A Bromley schoolgirl is preparing to sue an American hair salon after an attempt to emulate Taylor Swift’s hairstyle left her with a permanent bald spot.
Fifteen-year-old Coco Brown from Shortlands suffered a full-thickness third-degree burn at a Florida hairdresser’s, according to her mother, Samantha. The severe burn, caused by chemicals used for blonde highlights, required a skin graft from her hip, leaving her scalp permanently unable to grow hair in that area.
“It was definitely an accident,” Samantha said, “However, mistakes were made.”
Samantha had left Coco at the salon while she went shopping, only to return and find Coco in pain with her head in the sink. The salon claimed she had an allergic reaction to the chemicals.
The family was in Florida in April for Coco’s sister Tabitha’s participation in the World Cheerleading Championships. They later traveled to Clearwater, Samantha’s hometown, in May.
Coco, also a cheerleader with the Unity Allstars in Sutton, explained, “I went to the salon to get highlights because I’ve never had highlights before. I was trying to copy Taylor Swift’s haircut.”
A devoted Taylor Swift fan, Coco couldn’t pick a favorite song, stating, “I like all of them.” Samantha had agreed to pay for the highlights as a birthday present, trusting the experienced stylist they had used before.
“It was someone I trusted and who was experienced. There’s no way that she intended for Coco to sustain the chemical burn that she did,” Samantha said.
Due to an impending lawsuit, the family has chosen not to identify the salon, hoping the salon’s insurer will handle compensation.
Coco alleged that the stylist failed to conduct a strand or patch test before applying the bleaching chemicals. After wrapping her hair in foils, it became extremely hot.
“My hair was burning and it was smoking,” Coco recalled. “It was very painful, like chili sauce, and the hairdresser told me that they were smoking.” Despite this, the stylist proceeded with a second round of chemicals and foils, which also overheated and had to be removed after 15 minutes.
Upon returning to the UK, Coco was diagnosed with a full-thickness third-degree burn to her scalp. The injury worsened, leading to a referral to the children’s burns unit at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.
“There, it was confirmed that Coco had suffered a full-thickness burn,” Samantha said. “When they were cleaning the burn, they were cutting the hair off, and her scalp literally separated from her head.”
Coco underwent a skin graft operation, which will leave her bald on that part of her head permanently. Despite this ordeal, Samantha expressed immense pride in her daughter’s bravery. Coco has started a TikTok channel, calling her burn “Burt,” where some videos have garnered over 150,000 views.
“Life is hard enough when you are an autistic teenage girl, but to end up partially bald at 15 and be so vocal and open about it is just inspirational,” Samantha said. “Coco hopes that by sharing her story, she can prevent others from suffering a full-thickness, third-degree burn at a salon like she did.”