. This is what you should know.

Injuries can be severe.

Most people probably think that the worst that can happen to you at the salon is a bad haircut, but injuries can actually be quite severe. In some cases, the effects can even be permanent. For example, a woman in California suffered a stroke when her neck was hyperextended at a salon while she was getting her hair shampooed. There are numerous other injuries that are fairly common:

• chemical burns
• hair loss and scalp injuries
• burns and scars from overheated wax
• staph infections
• bacterial infections
• fungal infections

Sometimes, a patron is just left in the hands of someone that is ill-trained, inexperienced, or overworked—which leads to accidents that can be disfiguring or life-threatening. Imagine, for a moment, what can happen if you are left with bleach on your scalp for an extended period of time—you could end up with scar tissue and bald spots plus an open wound that would be susceptible to infections.

The environment and products may not be safe.

Even the environment at a beauty salon can be dangerous. For example, government testing found unsafe levels of formaldehyde in the air at 3 different salons, along with formaldehyde in products that were supposedly free of the chemical. This means that you may not even be able to trust the products that are being used on your hair and skin.

Many hair colorists also fail to conduct skin patch tests to determine if their patrons are allergic to any of the chemicals or dyes being used. Others use hair treatments and dyes that are past their expiration dates or reuse tools that are supposed to be discarded in order to save money. 

Responsibility may be shared.

If you're injured at the salon, you may have a variety of possible claims. The owner of the salon has a certain responsibility to provide you with a safe environment and service. The owner also has to make sure that all of his or her employees are properly trained. Safety procedures have to be followed without fail. 

The manufacturer of the equipment or product that caused your injuries might also share the blame if the equipment or product was defective in some way, particularly if a product was mislabelled or found to be inherently more dangerous than it was supposed to be when properly used.

If you've suffered a serious injury at the beauty salon, talk to a personal injury lawyer like Richard M Altman today about the possibility of a lawsuit to recover compensation for your injuries.