A typical sleepover took a terrifying turn for a 12-year-old girl when a routine hair-brushing session resulted in a horrific accident that ripped her scalp from her head.
The young girl, from Bury, Greater Manchester, was having her hair brushed by a friend using a motorised detangling brush when her long locks became catastrophically entangled in the device's mechanism.
The powerful motor, unable to dislodge itself, continued to spin, violently tearing her hair and skin from her skull in a devastating scalp avulsion injury.
A Mother's Worst Nightmare
The girl's mother, Chelsea, recounted the moment she heard the screams. Rushing to the scene, she was met with a parent's worst nightmare. "Her whole scalp was hanging off," she described, the memory clearly still raw. "I could see her skull."
The situation was so severe that the brush remained lodged in her hair, forcing Chelsea to make a split-second decision. "I had to cut the brush out of her hair to free her," she explained, a necessary act in the midst of the chaos.
Race to Hospital and Major Surgery
The young victim was rushed to Royal Oldham Hospital, where the full extent of the trauma became apparent. Surgeons worked for hours in a complex procedure to reattach her scalp.
Doctors were forced to shave off all of her remaining hair and insert numerous staples to secure the skin back onto her head. The physical and emotional scars from the ordeal are profound, with the girl now facing a long and difficult recovery.
A Stark Warning to Other Parents
Now, Chelsea is on a mission to raise awareness and prevent a similar tragedy from happening to another child. She is urging parents to be extremely cautious with similar motorised haircare tools, many of which are marketed as innovative and safe.
"I just want to make people aware of how dangerous these brushes can be," she stated. Her warning serves as a critical reminder that everyday items can pose unexpected and severe risks, especially to children with long hair.
The family is sharing their story in the hope that increased vigilance will spare others from enduring such a traumatic and life-altering event.
