PROFESSIONAL ALLERGY TESTING GUIDANCE
Date 15 Apr 2025The Hairdressing Council believes that dealing professionally with allergy is a fundamental part of being a hair professional and alongside other industry organisations has created a harmonised approach to testing for allergy which is based on recommendations from Cosmetics Europe² manufactures and insurers.
With a choice of three options, anyone operating in the sector has the flexibility to select the best option to meet their professional duty of care to clients.
- Universal allergy screening tests licenced as medicines for consumers to use at home to screen for the most common hair colour allergen (PPD).
These products are available to buy online or via approved stockists and may only need to be used once.
In the UK an example would be Colourstart which is a medical alternative to the The Allergy Alert Test (AAT).
- Protocols designed for professional use only and conducted by a hair professional.
Hair colour brand protocols are applicable to their own products only, subject to an operators own terms of insurance
- The Allergy Alert Test (AAT). Instructions designed by manufacturers and printed on packaging and instructions for use.
Caution. The transfer of colourants from the original manufacturer’s packaging to post to clients for the purposes of an at-home test is against our industry best practice and not supported by the Hair & Barber Council.
The Hair & Barber Council advises that any client who knows or suspects they are allergic to hair colour, should seek the advice of a hair colour professional and should not use any hair requiring an allergy test.
This policy is supported by: The Hairdressing Council, Salon Employers Association, Fellowship for British Hairdressing, Freelance Hairdressers Association, Mens Fed and Good Salon Guide.
Members can use the harmonised approach as part of their membership, as well as take advantage of insurance that is designed for hair professionals and includes the harmonised approach. For further details please contact Sentio Salons here.
For allergy awareness week 2025 we have also partnered with TrichoCare Education to provide some totally free allergy awareness CPD education. This free online course will allow you to:
- Learn about allergy risks
- Earn CPD hours + certificate
- Identify Common allergens
- How to manage risks
- What to do during an allergic reaction