Lee Hardy, a 24-year-old father from Leeds, England, believes a popular hair wax caused his scalp skin to "peel off."
Hardy, who works as a builder, began using VO5 Rework Putty in January.
But after using the $5 hair product for a short time, Hardy suddenly noticed sores developing on his head.
He said,
I have used the product in the past and didn't have any issues, but I bought a new pot in January and started using it again. After using the product for a few days, my head started to become dry and itchy. I used the putty to spike my hair up in the center, and that's the part of my scalp that has been directly affected. It was OK for a couple of days, but then I noticed dry skin on my scalp. Because I'm a builder, I just thought it was just down to working in construction. [caption id="attachment_1793915" align="alignnone" width="717"]Twitter[/caption]
However, things only went downhill from there.
Soon after, Hardy started losing his hair and he eventually had no choice but to shave his balding head. He added,
When I looked in the mirror, I was horrified and my hair was falling out in clumps. Around five days later, my hair started to fall out and I noticed a few lumps on my head. From there it just got worse, and I've since shaved my head, as I couldn't cover up the hair loss any longer and I am desperate to get to the bottom of it.
Hardy allegedly contacted VO5 and told the company their hair wax burned his scalp and caused him to lose his hair.
However, the builder claims the customer care representative form VO5 expressed little concern and only offered Hardy a $25 voucher as compensation for the incident.
And, understandably so, he was not pleased with the company's voucher:
Why would I need voucher for hair products when I have just lost my hair, it was an insult.
After seeking treatment for his chemically burned scalp, doctors fave Hardy a moisturizing shampoo. However, that didn't seem to help the peeling skin on his scalp. He has been prescribed a moisturizer to deal with any infection that may arise.
Hardy also contacted VO5's parent company, Unilever, which has launched an investigation.
A spokesperson for Unilever responded to Hardy's claims, stating,
As we have not had any other complaints about our product, we would welcome the opportunity to investigate further. As a company, the safety and quality of our products is our top priority, and we have been in touch with Lee to arrange for the return of the product so that we can continue our investigation and test the product in question.
Apparently, VO5 has since contacted Hardy and offered him $260 to settle the case.
However, Hardy turned down the the small compensation.
I want to get to the bottom of this and find out exactly what was in the product; I need to know what has caused it in order to get the problem treated. I have even had an allergy test to prove I am not allergic to anything. It's just so strange, I've never had any problems with my scalp before. The skin on my scalp has now started to peel off, which sometimes causes it to bleed, and I now have to moisturize my head three times a day. I am forced to constantly wear a hat to cover up my head which is really embarrassing, and when I do take it off people stare.
While certain VO5 employees have been very helpful, Hardy claims other staff members have been rude to him and even laughed at him when he told them about the hair wax incident.
The investigation into the VO5 hair wax that caused Hardy to go bald continues.
Citations: Father, 24, says he went bald after using a £4 V05 wax which left his head covered in sores (MailOnline)
