A horrified woman fears she will be scarred for life after a weave was sewn in too tightly.
Helzie Amnell-Connor, 24, was left in "agony" in the weeks after the new hair was fixed to her head and was mortified to find it had "dug" into her scalp.
She is now speaking out about her dreadful experience as a warning to other women considering a similar hairdo to do their research first and not to ignore pain symptoms.
(Picture credit: SWNS)
Helzie paid £200 to have a brunette-Brazillian wig weaved onto her mousey-brown hair - which she had previously worn in a short-back-and-sides style - just under a month ago.
After the hour-long procedure was complewted she was told to return to the salon where the weave was attached four weeks later to have it checked.
However in the weeks that followed the "pain and tightness" in her scalp increased but she "didn't think anything about it" as she had been told this was normal.
Matters came to a head when she awoke at 4am on Friday, April 20 "covered in blood" and in "agony".
As her horrified father fought to cut the threads attaching the wig to her hair they realised its band had dug into the front of her scalp - causing blood to come gushing out.
(Picture credit: SWNS)
Adult care support worker Helzie said: "I woke up with blood streaming down my face - it was like a horror movie.
"So I went into the bathroom and there blood just gushing on my face.
"I shouted for my dad and he managed to unthread my hair but the band of the wig had dug into my hairline. I was covered in blood - my whole body was."
Helzie, of Leeds, attended the city's St James's Hospital where she was placed on an antibiotic drip and given painkillers.
She was later advised by staff at Leeds General Infirmary that the wound was best left to self-heal and should be treated with antibiotic cream.
However she now fears the deep gash will leave her scarred for life.
She said: "I just want to raise awareness about this.
"For a girl, hair is the most important part of the body and it's important for people to know this can happen."
(Picture credit: SWNS)
Helzie, who now has to wait a fortnight for further advice about the scarring from doctors said she would be taking legal advice over the work done to her hair.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here