The American Hair Research Society (AHRS) has created this privacy policy in order to demonstrate our commitment to our members’ privacy and protection of personal information that we collect and process. The following discloses our information gathering and dissemination practices. Unless the context indicates otherwise, the terms “you” and “your” refer to both you individually and any entity on whose behalf you are accessing our Website.

Please read the following document carefully. Questions or concerns regarding these statements can be directed to via email: [email protected].

This privacy policy applies to information we collect (our “Collection Places”):

  • On this Website (including its integrated third party platforms);
  • On other platforms we use to facilitate our management of the services we provide to you (e.g. conference registration sites); and
  • In email, text, other electronic messages or by telephone or other communications between you and us and (if you are a member) between you and other members through the Website.

If you have questions or concerns regarding this policy, we welcome you to contact us at: [email protected].

  1. Acknowledgement of this Privacy Statement

Your use of any of our Collection Places signifies that you have read and understand all of the terms of this privacy policy.

  1. Personal Information You Provide Voluntarily

We collect personal information at our Collection Places that include, but is not limited to, name, telephone number, email address, employer, professional title, date of birth, home or business and mailing address, gender, details regarding your entity and business, your job title, username and password, company contacts for corporate members, photographs, and education.

The personal information you are asked to provide (including whether its provision is mandatory or not) is needed so that we may facilitate your access, purchase, use and/or participation in our service offerings, such as (collectively “Services”):

  • Membership;
  • Conferences & Events;
  • Educational programs;
  • Online forums;
  • Certification/accreditation activities;
  • Volunteer opportunities;
  • Products for sale;
  • Surveys; and
  • Any other services and products that are updates or extensions to our Services or relate to other member benefits.

If you choose not to provide us with your personal information, you may not be able to enjoy certain components of our Services.

Additionally, we will also collect personal information when:

  • You request us to contact you via mail, email, or telephone to provide information, updates, or promotions about our Services;
  • We enter into agreements for affiliated partnerships (e.g., exhibitors, sponsors, advertisers).

We will provide you with the choice and means for limiting the use and disclosure of your personal information before we use or disclose the information for a purpose that is materially different than the purpose described below.

At other times, we may collect information that cannot be used to identify you.  For example, we may aggregate non-personal information about you and other customers who visit our Websites. Aggregated information will not contain any information that can be linked directly back to you.For those Website users located outside the United States including the European Economic Area, we advise you that your information may at times be accessible by individuals who are located worldwide or other geopolitical regions which have not been determined to provide the same level of data protection as in your country, province, territory or geopolitical region. By providing us with your personal information, you are consenting to our use of it in accordance with this privacy policy, including the transfer of your information across international boundaries to jurisdictions anywhere in the world as permitted by local law.

  1. Personal Information We Collect Automatically

In addition to the Collection Places, we may use any number of tools to collect information about you, your computer access points, and the web browser that you use to connect to our Website. For example, cookies are tiny text files that we place on your computer’s hard drive when you visit our Website. We may use cookies to personalize your interactions with our Websites. You do not have to accept our cookies and you may set your browser to restrict their use and you may delete them after they have been placed on your hard drive.  If you do not accept or delete our cookies, some areas of our Website may take more time to work or may not function properly.

Under the laws of various European Union countries, cookies may be served, as long as individuals have provided their consent, having been given clear and comprehensive information, in particular about the purposes for which their personal data will be processed. In at least the above-referenced countries, effective consent may be provided by using browser settings, as long as you take positive action. Before using our Website, you are advised to check your current browser settings to ensure that the settings reflect your consent for us to place cookies on your devices.

We may also collect additional information from your web browser each time you visit our Website. We may collect information about the pages that you visit and the time spent on each web page or area of the Website, the promotions or advertisements that you click on, and other actions that you take while using our Website. This information may include your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, the type of browser, the time that your browser was used to access our Website, and the referring website’s address. We may also use tools such Google Analytics.

We may also collect information that cannot be used to identify you.  For example, we may aggregate non-personal information about you and other individuals who visit our Website. Aggregated information will not contain any information that can be linked directly back to you.

Our Service Providers (defined below) may also use other standard web-based technologies to analyze your movements while accessing our Websites.  The technologies include web “beacons,” “pixel tags,” and “clear gifs.” These technologies help us ascertain the effectiveness of our product and service campaigns and marketing programs, allow us to customize the services offered on or through our Website, and help determine the best use for Website content and product and service offerings. Some of this information, including the IP address, may be stored on our Internet service provider’s server logs, and may be available for extended periods of time.

  1. Choice

We will offer you the opportunity to choose (opt out) whether your personal information is: (a) to be disclosed to a third party and that third party intends to use the personal information for a purpose that is materially different from the purpose for which the personal information was originally collected; or (b) We intend the personal information to be used for a purpose other than the purpose for which it was originally collected or subsequently authorized by you.

  1. Our Use of Your Personal Information

The American Hair Research Society may use your personal information to:

  • Provide information about our Services and affiliate partnerships;
  • Fulfill your member benefits;
  • Facilitate your attendance/participation at our conferences and events (both in person and virtual);
  • Track your attendance at conferences and trade shows (including exhibitor spaces);
  • Prepare invoices and process payments;
  • Respond to any of your questions or requests or other communications you send to us;
  • Carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contract entered between you and us;
  • Fulfill any other purpose for which you provide information to us;
  • Present our Website effectively to you; or
  • Perform any other legitimate purpose reasonably consistent with your membership or affiliated partnership.

Additional uses of your non-personal and personal information will allow us to tailor our Services specific to your needs, to help organize and manage our relationship with you or your business, to conduct business, to provide you with support, and to perform functions that are described to you at the time of collection.

In general, we will use the personal information we collect from you only for the purposes described in this privacy policy or for purposes that we explain to you at the time we collect your personal information. However, we may also use your personal information for other purposes that are not incompatible with the purposes we have disclosed to you (such as archiving purposes in the public interest, research purposes, or statistical purposes) if and where this is permitted by applicable data protection laws.

  1. Our Disclosure of Your Personal Information to Third Parties

We may share your personal information with the following categories of recipients:

  • Third party service providers (“Service Providers”) who provide (without limitation) administrative/operational services; data processing; membership services; marketing and communication services; meeting management services; website hosting services; membership database services; credit card processing; conference registration; conference mobile applications; conference/event hotels and venues; or who otherwise process personal information for purposes that are described in this privacy policy or notified to you when we collect your personal information;
  • Other AHRS members may receive certain items of your personal information as part of a membership directory or through collaboration portals. In addition, if you sign up to attend a member meeting or other AHRS-sponsored event, all other AHRS members who sign up for the event will be notified of your intended attendance at the event and may be given your full name, address, company name, and email address. We are not responsible for other members use or misuse of your personal information; and
  • Affiliated partners, such as exhibitors, sponsors and advertisers, may receive membership lists or event attendance lists that include your full name, address, company name, and email address. We are similarly not responsible for the use or misuse of your personal information by our affiliated partners.

We may also disclose your personal information as is necessary to: (a) comply with a subpoena or court order; (b) cooperate with law enforcement or other government agencies; (c) establish or exercise our legal rights; (d) protect the property or safety of our company and employees, contractors, vendors, suppliers, and customers; (e) defend against legal claims; (f) help with internal and external investigations; or (g) as otherwise required by law or permitted by law. We may disclose your information in connection with the sale or merger of the AHRS or any transaction that involves the sale or assignment of some or all of our assets.

  1. Data Storage and Security

We make reasonable efforts to ensure that our Service Providers have implemented physical, electronic, and procedural security measures to assist with safeguarding your personal information and to help protect against unauthorized access and disclosure. Notwithstanding our efforts, the Internet has inherent security risks.  We cannot promise, and you should not expect, that your personal information, personal searches, and other communications will always remain secure. You should take care with regard to how you handle and disclose your personal information or any username or password that you are required to use to access all of our Collection Places.

We will not keep your personal information longer than necessary for the purpose for which it was collected.  We will securely destroy or erase personal information from our systems when it is no longer required to accomplish the purpose for which it was collected. We also will endeavor to ensure the deletion and destruction of personal information stored and maintained by third parties. We may, however, retain some personal information in order to comply with applicable laws, regulations, rules and court orders.

  1. Children and Data Collection

Our Website content is not directed toward children who are under the age of 16.  We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.  If we or our Service Providers become aware that a child has provided us with personal information without parental consent, that information will be deleted from our databases.  If you have questions about personal information that may have been submitted by a child, please email us at [email protected].

  1. How You May Access and Change the Information that the AHRS Collects

The first time that you provide us with registration information through our Website, you may be offered the opportunity to subscribe to and receive additional information about our products and services. Each commercial email that we send to you will offer you the opportunity to opt-out of continuing to receive such messages.  We may take up to 10 business days to process your opt-out requests. In some instances, we may have already shared your information with one of our authorized third parties before you changed your information preferences, and you may briefly continue to receive email even after you have opted out. FTC email compliance guidance allows us to send you transactional and relationship email without offering you the opportunity to opt-out of receiving those types of email.

For those Website users located in the European Union, we are required by law to advise you that your personal information may, at times, be accessible by individuals who are located worldwide including in countries that the European Commission has not determined provide the same level of data protection as in your country. By providing us with your personal information, you are consenting to our use of it in accordance with our privacy policy, including the transfer of your personal information across international boundaries to jurisdictions anywhere in the world as permitted by local law, including, without limitation the United States.

In some cases, the United States may not be deemed to have data privacy laws that afford an equal level of protection for your personal information as those laws legislated at the direction of the European Union, however, please be assured that we will continue to adhere to the principles stated in this privacy policy and in applicable laws in connection with any personal information. We will endeavor to preserve the integrity, confidentiality, and security of personal information and afford such personal information an adequate level of protection.

  1. Rooms/Forums/Message Boards/News Groups

Our Website may make digital forums available to its users. Please remember that any information disclosed in these areas becomes public information, and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose information through these areas of the Website.

  1. Enforcement

We use a self-assessment approach to assure compliance with this privacy policy and periodically verify that the policy is accurate, comprehensive for the information intended to be covered, prominently displayed, completely implemented and accessible and in conformity with the European Union privacy principles. We encourage interested persons to raise any concerns using the contact information provided and we will investigate and attempt to resolve any complaints or disputes regarding the use and disclosure of personal information in accordance with the principles.

If a complaint or dispute cannot be resolved through our internal process, we agree to dispute resolution using (an independent resourced mechanism) as a third party resolution provider.

  1. General Information and Privacy Support Contact

We may update this privacy policy from time to time, and you should take the time to review it each time that you visit one of our Websites. We are committed to protecting your personal privacy.  If you have questions or comments about our efforts to protect your personal privacy, or if you require additional information about our privacy commitment, please contact us at [email protected].

Download our privacy policy here.