Do you ever find that hair splinters have taken over your body? If you have ever clipped dogs, cats, or horses, you know how dangerous hair splinters can be.
Sam Richards, a professional dog groomer, had to close her dog grooming business because of a bad case of splinters that took over her life and caused a skin allergy so severe that she could no longer work in the industry that she loves.
Sam reported she had hair splinters covering her body, mainly around her shoulders, back, cleavage area, face, neck, in between her fingers, behind her ears, and sometimes her tummy.
She had tried everything from different fabrics, long sleeved, short sleeved, round neck, v-neck and even going to the lengths of using barrier creams, cornflour talc and a leather apron. In spite of everything she tried to prevent the rashes, her body began to recognize them as foreign bodies as her immune system started breaking down, which means she is now hyper sensitive to almost everything. Hair and shower products that Sam used to use with no problems now can't be used because her skin has a tantrum and breaks out.
Also, Sam started to suffer with Pompholyx Eczema on her hands due to constant water and product exposure. She had tried gloves, but ended up sweating in them which equally caused a break out, so between the two it was starting to effect the quality of life outside of work so much, Sam became depressed and felt ugly and was disgusted all the time.
Sam would run her hand over her skin and it literally felt like a porcupine. Since stopping grooming, her body has started to extract the hairs. Sam went on to say that she visited a spa and spent some time in the steam room, only to find the next day the splinters were popping out everywhere.
Sam says she knows she made the right decision to stop in terms of her health, but she loved grooming so much she still mourns it today.
As told in the words of Sam Richards.
We contacted Sam in response to this story.
Our team reached out to Sam when we heard this story, because we have been campaigning the industry for several years about the health problems clipped hair can cause to your skin besides the terrible condition of Groomer Lung from hair inhalation!!
It turned out that Sam had actually bought the Clipit grooming suit at the end when she was desperate and already contemplating quitting out of sheer exhaustion. She said to be honest the suit is brill, albeit its now being worn by her daughter.
In Sam's report, her daughter has taken over the business and is doing all she can to avoid the hair splinters that caused Sam to give it up by wearing the Clipit Suit.
So what is proper PPE for Dog Grooming?
According to the governments website www.hse.gov.uk PPE is defined in the PPER 1992 as all equipment to include clothing which is intended to be worn by a person at work and which protects the person against a risk to that person's health or safety.
PPE should be part of your health and safety controls everyday. Firstly, it starts with protective clothing. Practicality over fashion should always be at the forefront when choosing workwear. Many dog grooming garments have short sleeves, many have low v-necks, many don't even have hair resistant properties.
There's one reason why a dog groomer should never wear a cotton scrub, they attract hair. In fact, hair clings to them and works deep into the fabric. Polyester/cotton is known for attracting hair.
Clipit Grooming Apparel is designed to protect you the wearer. Did you know your health could be at stake while you are grooming? Could grooming apparel contribute to how long or brief your career as a groomer lasts? Possibly when it comes to grooming apparel, its importance in protecting you cannot be underestimated.
We would welcome your comments and stories.