However, Delvin Evans, manager of Headers International in Neath, said he thought it could be a case of health and safety gone too far.

He said: "Why is it only now that they are finding these things out?

"I have been in the business nearly 30 years and only recently had a bit of dermatitis on my wrist which cleared up quickly."

Mr Evans said his salon had switched to a new brand of gloves but he remained unconvinced that the old gloves could prove lethal.

He said: "I am all for the protection of my staff but as for the gloves killing them, I think it has gone a bit dramatic.

"Before long, we will have to wear masks to protect us from the hair sprays," he said.

Barrie Hillier, owner of Barrie's Hairdressing in Port Talbot, also said he had never had any problems with the older gloves in his 42 years of hairdressing.

He said a few of his staff had suffered minor skin problems in the past but that these had usually been caused by shampoo.

Mr Hillier added that his salon had swapped to the new gloves but was paying out twice as much for them. "They cost £7 a box instead of £3 a box for the other kind", he said.

Council officers visited 80 salons in their efforts, and in her report, Ms Jones highlighted the need for action.

She said: "Hairdressers have been identified as one of the occupational groups with the highest incidence of work-related contact dermatitis in the UK." She also said a local hair product supplier had agreed to stop supplying the problem gloves, in support of the authority's efforts.

Ms Jones said other industries which used latex gloves, such as catering and tyre and exhaust fitting services, were next on the list to be targeted.