Urgent warning after shocking number of ringworm infections from popular men’s haircut
Your fresh new fade could leave you with an unwelcome visitor growing in your skin if your barber decides to cut corners.
Mike Taylor, who runs a barber training academy in Poole, Dorset, has seen a surge in customers coming to him with an infection known as ringworm.
Despite its name, it’s not caused by a worm. Instead it’s the result of a fungus festering in skin, causing a scaly, dry, swollen or itchy rash that’s often red, according to the NHS.
It’s spread through skin-to-skin contact, and by sharing infected objects like bedsheets, combs, and the clippers used in skin fades.
That, Mike believes, is how the fungal infection is spreading.
He told the BBC: ‘I’d say 70 to 80 per cent of clients come in ask for skin fades.
‘To get that effect you’ve got to use the foil clipper, but the problem is it takes in hair and it needs to be thoroughly cleaned.’
But he suspects this 10-minute process isn’t happening in ‘cheap, dirty unqualified barbershops are littering the high streets’.
What is ringworm and how do you treat it?
Ringworm is a common fungal infection, which affects up to 20% of people at some point in their life, usually in childhood.
What does ringworm look like?
- Ringworm is usually a ring-shaped area of red or darker skin, that may be scaly, dry, swollen or itchy. This can be anywhere, including the face, scalp or groin.
How do you catch ringworm?
- The infection spreads through physical contact with contaminated items like skin, clothing, bedsheets, combs or towels.
- Scratching a ringworm rash can help it spread.
How can you treat ringworm?
- A pharmacist can prescribe an antifungal medicine in the form of tablets, cream, gel or spray.
- You may have to use this every day for up to four weeks, even after the rash has gone away.
He said: ‘The high street is depleting, it’s dying and then suddenly there’s 12 barber shops on the same street and they’re all trying to go a little bit cheaper than each other.
‘If the prices have to be knocked down then something else has to go and maybe it is all the time spent cleaning the equipment or the time spent getting the proper knowledge.
‘Sometimes the cheapest price isn’t always the best price.’
Christian Reynolds, a 22-year-old from Bournemouth, believes he got ringworm after getting a skin fade as his barber.
He said: ‘Almost immediately after I came out and met up with my partner she noticed this abrasion and raised mark at the back of my neck.’
A pharmacist confirmed that the itchy and irritable rash was ringworm, leaving him feeling let down by the barber.
Christian said: ‘I felt annoyed because after doing research on it I realised it was due to improper practice and not cleaning equipment properly.’
Mark wants to see the government set stricter rules for a largely unregulated industry.
He’s found an ally in Gareth Penn, the registrar at the hair and barber council, which – despite being the country’s statutory authority for hairdressing – is only a voluntary register.
Gareth said: ‘This opens up hairdressing and barbering to those that are not trained, or qualified, or worse, those who wish to use our industry as a front for illegal activity.’
Despite fears this lack of regulation could lead to more than just a fungal infection, the government says it has ‘no plans to regulate the hairdressing sector’.
A spokesperson said: ‘We have no plans to regulate the hairdressing sector, however we will always seriously consider evidence when it’s provided.
‘We work closely with the industry to address skills and training needs, and HMRC is also working to tackle tax fraud in the sector.’
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