Barbers have become more popular in the UK as more men seek something livelier than a ‘short back and sides’. However, not all barbers maintain the same levels of hygiene and the expansion in hair styling emporiums correlates with a rise in cases of ‘ringworm’.
The haircut style known as ‘skin fades’ poses an especially high risk of cross-contamination. This layered effect on the back of the head requires the use of electric clippers, and the last part of the layering effect cuts the hair close to the skin.
The skin fade is a type of haircut that tapers on the sides and back, blending short faded hair into the skin. The style comes in a variety of forms, including the high, mid, and low skin fade.
Ringworm (or dermatophytosis) is a general term for fungal infections of the skin (as well as the hair, and nails). About 40 types of fungus can cause dermatophytosis. The term applied to skin and hair is tinea capitis and the name ‘ringworm’ is a misnomer, as there is no worm involved – the cause relates only to a filamentous fungus.
This disease is primarily caused by dermatophytes in the genera Trichophyton and Microsporum (closely related species); fungi that invade the hair shaft. These fungi are adept at burrowing into the skin and releasing enzymes that can digest keratin.
The typical manifestations are a red, itchy, scaly, circular rash. In addition, and with a tinge of irony for those having been to a barber, hair loss may occur in the area affected.
Symptoms from the causative fungus begin four to fourteen days after exposure. The reason why barbers are impacted partly relates to the expansion in men’s hair cut and stylising services and a corresponding reduction in hygiene standards.
The fungi causing the disease can be transmitted by direct contact, by contact with infested particles (of dead skin, nails, hair) arising from someone who is infected and then with the fungal spores passed on. Failure to disinfect combs and cutters, plus poor hygiene (like an absence of handwashing in between clients) presents an easy transmission vector between the barber and the next client.
The fungi thrive in warm moist dark environments, such as in the dead upper layers of skin. The spores are extremely difficult to eliminate and spread readily.
What is the extent of infection via the barber? In the UK, this appears to be a developing problem. As reported by the BBC, a barber in the UK has called for higher standards in the hair industry after seeing “loads of cases” of young men catching ringworm from haircuts.
The barber in question is Mike Taylor, who operates a barbering training academy in Poole, Dorset. Taylor wants the government to take the unregulated profession more seriously. He indicates that customers have been coming to him with skin infections as “cheap, dirty unqualified barbershops are littering the high streets”.
In response, Keir Starmer’s government has said it had “no plans to regulate the hairdressing sector”.
Common signs of Ringworm infection, as per the National Health Service (NHS), include:
- One or more round, scaly or inflamed areas of skin.
- Itchy skin.
- Patches of hair that has broken off at, or near, the scalp.
However, with ringworm being discussed more openly, there is mounting pressure on barbering to increase hygiene levels and training to safeguard clients, with or without interest from the Labour government.
