Mother-Of-Two Left Distraught After Drugstore Toner Burns Off 24 Inches Of Her Hair

A mom-of-two was left distraught after she claims hair toner burned off two feet of her hair.

Shanon Kent, 23, said she applied the £12 ($15.60) silver toner to her long blonde locks for ten minutes, hoping it would make her hair more vibrant.

Her scalp started to itch so she washed it off - but was horrified when massive clumps of hair fell off her head and into the bath, she claims.

The stay-at-home mom tried to brush her diminishing locks and was devastated when 400g (~0.88 lbs) of hair fell out - leaving her with spiky wisps.

Shanon Kent / SWNS

She has spent the last three months too traumatized to leave her house without wearing a wig, which she bought the same night the incident happened, she said.

Shanon, from Immingham, Lincolnshire, England, said she bought the toner from Superdrug, and she's been offered £30 ($39) of points to spend in the store.

The shop said it has investigated and found "no irregularity" with the product.

Shanon said: 

"I only had it on for ten minutes, and then my scalp started to get really sore, like I'd been scratching it too much. The smell was so strong. I couldn't breathe."

"I started washing it out, and all these clumps were coming out, so I tried to brush it a bit and it just kept coming out."

"It's absolutely not acceptable. They're not taking any responsibility, they're making it seem like its my fault."

"I suffer massively with depression and anxiety, and this really set me back. I don't think I left the bathroom for three days."

Shanon Kent / SWNS

Shanon said she bought the toner, Superdrug's Own Brand Vibrance Silver hair dye, on November 16.

Shanon, who has been blonde for about six years, said she had used the toner before, about two years ago, without any issue.

She said:

"I did a patch test and an allergy test first, and then I applied the toner."

The recommended time for leaving in the top-up toner is 30 minutes, according to the information leaflet within the box.

But she washed it off after just ten minutes - along with most of her hair.

She contacted the company via their Facebook page the following day (Nov. 17), sending them photos of the product and what it had done to her.

Shanon Kent / SWNS

And two days later, on November 19, she was sent an email by Superdrug's Customer Service Team, telling her they were investigating and asking her to fill out a questionnaire.

Shanon claims that, six weeks later, she was offered just £5 ($6.50) back as a refund for the Superdrug product, as well as the £30 worth of points on her Superdrug card.

But she says that, as of yet, the company has not given her any money back - and she even had to pay to send the hair toner back so Superdrug could run tests on it.

And, in an email dated December 31, 2019, Superdrug said that they had investigated the incident, and that the product had been fully tested, "and not a single participant showed a reaction."

Shanon Kent / SWNS

The email read:

"I know that this is not the outcome you were expecting, however at this stage we are unable to accept any responsibility for your experience with our product."

"As a gesture of goodwill, we would like to offer £30 worth of points to your Health & Beauty card."

But Shanon responded saying: 

"This is absolutely not acceptable now. The hair dye was £12 but I'm getting refunded £5 of it. The £30 minus £16 haircut and £4 postage to return the product, that leaves me with £3 left over... obviously not."

Shanon, who is mother to a two-year-old daughter and eight-month-old son, added: 

"Even now it's grown out a bit, I have to spend about four hours styling it to try and sort out the mess I was left with. That's just not practical when I have two young children."

"I have to be really careful now with what shampoo I put on my head. I still have a really sore scalp now - whereas before this, I'd never had any problem with a dry scalp."

"It's still really sore for me now. I had to go to the doctors and get steroid cream for my scalp. Even now, my hair has only grown to a bob at the moment."

"I wouldn't go back to Superdrug again, but all they've given me is £30 worth of points on my card that I'm not going to use."

Shanon Kent / SWNS

A spokesperson for Superdrug said: 

"We were aware that the customer in question was not satisfied with a hair product she had purchased. However, we investigated this with our supplier, who confirmed that there was no irregularity found with the product batch."

"We were sorry to hear about the trauma experienced by the customer and therefore offered a good will gesture in light of this."

"We always recommend that customers follow the instructions for use provided on pack, including carrying out a strand test to check for any reaction prior to use."