HeadBed: Preventing Beauty Parlor Stroke Syndrome

Recovery After Stroke

Enhance Salon Comfort and Safety with HeadBed: Prevent Beauty Parlour Stroke Syndrome

The HeadBed device is an innovative head and neck support cushion designed for use with hair salon wash basins. It aims to provide enhanced comfort, safety, and hygiene for clients during hair-washing sessions.

Key Features:

1. Ergonomic Design: The HeadBed is specifically designed to support the head at the heaviest point, the occipital bone, which helps in reducing strain on the neck and back muscles. This ergonomic support allows clients to relax fully without discomfort​​ (HeadBed USA)​​ (HeadBed).
2. Universal Fit: It fits all standard backwash basins, including portable and home salon basins. The device comes with three height adapters (20mm, 25mm, and 30mm) to ensure it can be adjusted to fit various basin depths​ (HeadBed)​​ (HeadBed).
3. Hygiene and Safety: Made from medical-grade silicone, the HeadBed is 100% hygienic, non-absorbent, and easy to clean between clients. It meets salon occupational health and safety requirements, reducing the risk of bacterial or viral transmission​ (HeadBed)​​ (HeadBed).
4. Medical Endorsements: The HeadBed is recommended by physiotherapists, chiropractors, and remedial massage therapists for its ability to prevent neck injuries and alleviate discomfort during hair washing. It addresses issues like the “Beauty Parlour Stroke Syndrome,” a condition that can occur due to improper neck support during washing, leading to severe complications such as vertebral artery dissection and stroke​ (HeadBed)​​ (HeadBed).
5. Durability: The HeadBed is durable and resilient, with a five-year warranty. It is resistant to chemicals and non-hazardous, ensuring long-lasting use in various salon environments​ (HeadBed).

Benefits:

• Client Comfort: By providing proper head and neck support, the HeadBed significantly enhances the client’s comfort during treatments, allowing for a more enjoyable salon experience.
• Salon Efficiency: It helps maintain proper client positioning, preventing water from running down their necks and reducing the need for repositioning during treatments.
• Injury Prevention: Supports the head’s weight, minimizing strain on the client’s neck muscles and preventing potential injuries, including severe conditions like Beauty Parlour Stroke Syndrome.

The HeadBed is an essential investment for salons aiming to avoid beauty parlor stroke syndrome and improve client comfort and safety during hair-washing sessions. For more information or to purchase, you can visit the HeadBed official website.

Headbed: How To Prevent Beauty Parlour Stroke Syndrome Full Interview

HeadBed was invented to prevent damage to the neck and the blood vessels while at the hair salon wash basin.

Highlights:

00:00 Introduction
05:35 The Beauty Parlor Stroke Syndrome
15:21 Preventing Hair Salon Injuries With HeadBed
26:31Ethical Business Practices In Hairdressing Industry
35:46 Health And Safety In Hairdressing Salons Including HeadBed Use
45:13 Improving hairdressing experience HeadBed

Transcript:

Introduction – HeadBed

Bill Gasiamis 0:00
Hello everybody. The production costs of today’s episode have been paid for by HeadBed. My guest today is Catherine Randabel. Catherine is the inventor of HeadBed, a Western Australian naturopath with a background in physical education, psychology and neuropathy.

Bill Gasiamis 0:19
She started her naturopathic practice in 1991 and has since built a successful practice blending various natural therapies including remedial massage. Catherine’s journey to inventing the HeadBed began when she observed that many of her clients experienced neck problems and headaches after visits to hair salons.

Bill Gasiamis 0:41
Noticing the discomfort and potential health risks associated with hyper extension of the neck during hair washing. She was inspired to find a solution. And also joining us midway through the interview is Sandy Chong, who is the CEO and a board director of the Australian Hairdressing Council. She has significantly influenced the hairdressing industry in Australia. Through her extensive experience and leadership with over 39 years of experience. As a salon owner of Suki hairdressing.

Bill Gasiamis 1:16
Sandy has been a prominent advocate for hairdressers, barbers, and educators across the nation. A prominent advocate for the HeadBed Sandy strongly supports the use of this innovative product in salons to enhance client comfort and safety. Sandy encourages hairdressers to adopt the HeadBed recognizing its importance in preventing neck injuries and promoting overall wellbeing for clients, including stroke survivors. Catherine Randabel, welcome to the podcast.

Catherine Randabel 1:50
Thank you, Bill, looking forward to talking to you.

Bill Gasiamis 1:53
Thanks for being here. I really appreciate it. Just give me a little bit of background before we get started and really dive in deep to this amazing product that you have. Tell me a little bit about your background, what have you done in your life? What kind of work have you been involved in?

Catherine Randabel 2:14
Right? Well, Bill after school, I went to university to do a degree in physical education, because I was fascinated with ergonomics, and biomechanics and the human body. So I thought I was going to become a physiotherapist or maybe an exercise physiologist.

Catherine Randabel 2:32
And so that was my university days. And I just went on a little bit more and more sports massage, and nearly became a physio but concentrated on natural therapies with an emphasis on ergonomics and remedial sports massage. So that’s my background, and I’ve been in private practice in Perth, Australia for since the early 90s.

Bill Gasiamis 3:00
And what kind of a practice?

Catherine Randabel 3:03
It’s basically called a natural therapy practice naturopath and I do a blend of nutrition, lifestyle, adjustments for better health, and including into that remedial massage and sports massage when clients come to me with, you know, muscular skeletal problems. And this is how the idea for my HeadBed neck protection device started because of one of my clients.

Bill Gasiamis 3:34
And since we’re talking about we might as well show. This looks like a croissant. It’s not a croissant. It wouldn’t be that tasty as a croissant would be. But we’ll talk about it in a minute like more so. So how do you go like, what happens? How is the process that your head goes through when you decide that as well as providing these services as a naturopath that you’re going to sort of find a way to support people going to a hairdresser. That’s pretty weird. That’s a bit strange that somebody would have that kind of a light bulb moment.

Catherine Randabel 4:16
Well, it really was a light bulb moment, one of my most delightful clients and friends Rose in 2010. She came to me after a week of tremendous neck pain and migraines. And she doesn’t normally have migraine. So she asked me, to see to a remedial massage. And upon questioning her, she said that it started after she had been at a hairdresser.

Catherine Randabel 4:40
Now Rose always was beautifully presented and coiffed and her job was dealing with public so she loved going to the hairdresser. But she hated the basin because she was so uncomfortable at the basin. And so with working with her I was questioning I said well was there something on the basin to help protect your neck or soften? And she said, well, I don’t know there was a little bit of a foam like a little foam cushion, but nothing really comfortable.

The Beauty Parlor Stroke Syndrome

Catherine Randabel 5:12
And after that she really had this nasty migraine. So, I went back to the medical journals, I started researching the Lancet medical journal journals in neurology, from America. And to my great shock and horror, I found out that they were reported cases of strokes. For ladies who had been at the hairdresser.

Catherine Randabel 5:35
In actual fact a New York doctor, a neurologist reported on five cases of strokes following sessions at the hair salon and they coined, they coined a term for it called Beauty Parlor Stroke Syndrome. So it’s a recognized medical issue that can happen at the salon.

Catherine Randabel 5:56
It’s a very rare but when I read that, back in 2010, the research not only in Europe in the UK, the Lancet medical journal very prestigious. In 1997, the Lancets reported on a 42 year old woman who had a massive stroke following the session at the hairdresser. So these instances were being recorded. So, to my way of thinking, I was always very practical person, I thought to myself, well, all you need to do is to support the weight of the human head. Now, do you know how much a human head weighs?

Bill Gasiamis 6:40
I think is about four kilos, very good.

Catherine Randabel 6:44
Imagine, if you take between four kilos for women and up to five kilos. For men, it is extremely heavy on the end of a flexible neck. So when the human head reclines backwards over the sharp edge, hard edge of a basin, there can be up to 20 kilos of pressure on the vertebrae and the neck muscles of the neck supporting the cantilevered weight.

Catherine Randabel 7:14
So I thought to myself, it’s a bit like a golf ball on a tee, you have a little tiny surface area, which we eventually was designed and research we built in a little surface area, a platform that when the human head reclines backwards, it rests, the back of the head will be supported by this little platform. So it takes all the weight off the neck muscles. And as you know, from the heart, the blood flow goes up the neck into the head and the brain.

Catherine Randabel 7:49
So little fine blood vessels go through some little holes in the neck vertebrae. And imagine just for illustration, if this little straw is there, if you just keep the head backwards, what happens with a lot of these vertebral artery, little blood vessels, they get kinked and in that kink, there can be little micro tears on the inside.

Catherine Randabel 8:14
And that can be the start of damage and it can be the start of little blood clots. So sometimes there was a lady in the UK, about three years ago, she went to the hairdresser felt unwell afterwards and it was three days later that she had a stroke.

Bill Gasiamis 8:35
I know of people have had a stroke, because they sneezed it caused the vertebral artery dissection, people who have had carotid artery and vertebral artery dissections because of collisions where their head was like a whiplash situation and the damage occurred on the day. But then the stroke occurred later on down the track, usually few weeks or a couple of months down the road.

Bill Gasiamis 9:04
And it’s not uncommon to hear about it and to interview people about it. And I never knew there was beauty parlor stroke syndrome. And that sounds very similar to a syndrome that is spoken about in the forestry industry, where lumberjacks as the Americans call them, look up all the time.

Bill Gasiamis 9:29
And it’s called lumberjack syndrome or something like that. And they cause damage to the blood vessels just because they simply have a lot of time looking up at trees falling down. So this is fascinating that we here we are now for the opposite reason that potentially putting people’s necks at risk.

Catherine Randabel 9:51
This is where I came from, it absolutely floored me because I didn’t realize that in the shampoo basin of most addressers, and hairdressers are the most caring people person, but they all know that their clients are usually uncomfortable. So some of them support with one hand while they’re doing the shampoo. Some of them put extra towels around the neck.

Catherine Randabel 10:14
But it’s not the neck that has to be softened up. It’s supporting the weight of the head. And when I realized that I started talking to some of the professional hairdressers here in Perth in my city, and they all admitted to me, they know is not a comfortable position.

Catherine Randabel 10:33
But women want to have beautiful hair, and they put up with the discomfort. But also who knows how many headaches, how many sore necks, how many sore shoulders, pins and needles down the arms can be a result of being at the shampoo basin, not necessarily the horrible situation of the stroke.

Catherine Randabel 10:54
Because the nerve endings can also get pinched in the neck by that position of the head, reclining backwards without support. So when I thought about all that Bill, I thought to myself, how come somebody hasn’t done anything about it? And then my friend said, well, you have an idea. So why don’t you follow up on it. Then that’s how it started in 2010.

Catherine Randabel 11:22
And we did two years of research. So discussing with, you know, the hairdressers here in Perth, and they told me what they wanted in a neck cushion because they all tend to have neck cushion. So we devised the soft, flexible silicone cover for the neck, which fits into the curve of the basin. But the inventive step was to organize the head platform that was attached to it.

Catherine Randabel 11:49
And also the three little wedges, which gives it adaptability to move up or down. If somebody’s got a very stiff neck. Exactly right, you can be a bit like Lego adapters, you can raise the head platform, or drop it depending depending on what the client needs the person at the shampoo basin needs. So once you have the head support there, you take 20 kilos of pressure off the neck.

Catherine Randabel 12:16
And so the hairdresser also is very relieved because they can do their job with peace of mind. They don’t hurt their own hands supporting the weight of the person’s head while they’re massaging it. And we’ve designed it so that there’s lot less water can get pass to the person’s neck is right against its medical grade silicone.

Catherine Randabel 12:37
That’s why it lasts. Some of my hairdressing clients have had their HeadBeds for nine years, once the buy one is highly sustainable product. It does not go to landfill. So we’re very proud of that we’ve chosen the best grade medical grade silicone because then it’s softness of the silicone just seals the neck and water doesn’t drip past into the person’s back.

Bill Gasiamis 13:02
Feels really good on the skin, it feels really good to touch. And feel like it’s very sort of like annoying sometimes you get some fabrics and some or leathers and some things that are annoying. So as a male, like I’ve got no idea about this stuff, because I very rarely get a head massage or a wash or anything like that maybe twice in my life.

Bill Gasiamis 13:27
And to be honest, I don’t think it was an amazing experience. But I forgotten about it. Because what I remember is you know how nice it was to have my hair washed and then not to have to worry about hair going all over the place and all that type of thing.

Catherine Randabel 13:42
It should be a beautiful experience, it should be a most relaxing, beautiful experience.

Bill Gasiamis 13:47
Yeah. So you’re saying that there was products, or there are still products, probably not the HeadBed, but other products that are similar to that that hairdressers have always tried to use to always try and make it more comfortable for their clients.

Catherine Randabel 14:04
Yep, the thing, the inventive step, there was nobody and this is what a hairdresser said to me at one of the trade shows I went to just how come one of us didn’t think of that. But that’s because I’ve got the sort of more anatomy and physiology and the health background. Which it became so evident to me that all you needed to do was support the weight of the head.

Catherine Randabel 14:27
What they were trying to do was just put a bit of cushioning around the neck. But the problem is the weight of the head hanging backwards is what was the terrible pressures on the blood vessels, the nerves and the whole structure of the neck. So once I got that incorporation of the head platform into it and I was helped by beautiful hairdressers here in Perth and also a wonderful product design engineer Mr. Cliff Green.

Catherine Randabel 14:55
He just nailed what we were trying to achieve in getting the minimal flat surface under the head of the client. So the hairdresser can do their job, easily 95% of the head is free for shampoo and little tiny surface area, taking all the pressure off the neck because the weight of the head is supported.

Preventing Hair Salon Injuries With HeadBed

So the thing about it is you’re your preventative person, right? You’re all about, let’s fix what’s wrong. But also let’s prevent things from happening. Hairdressers are about fixing hair they don’t see injuries everyday, they don’t see people who are trying to fix things. They just see people who want a hair cut and want colors or whatever they want.

Catherine Randabel 15:47
Correct so they are trained to look at that side of things. And I’d say 99.9 of women up then some men absolutely love having the salon experience. But from my point of view, it has to be a safe experience as well. And when you have a HeadBed on the basin and it becomes comfortable, and once it’s comfortable, it’s safe, and it’s enjoyable.

Catherine Randabel 16:11
And often some hairdressers have said to me, it benefits their business because people refer their friends back to their salon. But also they can offer more services. They can offer eyebrow tinting, do eyelashes and waxing and all sorts of extra services with the person comfortably reclining in the shampoo basin. Before that, they’d go no, no, no, no enough, enough, I’m uncomfortable I’m getting out of there.

Bill Gasiamis 16:39
So there’s also in the uncomfortable position, that’d be a time limit as well.

Catherine Randabel 16:45
That’s why they just want to get out of there as quickly as possible. You saying with men, more and more men now go to barbers. And in actual fact, in 2016, a 42 year old young man had a stroke from being at a barber. So it was reported, again in the media over there. And it was a massive, you know, they sued the salon for hundreds of 1000s of pounds.

Catherine Randabel 17:11
So not only is traumatic to have the injury, I mean, it as you know yourself and all your listeners know it’s a life changing injury to have a stroke, but the trauma and the rehabilitation, and then you have medical bills for many years following so all that’s you know, if you can prevent all that right at the start to do not let the human head hang backwards into a basin without head support.

Bill Gasiamis 17:46
So who buys this? Do only hairdressers buy or can I buy it? For example, I go to your website or to your supplier, whoever. And if I want to take a preventative step as a stroke survivor, because I’ve already had brain injury, I don’t want another one. And I wanted to just get my own because say my hairdresser didn’t know about it or did or didn’t buy one or doesn’t have it? Would I be able to buy one from you and bring that to my hairdressers appointment?

Catherine Randabel 18:18
Oh, absolutely, absolutely. I’ve had many, many of my own clients from my practice, say fantastic. Catherine will buy our own and any salon we go to especially some people who travel a lot or people caravanning around Australia or the States or Europe, they bring their own HeadBed with them. And make sure you have your three little adapters with you.

Catherine Randabel 18:40
And just explain to the salon owners it please if you put that on your basin then my head can be supported and I am safe. So yep, you can get one through the website. I also have some wonderful distributors. In Australia. There’s a great organization called Sustainable Salons and their members and they support products that are not throwaway and they recycle human hair and foils and plastic bottles.

Catherine Randabel 19:09
So it’s a big organization of hairdressing salon members in Australia Sustainable Salons and Sandy is a great supporter of their work. So they sell my HeadBed I’ve got a distributor in Queensland in Brisbane, but in Europe is probably the biggest distributor that we are very lucky to have a French company called Cindarella. So you just look up our website and on there, there will be the list of all the distributors we have.

Bill Gasiamis 19:45
You mentioned Sandy, Sandy is the CEO of?

Catherine Randabel 19:48
Sorry, yes, Sandy Chong is the CEO of the Australian Hairdressing Council.

Bill Gasiamis 19:55
And we’re going to be talking to her in a little while we’re going to get a little bit of feedback from previously a person who was a hairdresser for many, many years, and now has moved into this particular role. And we’ll get some information from Sandy as well. So what you’re saying is that a lot of people buy this, put it in their luggage and travel with it, because they can just go to one of the websites and pick up one, what do they cost?

Intro 20:25
If you’ve had a stroke, and you’re in recovery, you’ll know what a scary and confusing time it can be, you’re likely to have a lot of questions going through your mind. Like how long will it take to recover? Will I actually recover? What things should I avoid in case I make matters worse, and doctors will explain things that obviously, you’ve never had a stroke before, you probably don’t know what questions to ask.

Intro 20:49
If this is you, you may be missing out on doing things that could help speed up your recovery. If you’re finding yourself in that situation. Stop worrying, and head to recoveryafterstroke.com where you can download a guide that will help you it’s called seven questions to ask your doctor about your stroke.

Intro 21:09
These seven questions are the ones Bill wished he’d asked when he was recovering from a stroke, they’ll not only help you better understand your condition, they’ll help you take a more active role in your recovery. Head to the website. Now, recoveryafterstroke.com and download the guide. It’s free.

Catherine Randabel 21:28
Well, in Australia, there are about $98 plus the postage within America is just adapted. We have an agent in America so you can buy it off the website over there. Lynn Sheffield will help. But at the moment 90% of our clients are salon owners, so they buy it for their salons but definitely we have about 10% of people are just ordinary individuals who would like to have this as a safety device that they can carry with them and present it to the salon they go to and just explain a little bit.

Catherine Randabel 22:01
The hairdresser can look online at the video because it will fit 95% of basins some basins are a little bit different in their shape. But that’s why we made the HeadBed with such flexible silicone. It’s very, very adaptable. It’s very soft and it will bend and but the thing that is not sort of bendy is that firm head support. But the rest of it will it will adapt to most curves of the neck over any basin in the salon and shampoo basin.

Bill Gasiamis 22:35
So the American distributor do they sell direct to public? Or can public just buy it from a different location? Where do they have to buy it from?

Catherine Randabel 22:48
Well, she will post it up to anybody who goes on the Headbedusa.com website and you can order online. I’m working with a gentleman in Los Angeles who is looking at becoming a distributor. So we’re just trying to, you know, find more ways of letting people know that there is a safety device there that should be on just about every shampoo basin around you know, around the world because you want to avoid the potential for an injury.

Bill Gasiamis 23:22
Is a $100 expensive for a hairdressing salon to put on their little basins?

Catherine Randabel 23:29
Not at all. I mean a pair of good scissors hairdressing scissors is several hundreds of dollars. A shampoo basin is several 1000s of dollars. And another thing that I’ve been so proud of is often a hairdresser will say to me, we knew our basins were uncomfortable. So we were thinking of replacing the basins 1000s of dollars, she said, but when we put our HeadBed on the uncomfortable basin, the clients became super comfy and asked Oh, did you change your basins?

Speaker 1 24:01
Because they haven’t worked out where the difference is, is but they realize that they are suddenly more comfortable. So for a small investment of I think in Europe, it’s about 150 euros or so for the HeadBed. And our distributor sells it with their new basins because it’s part of the package because they know it makes their Cindarella basins much more attractive to buy because of the comfort that the HeadBed being on it provides.

Bill Gasiamis 24:37
So you have a partnership with a manufacturer of a basin and that’s the perfect marriage, isn’t it? That’s the most ideal situation. But then for people who have already had their basins installed, it’s no big deal because then they can just get something and implement that compared to the cost of scissors like next to nothing.

Catherine Randabel 25:01
That’s right. Not even $200 I mean scissors and then all the, you know, the hair dryers equipment and Salon furniture, it’s very expensive. Whereas this is not an expensive solution to, first of all, making the basin safe and comfortable. And then from there, as I say, very often, the hairdresser reports that they can actually have more business because their clients are so comfortable, they accept to have more services done at the basin and not realizing that, you know, well could fall asleep here.

Catherine Randabel 25:37
Whereas before, all they wanted is please shampoo, rinse my hair, and let me get out of there and carry on with the cut and the blow dry and but the shampoo experience itself should be as you said yourself, it’s such a wonderful feeling to have a head massage, and this should be very relaxing. And it should be safe. That’s where I come from the safety, health and safety point of view.

Bill Gasiamis 26:02
Yeah, I love it. We’re going to pause for a moment. And we’re going to bring Sandy on and we’re going to have a conversation with Sandy. And then you and I we’re going to continue the conversation after we’ve spoken to Sandy. So let’s pause for a moment. And let’s bring Sandy on Sandy Chong welcome to the podcast.

Sandy Chong 26:18
Thank you. Hi, everyone.

Bill Gasiamis 26:22
Thank you so much for being here. Really appreciate it. Can you start by giving us a little bit of a background to what you used to do in the past and what you do now?

Ethical Business Practices In Hairdressing Industry

Sandy Chong 26:31
Okay, so I am a hairdresser. And I also did own my own salon for 38, 39 years. And but I don’t do that anymore. I’ve sold that I am the CEO of the Australian Hairdressing Council. And I’ve been that since 2012 I think. So my role is actually representing the hairdressing industry when it comes to lobbying and advocacy work. But more than anything, we do, I guess, advise and nurture our small businesses.

Sandy Chong 27:05
We recognize ethical business practices within the hairdressing industry. And I think that’s why and how we actually came across, you know, Catherine and her product, because of what her product does when it comes to taking good care of our clients, and having the best interests of our clients health and well being while they’re in our salons and definitely at the basins. And so that’s how we came across Catherine in Oh, 10 years ago. That would be because Catherine comes under, you know, definitely ethical business practices, which is something that we recognize in our industry.

Bill Gasiamis 27:42
It’s really interesting to say that you guys practice ethical business practices in hairdressing because I, you can see I have a number one, and I’m not sure. Like what level of ethics you need to uphold to be able to do a number one and I never connected my hairdressing experience with that. How is it that that came to be why is that a thing?

Sandy Chong 28:07
Well the thing is with the AHC ethical business standards come under an accreditation process when it comes to our businesses. So there are certain standards that we accredit them on or recognize them on. So management operations is one client services presentation, for instance, which is what this would come under, because OH&S, this comes under as well work health and safety. And then there’s marketing, employment practices.

Sandy Chong 28:36
And then we’re also very big on sustainable practices. So we have salons who’ve reached their accreditation, because in gold or silver salons, and it’s our way of recognizing that they go above and beyond when it comes to business, and taking care of their clients as well as their staff.

Bill Gasiamis 28:56
I like that. So that occupational health and safety stuff kind of trickles into the care and safety of the customer.

Sandy Chong 29:07
Absolutely, as well as our employees, we want to make sure that we’re taking good care of them.

Bill Gasiamis 29:13
I never considered that there was a possibility that somebody could get injured at a salon maybe because I only ever get to number one, I can’t ever really get cut or snipped or anything. But I imagine there are some possibilities for some serious injuries if people aren’t careful.

Sandy Chong 29:30
What I think there’s possibility for injuries in any trade if someone’s not careful, but be mindful that yes, you do have a clipper cut. However, we use chemical then we also use sharp objects as well. And there’s also the mental health side of that and our physical health. So to be a hairdresser, well then you need to be physically healthy as well. When it comes to mental health.

Sandy Chong 29:55
There’s quite a bit that you’ll hear in the media about being an accidental counsellor. So sometimes, you know, lots of clients will dump all their stuff on us, we need to make sure that our mental health is resilient. And that we do have well that we mentally well, so that we can definitely handle, I guess any situation with any client who might be telling us their issues, their problems, etc. At the end of the day, you know, we feel that our hairdressers deserve the respect from consumers or customers. But on the other hand, we also want to make sure that we are 100% Taking care of the well being of our customers as well.

Bill Gasiamis 30:40
And that brings us to this little beauty here. So I’ve had the pleasure, Sandy, of sitting in a hairdressers salon and having my hair washed just probably once or twice in my life because I went to get a haircut and I couldn’t be bothered going home and having a shower, that kind of situation.

Bill Gasiamis 31:02
And they washed my hair, it was a real treat, it was a bit of a massage, it was warm, and I walked out and I never had hair all over the place that was scratching my back and all that type of stuff. And it was quite an uncomfortable experience. But I’ve got to say that before my stroke, I never considered that there was a possibility that somebody might go to a hairdressing salon and potentially damage a carotid artery or vertebral artery, simply because of the position that their head was in.

Bill Gasiamis 31:34
I don’t believe that the design of the basins are specifically going to cause that issue, I feel like there may often be an underlying issue that people aren’t aware of the kind of just gets exacerbated. And I say that, because I’ve met people who have done damage to a carotid or vertebral artery by sneezing others by driving a car and being in a minor collision and having, you know, that whiplash movement.

Bill Gasiamis 32:05
So I don’t see that the basin is going to be like a risky place to be. But it has been known to cause a couple of issues for some people. And there’s some evidence to suggest that more should be done to support that. In your time in your time as a hairdresser. And now in your time as CEO, have you seen any of those injuries?

Sandy Chong 32:30
I don’t think that I have really seen those injuries, okay. But in my own career as in my own salon, but one thing I will say is that I think that it can contribute definitely to an injury. And in my career, where I had my hair shampooed all the time. And a shampoo experience a basin experience is meant to be quite luxurious, and you know, most of the time, and it should be it should be where you lie down, it’s your time out, it’s your escape from reality, you’ve got someone who’s giving you a lovely head massage.

Sandy Chong 33:06
In our case, we used to actually get trained our hairdressers are trained by Kinesiologist, we would do the ears the neck and everything. So she actually showed us the correct way to massage a neck. Now I have had my hair shampooed as well and had a really bad experience with someone presses the head down. And if they’re at the wrong angle, it’s incredibly painful, like really painful.

Sandy Chong 33:33
And you can have a painful neck, you know, for the rest of the week or even longer. And you need to see a physio like Catherine, or an osteo, etc. I think the one thing that I should say is that as the client, make sure you’re comfortable, make sure you do wiggle around if the if the basin is too high, too low, make sure you’re comfortable. Now a good salon really spends well on their basins, on their basins area.

Sandy Chong 34:01
And so, you know, make sure you’re comfortable, make sure that you have got padding underneath your neck. In our case, as I said, we use HeadBed for the last 10 years. And I totally and absolutely swear by it because of the fact that it was designed by a physio then what better product to put in your basin scenario. But I think from a consumers point of view, a client’s point of view, one, be comfortable, don’t lie there and and think this is really uncomfortable. Tell them and from a hairdressers point of view.

Sandy Chong 34:33
They really need to be aware that there are better techniques and massaging and making sure that the pressure is not on the neck and they’re not pushing down on the head, but they’re massaging up and taking that weight away from the neck. So I’ve I’ve actually experienced some of the most luxurious oh my God amazing, you know, I just want to purr if I could do that, and if I knew how to purr.

Sandy Chong 34:56
I would do that. When I have a beautiful basin experience. But then again, I’ve also had a painful one, which my concern is, it would lead to exactly what you’re saying, a stroke, or it could, it could almost certainly affect the neck and your neck health leading to a stroke. After the event is well, after the experience.

Bill Gasiamis 35:24
You hear, sometimes chiropractors get a big, hard rap because they do neck adjustments. And people then report that they’ve had a stroke, and they blame it on it on the chiropractor. So whatever the situation there is, I can’t imagine it’s a good experience, either for the person providing the service. And then for the person experiencing like a neck trauma or a stroke.

Health And Safety In Hairdressing Salons Including HeadBed Use

Bill Gasiamis 35:46
That’s the last thing that any hairdresser would want to generate or create or be responsible for creating to one of their patients. So what happens when somebody comes to you and says, I’ve got a product, there’s a possibility that this is going to make your customers experience better. Were you running these products, the HeadBed, while you were a hairdresser, in your salons?

Sandy Chong 36:11
So as soon as HeadBed was released, we embraced it immediately. And I think because I saw the value, like I saw the value in protecting our clients necks. And, you know, I think that any salon every salon, as long as the HeadBed will accommodate the shape of their basin. And I My understanding is it does for most of the most of the basins that are out there. I really do believe that every single salon should have this in place. And it’s purely comes down to work health and safety as well.

Bill Gasiamis 36:45
Yeah. What are the implications if somebody does get injured now, maybe not from the HeadBed, but from another situation? What happens? How do you manage that? As a hairdresser, and as the Council that supports hairdressers? What’s the path that people need to go down to get some kind of a resolution or an outcome.

Sandy Chong 37:06
If, we’ve got a client who had damage on their neck and it came in from a basin experience, then I think it’s part of our duty of care to do the absolute best that we can to see how we can assist and help in any way. Obviously, the first thing is to go and seek medical help. And I think that it’s in the best interest of the client, and also the hairdresser to keep in touch and not just go see you later, you know, none of us really want to do that. If we were accountable responsible for giving any client pain, we would want to just make sure that everything was okay.

Sandy Chong 37:46
And they were okay, after the visit, I think that it would not be you know, it would lack integrity. If you just sort of say goodbye, see you later and or the very best good luck. But we would hope that the client would also make sure that the salon is well informed. Now every salon should have work health and safety procedures and policies in place. Is it? You know, is it necessary to have something around the basin in your work health and safety? I think part of that is making sure that your client is comfortable that you do have a good massage technique in place and that you’re very aware of any client who is uncomfortable.

Bill Gasiamis 38:32
Yeah, I suppose it’s just really making sure that the staff understand that everybody’s neck is different, that people’s necks are different that people have a different experience. And that different sizes, shapes, heights, length, necks all change the way the client might feel when they’re getting their head washed, or a treatment put through it.

Sandy Chong 38:59
All different shapes and look at as a business owner. You know, we know what we want, we want the absolute best for every single person that walks in the door. I think where it does come undone, though, is making sure that every employee is well educated around that, and that they are always attentive when they are providing the service and that they’re not you know, they’re not unaware as like when you’re aware of something, you’re aware that you’re aware that you’re always aware of just you know, watching the body language watching for someone who screws their face up and they might be feeling a little bit uncomfortable.

Sandy Chong 39:41
So it’s important that they give 100% attention to that client who is in the basin. Look for anyone who is uncomfortable. I think that every business owner is very committed. Our challenge, of course is making sure that every employee has that commitment that understanding that training that education, and also that awareness with every single client that they take care of, as well.

Bill Gasiamis 40:09
hairdressers have public liability insurance, I imagined that this would be a sight for sore eyes for the insurer, if they were able to see that the hairdresser has gone and implemented something to minimize the risk of injury. As far as the cost is concerned, is it a, like, how good is it to be able to spend 100 bucks or there abouts to create such a massive improvement in the safety of your clients?

Sandy Chong 40:41
Well, prior to HeadBed, we would use these other foam products, and they disintegrate and crack in no time. And so with HeadBed, you just have it for years. I mean, it’s like almost a single investment and you have them forever. In fact, Catherine could correct me I think in 10 years, we might have reordered once, which is probably really bad, repeat business not very productive, you need to make them disintegrate or something you know a little bit sooner.

Sandy Chong 41:11
So it’s not great for repeat business. However, you know, if there’s 12 and a half 1000, salons in Australia, there’s a few more than that, that actually did have HeadBed, or then that would be a really great solution. On top of that 70% of our industry, you know, over 20,000 are single operators, their sole traders, they could be working from home, or they might be working in a hybrid salon.

Sandy Chong 41:34
And when you look at the amount of hairdressers that are out there, if they really considered putting HeadBed in then you know, potentially, you know, you will be looking at 20,000 of them out there in the industry. Most salons have between three and five basins some have two lots of five basins.

Sandy Chong 41:53
And, really HeadBed should be in every one of them because it is part of a work health and safety strategy and policy and procedure. And, you know, for the safety again, and also for your duty of care. I think it’s something that should be seriously considered by every hairdresser in every salon in Australia and including the barbers as well.

Bill Gasiamis 42:17
Yeah, the barbers they’re starting to really take off in big numbers. Now you see barbers everywhere. I was wondering like, how would it go if a client turned up with a HeadBed and went to their salon with it? Like if I bought one, and went to my salon and said, before you wash my hair? Can you please put this on the basin? And how do you think that will go down?

Sandy Chong 42:42
I think any hairdresser would accommodate just make sure that it actually fits their basin though who might need to go in prior to that, okay, and just check that it does check because basins are sort of sometimes they can be strange shapes. And in fact, the one that I find the most difficult has a very wide neck shape. So it’s very difficult to not wet the neck and wet the clothes or whatever. And so you need to really make sure that the HeadBed does fit the basin. But I don’t think any hairdresser would not accommodate that kind of request. In fact, it’s probably not advisable for them to not accommodate, because if something did go wrong, then they’re certainly liable.

Bill Gasiamis 43:31
Yeah. Well, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast. And you know that you’ve got lots of stuff to do. So, at this point, we’ll let you go back to your day.

Sandy Chong 43:42
Thank you. Thank you for having me. And I just want to say I hope that you’re well now and also congratulations, Catherine on you know, designing such a brilliant idea for the hairdressing industry and also our consumers. It’s really important. So congratulations, and thanks again. All

Bill Gasiamis 44:00
Alright, Catherine. So that was an amazing conversation with Sandy.

Catherine Randabel 44:05
It really was and I am just so so grateful for the Australian Hairdressing Council, most of their members are well equipped now, we all have their HeadBeds in their salon. But like Sandy was saying, there’s many many salons out there. And home salons, people work from home. And the more they know about the BeadBed, the more they can certainly invest in being properly equipped for the basins.

Bill Gasiamis 44:29
I don’t often think about occupational health and safety when I go to a hairdresser and that’s the interesting part of the conversation that we had is that, you know, there’s a duty of care. People at the hairdressing salons are thinking of things that I wasn’t ever aware of that I’m not thinking of when I go to a hairdresser just always thinking about is there an appointment.

Bill Gasiamis 44:50
Do I have to make an appointment can I just come and sit down or what the deal is and then I want to get my hair cut and then I want to get out of there. Most of the time. I want to get out of there because I want to go home wash my hair and get rid of all the junk out of my hair. And I very rarely, like I said to Sandy I very rarely sort of said, can you please wash my hair for me because I don’t know, it’s just something I don’t do.

Improving hairdressing experience HeadBed

Bill Gasiamis 45:13
And I don’t think it was an uncomfortable experience, the times that I did have my hair washed, but I am pretty certain it wasn’t fun. Like, I don’t think I could have sat there for ages and enjoyed that experience, and especially what you said earlier in our conversation with the fact that the head becomes four times heavier in that bent back position. That’s pretty crazy. And now that I’ve had a brain injury, I don’t want to have any more.

Catherine Randabel 45:51
When you think about it, you got to number one hair cut most women that much longer hair than that. And they spend a lot longer at the basin, except that there’s different colors that are put through the hair. So it’s there’s foils, there’s different colors, there’s rinsing several times, there’s shampooing several times. So it takes it takes a long time being in that head back bent back position, at the basin with all the pressure against the back of the neck, with all the muscles of the neck holding on for dear life.

Catherine Randabel 46:23
And very often ladies that to like slide down the chair to try and straighten up their neck and their head because it gets uncomfortable, and the hairdresser can’t do their job properly, then they go Come back, come back into the basin, put your head back. And so it’s that constant issue of good body alignment. Because most hairdressers chairs and basins and adapt, they tilt a bit and the chair can go up a little bit. But it was still not enough, because the head was just hanging back into the basin.

Bill Gasiamis 46:56
Most of the chairs that I’ve seen in front of basins are pretty dodgy chairs, you know, they’re just the, the chair that they got from down the road or the one that’s been left over from wherever and it was never adjustable. It’s always just slid in front of the sink. And then you hope for the best you hope to sort of it fits one one size fits all and you hope that you’re going to be able to get your head in there.

Catherine Randabel 47:18
More and more like Sandy was saying good salons have got a proper basin and chair setup. So it’s all electric, and it’s reclines and all sorts. So most salons are aiming towards that because they know clients have to be comfortable at the basin. So now for just a few $100 A tiny little safety device can completely change the experience and make their clients super comfortable.

Bill Gasiamis 47:44
Yeah, so it’s totally legitimate when my wife was going to the hairdresser. And I look at my clock, you know, three hours later, where is she? So it’s all legitimate because all those steps they take time washing etc.

Catherine Randabel 48:02
Only know it’s a quite an involved process. And hairdressers are very, very proud of their trade and very caring people. And once their client gets in the basins, they know, it’s not usually a quite a comfortable place. And most of them try and take great care. But now with a HeadBed on their basin, it should make their life so much easier as well. So it’s a win win for all.

Bill Gasiamis 48:26
It’s a win win, win win win win win. Can you tell me now where would somebody go and have a look at the product online? Where would they be able to buy it from? We will talk about that right now. But for anyone watching and listening, we are going to have all those things in the show notes and in the YouTube description.

Bill Gasiamis 48:44
So if somebody is very keen to have a look and to buy a product and take it to the hairdresser, etc, you’ll be able to find that easily through the show notes and also through the YouTube description. But just for the record, Catherine, where would people go?

Catherine Randabel 49:02
The easiest one is headbed.com.au because we’re an Australian company, and then on there and our Facebook page HeadBed the Facebook page, they will have all the information needed to contact our various distributors or even buy online directly or even contact me email me I am so happy to talk and discuss and explain was great pleasure.

Bill Gasiamis 49:34
We’re going to have all of the contact details in the show notes or the email address. I won’t put that in the show notes. But if somebody reaches out directly to me through recoveryafterstroke.com/contact or asks for it on the YouTube comments. What I’ll do is I will pass on Catherine’s email address just so that we can keep it offline and so that we don’t get spam coming through to you for all sorts of weird things.

Catherine Randabel 50:08
Also on our website, and Facebook they will have my contact details as well.

Bill Gasiamis 50:11
Even better, even better all right, fantastic. Well, Catherine, thank you so much for reaching out, I really appreciate it for sharing your product for sending me one, my wife is going to get one now. And I’m going to sort of try and convince her to take it to the salon, from a comfort perspective, more than anything.

Bill Gasiamis 50:33
Because I think that if she did take that to the salon, from a comfort perspective, that her hairdresser would implement that, before I go, I just realized I’ve got these wedges here that we picked up a couple of times, like, so what’s the point of this? What am I supposed to do with this wedge?

Catherine Randabel 50:52
The wedge fits into the head platform, like a little lego block. And it is designed to make sure that it braces against the inside of the basin. So if my hand is the basin, the little wedge braces against the inside of the basin and the weight of the head there is supported properly.

Bill Gasiamis 51:16
And this is where the head rests?

Catherine Randabel 51:20
Tthe head rests on that little platform here, and the wedge sits inside the basin. That’s right, exactly right. And the little suction cup stick underneath the basin. So the HeadBed doesn’t move on the neck curve. And there’s three levels, three heights of adapters.

Catherine Randabel 51:39
So if a person wants the head further back, they can just quickly put their finger underneath and pull out the little adapter wedge and put a smaller one in, just like so. And it just takes 10 seconds to do and the hairdresser can carry on with their job. So they are designed with great care and attention to the needs of the hairdresser. But more so the needs of the client having their hair washed.

Bill Gasiamis 52:05
How much does it weigh, because people will travel with this right? But 400 grams, okay, so it doesn’t add too much to the weight of your carry-on. 380

Catherine Randabel 52:16
To 400 grams, not even half a kilo. Yep.

Bill Gasiamis 52:20
Yeah. Awesome. Thank you so much. This is just the kind of thing that I think stroke survivors would love to find out about, I really appreciate your time and good luck with the with the product and with the new distributors that you have in the United States.

Catherine Randabel 52:38
Indeed, we’re looking forward to growing and making sure that most salon basins are well-equipped.

Bill Gasiamis 52:45
Well thank you for tuning in to today’s episode where we explored the benefits of HeadBed. An innovative head and neck support cushion designed to enhance salon comfort and prevent neck injuries.

Bill Gasiamis 52:58
Whether you’re a salon professional or someone looking to improve your hair-washing experience. The HeadBed is a game changer in providing ergonomic support and ensuring safety during treatments.

Bill Gasiamis 53:10
For more information on how the HeadBed can revolutionize your salon experience and where you can purchase your own visit Headbed’s official website. All the links will be available a recoveryafterstroke.com/episodes and in the show notes.

Bill Gasiamis 53:27
Stay up to date with the latest news and benefits by following HeadBed on their social media channels. And remember taking care of your neck and ensuring comfort during salon visits is crucial.

Bill Gasiamis 53:39
With the HeadBed you can relax and enjoy your treatments without worrying about discomfort or injury. Thanks again for listening, and we hope you found this information helpful.

Intro 53:49
Importantly, we present many podcast designed to give you an insight and understanding into the experiences of other individuals opinions and treatment protocols discussed during any podcast are the individual’s own experience and we do not necessarily share the same opinion nor do we recommend any treatment protocol discussed.

Intro 54:07
All content on this website at any length blog, podcast or video material controlled this website or content is created and produced for informational purposes only and is largely based on the personal experience of Bill Gasiamis.

Intro 54:19
The content is intended to complement your medical treatment and support healing. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health advice. The information is general and may not be suitable for your personal injuries, circumstances or health objectives.

Intro 54:35
Do not use our content as a standalone resource to diagnose treat, cure or prevent any disease for therapeutic purposes or is a substitute for the advice of a health professional. Never delay seeking advice or disregard the advice of a medical professional your doctor or your rehabilitation program based on our content.

Intro 54:51
If you have any questions or concerns about your health or medical condition, please seek guidance from a doctor or other medical professional if you are experiencing a health emergency, or think you might be, call 000 if in Australia or your local emergency number immediately for emergency assistance or go to the nearest hospital emergency department.

Intro 55:08
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