A client in Denver passed out in my chair and I wasn't ready for it

It was a normal Tuesday, about 10:30 AM, and I was doing a simple skin fade. The guy was talking about his weekend, then just went quiet. I looked up and his eyes were rolled back. He had a medical episode right there. My shop didn't have a real first aid kit, just some band-aids. I had to yell for my coworker to call 911 while I tried to get him safely to the floor. The paramedics said he was okay, but it scared me straight. Now I keep a full kit with smelling salts and a blood pressure cuff by my station. Has anyone else put together a specific barber shop emergency kit? What do you keep in yours?

3 comments

3 Comments

john6502mo ago

That part about the band-aid kit hits hard. I mean, it's crazy how many shops just have that little plastic thing from the drug store. One thing I never see people talk about is having a printed list of emergency steps taped inside the kit lid. When your brain freezes, you can just look at the steps for "unresponsive client" or "seizure" and it tells you what to do next. Takes the guesswork out when you're panicking.

rodriguez.felix2mo ago

Right, the adrenaline makes your brain just shut off. That's the whole reason people freeze in those moments. Printed steps inside the lid is a solid fix since you don't have to remember anything. What nobody ever brings up is having a small, cheap voice recorder clipped to the kit too. When the panic hits, your hands might be shaking too bad to read the card, but you can still hit a button and have a calm voice walk you through it. Pre-record a few basic drills for stuff like "passing out from a bad piercing" or "allergic reaction to ink." Takes the same guesswork out but works even when your eyes can't focus on the text.

hayden_nelson852mo ago

My shop's emergency list just says "panic, then Google it.