Hairdresser's nose fell apart after decades of inhaling tiny clippings

A hairdresser has told how her nose collapsed after decades of breathing in human hairs. Tiny pieces of hair lodged themselves in the skin inside Edwina Phillipson’s nose, causing infection and eventually eating a hole right through her septum, down the middle of her nose. After 35 years spent cutting hair, the 51-year-old’s nose was in such a state she had to have a gruelling operation to rebuild it using cartilage from her right ear. Now the two-times Northumberland Hairdresser of the Year, who had taken to wearing a surgical mask in her salon in an effort to alleviate the problem, has issued a warning to other barbers to protect their noses as they work.



Mrs Phillipson, who runs her own unisex salon, Barbers2, on Front Street, Newbiggin-by-the Sea, Northumberland, said: “I work for myself so I could wear a mask. People get used to it once you explain it to them. So now my customers come in and they are quite happy to accept that I wear a mask. But in the past when I have asked employers if I could wear a mask they have said no because it doesn’t look good for business. I feel this should be highlighted – it’s a danger we are putting ourselves in, but it’s like the risks of smoking, everyone thinks it won’t happen to them. Employers have got to allow their employees to protect themselves, otherwise they will open themselves up to legal action. They are running a huge risk by not giving people that option. Paying for masks might eat into overheads but at what price your health?”

Mother-of-three Mrs Phillipson’s problems began at least 12 years ago when her nose began to get irritated from hairs in the air at work. Scratching the area made the problem worse, as it created an open wound which was ripe for infection and would then attract more hairs. Mrs Phillipson, who lives with her partner in Spital Crescent, Newbiggin, said: “It became a vicious cycle. It ended up at the stage where I had a hole which went right through my septum. It caused horrendous problems with my sinuses, headaches, breathing difficulties, and the fact that the wound was never closed meant there was always a raw edge somewhere. It was very painful.



“As a hairdresser you’re working with tiny clippings of short hair so you end up hoovering them up with your nose. It’s not just the hair, it’s the dead skin cells, gel on people’s hair and other particles they bring in with them. And you get rogue hairs in various parts of your body – they are like spelks and they can cause major pain and infection. When I went to see the doctor I was told I only had a couple of options – either hang up my scissors or wear a surgical mask. I wasn’t ready to hang up my scissors so a started to wear a mask.” A fortnight ago Mrs Phillipson underwent surgery at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital to repair her nasal septum. Mrs Phillipson said: “What they have had to do to repair the hole in my nose is they have taken cartilage out of my right ear and put it into my nose.”