Have you ever had your hair dyed? Or even used a kit to dye your hair at home, after all, it’s never cheap to get hair coloured at a salon. Have you ever wondered what’s in the hair dye itself and what effect that might have on you? Most people don’t give it a moments thought and most never have any reason to; up and down the country men and women are changing hair colour every day without any problems.
Thankfully only a tiny minority of people have an allergy to Paraphenylenediamine (PPD), a chemical compound found in many permanent hair dyes. It’s purpose is to ensure the dye holds onto the hair and doesn’t fade when shampooed and washed. It can cause mild skin reactions on the ears, scalp and neck, swelling of the head and neck and in rare instances, even anaphylaxis.
It may seem far fetched, but one British teen, Tabatha McCourt, recently died as a result of a suspected allergy to PPD in a home hair dye kit. Read more on the Daily Mail website. Tabatha had used similar kits to colour her hair on numerous occasions, so she wouldn’t have been worried about testing before using. Why would she suddenly have such a violent reaction to a chemical she most certainly came into contact with before without any problems?
For more information about PPD visit Dermanet New Zealand’s website.
Everyone should always, always do a simple skin test before using any hair dye, whether at home or in a salon, especially those sensitive types. It isn’t worth the risk of discomfort, pain or worse.
It seems that even having a patch test before having your hair dyed isn’t a guarantee that you won’t react, and many women who have been fine using DIY hair dying can suddenly become sensitised.
There are many who feel PPD should be banned from all hair dyes. The Foods Matter website has an article about one lawyer who is campaigning for just that – a complete ban on PPD in hair dyes. Read more in PPD in hair dye and elsewhere.
It certainly puts me off getting my hair coloured. I have had highlights done professionally at a salon and they did a skin patch test a few days before to check I didn’t have an allergy. All was fine on that occasion, but I’ll stick with my natural light brown hair colour from now on thanks – it’s much safer.
Do you know anyone who has an allergy to hair dye? or have you had an adverse reaction yourself?
Thanks to Katy, one of my followers on the What Allergy Facebook page, here is a link to some research done by the Northwestern University Medical Center, Chicago: “Alternative Hair dye products for persons allergic to PPD”. It’s only one piece of research so may not be the only answer, but it might help.
well covered ruth. So many things are possible now to do with our bodies and gardens and cars , buildings etc. these warnings are good. Very helpful. There are rogues out there as well. don
Thanks Don, and yes, in your case even the drugs your doctor prescribes to keep you healthy can cause allergic reactions! Always read the label and always, always do a patch test before using anything like hair dye.
Shocking, isn’t it, Ruth? Only last week, I saw a lady in her thirties with an unusual bladder cancer – to which hair dye and other chemicals are thought to be linked – she DID dye her hair since her teens so who knows if that was involved? Whatever, it is not worth taking the risk!
I have long advised using the most non-toxic hair dyes and there is only one I recommend – Logona. Some of the supposedly ‘natural’ ones are not as non-toxic’ as you might think..
Your readers may want to check out the Hot Picks and Best Suppliers list I have put on my website to guide people, which includes a line about Logona hair dyes. Check in the ‘Toiletries’ section as I cannot link to it here. Hope it helps!
Thanks Micki – that is even more scary but nothing surprises me. The more I read the more I believe that cancer is a man-made disease. Definitely not worth the risk at all. I have only had my hair dyed twice so think I’ll steer clear and go grey gracefully when the time comes. Not quite there yet (touch wood).
I just got this link from Allergy UK which explains even more about hair dye allergy: http://www.allergyuk.org/fs_hairdye.aspx
I had a resent reaction on my highlights they were just putting the foils when all of a sudden i felt burning on my scalp in a minute it got worse one of the portion of my hair all of a sudden got shrunked it got burned i ask my self why this happend on this certain spot???