Tampered product forces woman to shave her head
A woman has been left “traumatised” after discovering her new $10 conditioner wasn’t as it should have been. Sadly, it was too late.
A woman has shared distressing photos of her daughter after a popular conditioner brand allegedly left her with “massive clumps of hair” missing from her head.
Taffy Jo Timm, 44, took to Facebook last week, explaining that her daughter, Ashley Rose, had purchased a bottle of Pantene Pro-V Sheer Volume conditioner from a Walmart supermarket in Wisconsin.
She alleged the contents of the bottle had been tampered with — by combining the conditioner with hair-removal cream — as her daughter was horrified to discover she was pulling chunks of her own hair from her scalp in the shower.
Ashley lives by herself and purchased the $12 conditioner on Tuesday, July 23.
She decided to use it several days later but let the conditioner sit in her hair for about 10 minutes before rinsing it out.
But as Ashley stepped out of her shower, she said she was suddenly overcome by a “foul odour” lurking in the air.
Hopping back into the shower, she began rinsing her hair again to try and get rid of the smell.
But the damage had already been done.
“At this point, Ashley’s hair began falling out in massive clumps,” a family friend said.
Horrified, Ashley stared down at the shower floor as her brunette hair gathered in piles around her feet.
She raced to the local emergency department, complaining of a “red and irritated” scalp and major hair loss.
Significant patches of Ashley’s head were bald, and her remaining hair was brittle and damaged by the contents of the bottle.
“Ashley’s hair is still shedding and her scalp is still irritated,” her friend said.
Ms Timm said her daughter hadn’t realised “someone mixed Nair in her conditioner bottle”.
Nair is a popular hair-removal cream that effectively melts hair away from the skin’s surface when applied — it is usually used on legs and armpits.
It has a strong odour, as harsh chemicals are required to essentially diffuse the bonds between the hair follicles and the scalp they’re attached to.
Traumatised by the incident and scared someone else may purchase a tampered bottle, Ashley filed a police report.
“This was so that Walmart can release surveillance footage to investigators,” a family friend wrote in a GoFundMe page established for Ashley.
She went to a hair stylist to try and arrange extensions to conceal her hair loss.
“Unfortunately, it was determined that the extensions would likely put too much tension on the remaining hair and cause it to fall out,” her friend said.
Finally, Ashley was forced to come to the “heartbreaking realisation that her only option at this point is to shave her head”.
“Hair is such a part of our personal identity and having to lose all of it without expectation or choice is an incredibly traumatic experience,” the friend said.
Ms Timm confirmed the ordeal had left her daughter feeling vulnerable and upset.
“I am stressed to the max … As I speak she is losing hair and crying,” she said.
On Monday evening, Ashley arranged for her uncle to shave the remainder of her hair off.
Ms Timm warned others to be “aware of the shampoo and conditioner you buy” after purchasing the bottle at a supermarket.
“This conditioner is supposed to be white, but is an ugly pink colour,” she explained.
“The police are going to be watching camera footage along with the detectives.”
Ms Timm confirmed her daughter was doing better but “just has to get use to all of this”.
“I saw her yesterday and this girl is beautiful!” she said.
Ashley’s GoFundMe page was established to help her purchase some wigs, as she adjusts to her new life, and has already raised more than $2000.
“These can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars and require costly care and maintenance,” the page explained. “Along with offsetting any potential medical costs and legal fees.”
Many have posted messages of support on the original Facebook post, that has had over 19,000 comments and been shared more 72,000 shares.
“This is so scary,” one person said after reading about Ashley’s ordeal, while others branded it, “awful”, “devastating” and “sick”.
“I am so sorry about your troubles. This is a sad state of affairs for our world today. People are sick,” one person wrote.
“OMG that’s devastating!” another said.
“I am so sorry this happened to your daughter,” someone else wrote.
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