Crystal Harrison, STAR Writer

Despite reports that a hair glue solvent may have caused the death of a Jamaican woman in the United Kingdom, local hairdressers and other users of the popular product are saying this will not be a deterrent.

The use of the solvent became a hot topic for discussion in early February of this year after a UK pathologist explained at a hearing at London's Southwark Coroner's Court that 34-year-old Jamaican-born Atasha Graham may have died from the latex glue used to apply hair extensions.

THE WEEKEND STAR understands that Graham had been reportedly using hair extensions for 14 years.

While some persons agree that there are side effects to the solvent, many are doubting that this very vital hair product could cause death.

On May 15, last year, the Daily Mail reported that Graham suddenly collapsed and stopped breathing after returning home from a night out at a club.

A post-mortem failed to find any abnormalities with her organs or substances which could have caused her death. The pathologist told the hearing that traces of glue or solvent could have seeped into her bloodstream.

However, a Portmore-based hairdresser, Stacy-Ann Morrison, who told THE WEEKEND STAR that she has been doing the profession for over 10 years now, said, "I don't think hair glue kill that woman, it must be something else because the glue is even used to put on eyelashes and it doesn't even hurt."

Morrison further said; "Every hair product have side effects and what I know about the hair glue is that it can damage your hairline or give you fungus. I definitely don't think the hair glue killed that woman and that will not help me to stop use it. I think it's some other product that she may have used."

side effects

Interestingly, Colleen Scott-Boothe, who also has been in the hairdressing business for many years, said the fact that the solvent sometimes rips the hair from the root is an indication that there are side effects.

However, she further reasoned that in her line of business it is not so much about her personal beliefs but it is more about the clients' requests.

"I don't really know if the glue is dangerous to cause death, but I know it can be dangerous to tear the hair from the root. Just look at when it gets attached to clothes, it really mess it and it cannot be easily removed. But what I can really tell you is that clients are asking for it and and some persons prefer the glue than to sew the hair in," Scott-Boothe told THE WEEKEND STAR.

A regular user of the hair glue Shantelle Dawkins also reasoned with THE WEEKEND STAR yesterday that she won't stop using the product, "I don't think the glue is dangerous and that will not stop me from using it because people have been using it for years and a di first I am hearing something like this. The glue give me better results because it make your hair neater," Dawkins said.

"I use the glue and me never hear it kill nobody yet. That story about that UK woman sounds far fetched to me and that will not prevent me from using it. That case about that woman is rare," Yanica Grant, another user of the hair glue told THE WEEKEND STAR.

Meanwhile, local medical practitioner Dr Jephthah Ford rubbished the claim that hair glue is dangerous and can cause death.

According to Dr Ford, "the UK report didn't say the glue was the cause of death. They didn't find the cause of the woman's death and so they said that the glue is a possibility. However, it is very unlikely that hair glue could be that dangerous," he said.