There's a reason why I don't do DIY experiments on my hair and it's because it can can lead to disaster if you don't know what the hell you're doing. One woman from Hertfordshire, England learned the hard way. The 29-year-old mom was inspired by the trendy "unicorn" hair color craze that's taking over Instagram and attempted to do it herself at home. What a mistake. It went so bad, this poor woman ended up in the hospital.
More from MamásLatinas: This woman asked for a round mani & got crazy alien fingers instead
Kirsty Weston just wanted rainbow, unicorn-looking hair. She purchased a box of high-strength powder bleach from a local store in an attempt to bleach her dark brown locks. The last thing she expected was a DIY beauty hair fiasco. Weston claims she followed the exact instructions on the package, but after just minutes of applying the bleach, Weston's head was burning.
"Within 15 minutes, my hair was literally smoking. The pain was so excruciating that I started to feel dizzy, like I was going to faint," she told the Daily Mail. "It happened quite suddenly. I could feel that it was quite warm, but it got so much worse very quickly. I immediately went to wash it all off, but I think it had already got into my scalp."
Unfortunately, the story doesn't end here.
Weston's face started swelling up the following day. It got so bad, she had to rush herself to the hospital, where she was prescribed with antibiotics. But things only got worse from there.
The pain never went away. Several weeks later she returned to the hospital, only to discover that what she had experienced wasn't an "allergic reaction." She had severe chemical burns all over her scalp that would result in permanent hair loss on certain areas of her head. The poor woman was left partially bald.
"A plastic surgeon came to see me and when they lifted my hair, most of my scalp came away with it," she said. Ugh, it's so devastating.
WARNING: The pictures of the chemical burns are pretty graphic and brutal.
Embedded content: https://twitter.com/DailyMailUK/status/892681137843294208
Embedded content: https://twitter.com/shivy1983/status/892802439266611200
Embedded content: https://twitter.com/PA_Real_Life/status/892658452664922114
Weston has had six operations so far and has spent several weeks in a hospital unit for burn victims. Surgeons took skin from her thigh to create a skin graft to cover the skin she lost on her head. But what's even sadder than that, is because Weston's thigh skin doesn't have the same type of hair follicles she had on her head, doctors don't think she'll ever be able to regrow the hair she lost ever again. Could you imagine?
I know what you're probably thinking: If this wasn't an allergic reaction how did bleach cause such severe burning to Weston's scalp? Experts believe that she didn't mix the straight powder bleach with the proper developer which is actually a very essential step in the process.
What's frustrating about this is that Weston's mom is a professional hairstylist. She claims she didn't want to spend the money to see an expert, but she should have. Dying your hair various shades of pastel is a complex process that's obviously worth paying a professional for. If she really couldn't afford to pay, she should have at least called up her hairstylist mom for some tips and advice.
Moral of the story: Sometimes you gotta just suck it up and pay the pros. Because winding up with a head full of permanent chemical burns is never worth saving a few dollars.
