Hairdresser from Bradford impales her hand on eight-inch tail comb

Perrie Canning-Allen was in the middle of colouring a client's hair on February 4 when she decided to wash some of the tools she'd been using. As the 27-year-old reached in the sink for a bowl, she said she suddenly felt something in her hand.

Taking her hand out, Perrie was shocked to see the large metal tail sticking out of her right hand just underneath her knuckle. Perrie believes the comb was lying flat against the back of the sink so when she put her hands in the water it pierced her skin.

Her cool-headed client helped a screaming Perrie bandage her hand before she rushed to Bradford Royal Infirmary where doctors sent her to urgent care. There, they took X-rays before freeing the comb, thoroughly cleaning the wound and giving her a tetanus jab.

Thankfully the comb didn't hit any nerves or bones in Perrie's hand and the following day a plastic surgeon cleared her to go back to work. Perrie, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, said: “I froze and I think I screamed a little bit. The other stylist in the salon, she turned her head to look at me and then I saw her put her hands over her mouth.

“My client then turned around and she was like, oh my gosh I felt a little bit faint, I was very hot and clammy, started to get blurred vision and I felt pretty horrendous so I sat down. I was absolutely worried I'd lose use of my hand. Obviously that is a big thing being a hairdresser but also I think for everyday life you need your hands. That would have affected so many parts of my life like driving. I was just like, ‘oh my gosh, how has this happened to me?’ and was hoping that nothing was too sinister.

“Luckily my client who I was dealing with at the time is a radiographer. She had a look at the comb and was trying to see how much of it had actually gone in. She said, I'm not comfortable taking it out, you are going to have to go to A&E and let them have a look at it. I walked into the waiting room and I don't know if I was a bit paranoid but I felt like everyone was looking at me.

“Obviously the comb was sticking out of my hand but my client had wrapped it up so it was just the fingers and the end of the comb that you could see. My hand was throbbing at this point, I was having to keep it held up.”

Now recovered, Perrie shared her gruesome ordeal on TikTok, where it racked up more than 120,000 views.

Perrie said: “It was definitely scary. It didn't actually hurt as much as I thought it would, it was more the cleaning afterwards, which was absolutely horrendous. The pain was so bad, I'll never forget the pain. It was like a sharp pain. I literally was screaming. The pain shot all the way right down the back of my hand all the way up into my arm. I think I've unlocked a new fear for a few people. A few people have commented to say that it has happened to them but in different parts of the body. One person said he sat on it and it went through his bum and someone else through their foot.

“If I was someone who was scrolling and came across that, that would really make me weak at the knees. Being a squeamish person, it's my idea of hell. It healed really quickly, there's barely even a graze there now. I was over the moon that I hadn't caused any damage, I felt a lot of relief at that point.

“I went back to work and my hand was absolutely fine. I've got a bit of twinging when I move my finger, a little bit of pain when I bend them. Now we'll obviously be a bit more mindful about how we do stuff [in the salon] because we don't want that to happen again."

One user commented: “As a hairstylist I am very much terrified.” Another said: “Oh lordy hun this is one of my fears.” A third commented: “I don't think I'll ever look at my comb the same EVER AGAIN.”