SITTING in the hair salon chair waiting to get her first ever set of blonde highlights, 14-year-old Coco Brown beamed excitedly. The pretty teen had been treated to the 'salon experience' by her mum, Sammi, 50, as a birthday present - however within an hour of starting the treatment, Coco’s world changed forever. The schoolgirl was left permanently scarred and in agony as the bleach used in the colouring process caused third degree chemical burns.
It's every mum's nightmare. The reaction was so severe Coco, later needed treatment at A&E and required intensive surgery and a skin graft, with treatment that could last for many years. Now, devastated mum Sammi - who lives in Bromley, Kent with daughters Coco, Tabitha, 18, and businessman husband David, 58 - is speaking out to stress the importance of hairdressers carrying out strand tests.
Teaching assistant Sammi, says: "It’s been an exhausting and emotional rollercoaster - Coco is having good days and bad. "She's a ‘Swifty’ and as she’s turning 15 later this month she was desperate to match her idol, Taylor Swift . "Her older sister had had hers done in London back in September too and Coco thought she looked stunning.
"Now she knows she will be permanently scarred because of that hairdresser. It’s something she’s had to accept but for someone of 14, that’s really hard." The nightmare began in May 2024 when Coco was on holiday with her family in Florida .
Sammi says: "Tabitha was competing in the Cheerleading Wo.