Barber warns of common haircut mistake that's leaving scores of young men infected with gruesome RINGWORM

Barbers today sounded the alarm over a concerning rise in young men catching ringworm from haircuts.

Cases of the contagious skin fungus that can cause disfigurement have jumped significantly in just a handful of months, they claim. 

Barbers believe this is due to more men opting for skin fade haircuts — when the sides are shaved short, and length is left on top — at 'cheap, dirty unqualified' shops 'littering the high streets'. 

But the government today said it still had 'no plans to regulate the hairdressing sector'.

Despite ringworm's reputation as a scalp disease of Victorian slum-dwellers, it is a common fungal infection, estimated to affect between 10 and 20 per cent of the population — mainly children. 

Transmitted through skin-to-skin contact, despite its name it is not caused by a worm. 

It can also be passed on through infected objects, such as bedsheets, combs or towels.

Mike Taylor, who runs a barbering training academy in Poole, Dorset said he had seen 'loads of cases' recently.

The barber who has worked in the industry for 34 years told the BBC he believes cheaper shops are failing to keep their equipment clean. 

He said: 'I'd say 70 to 80 per cent of clients coming in ask for skin fades.

'To get that effect you've got to use the foil clipper, but the problem is it takes in hair and it needs to be thoroughly cleaned.'

He added: 'The high street is depleting, it's dying and then suddenly there's 12 barber shops on the same street and they're all trying to go a little bit cheaper than each other.

'If the prices have to be knocked down then something else has to go and maybe it is all the time spent cleaning the equipment or the time spent getting the proper knowledge.

'Sometimes the cheapest price isn't always the best price.'

Gareth Penn, the registrar at the Hair and Barber Council, also called for a 'mandatory register for those who wish to trade as hairdressers or barbers'.

The council, based in Hampshire, is a statutory authority for hairdressing in the UK. But it is currently only a voluntary register.  

'This opens up hairdressing and barbering to those that are not trained, or qualified, or worse, those who wish to use our industry as a front for illegal activity,' he said.

A government spokesperson, said: 'We have no plans to regulate the hairdressing sector, however we will always seriously consider evidence when it's provided.

'We work closely with the industry to address skills and training needs, and HMRC is also working to tackle tax fraud in the sector.'

Cases of ringworm are usually treated with antifungal medications available on prescription such as gels and creams. 

But sometimes oral antifungal medication is needed as well.

Common signs of the fungal infection include itchiness, a scaly ring-shaped area, scattering of bumps which range in colour from red on white skin, to reddish, brown or gray on black skin.

Slightly raised expanding rings or a round flat patch of itchy skin, are other key signs, according to the NHS. 

Dr James O'Donovan, an NHS medic and technical advisory group member at the World Health Organization, also advises people to avoid sharing 'combs, hats, hairbrushes, towels and pillowcases with other people'.

In a YouTube video watched over 125,000 times, he explained this is 'because fungus can live for a long period of time'. 

If a child is affected, it is vital school teachers and parents of classmates are made aware, he added.

'Other family members should be examined by a doctor and treated,' he said. 

'Sometimes it's best for the whole family to be treated with a medicated antifungal shampoo twice weekly for four weeks, whether or not a fungal infection is proven.'