Avoiding Allergic Reactions: Knowing What’s In Your Hair Dye Before You Buy It
March 9, 2011 Kyriaki (Sandy) Venetis Coloring your hair at home is one of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to pump up your look. The challenge is finding a color that looks great and is safe for you, too!
This especially important because people everywhere are starting to color their hair at younger and younger ages, which “increases the potential risk of adverse health effects,” according to research from the European Union’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Products.
Stacy Ditroia: Hair dye caused an allergic reaction that caused her face to swell up.The concern is that the earlier a person starts dying their hair, the more overall lifelong exposure they have to chemicals that can build up in their body and potentially cause allergic reactions, sometimes leading to hospitalization.
A Denmark study found that in that country, the average age for someone starting to dye their hair was about 16.
A survey in 1992 by the Japan Soap and Detergent Association found that “13 percent of female high school students, six percent of women in their 20s, and two percent of men in their 20s reported using hair coloring products. By 2001, the proportions had increased in these groups to 41 percent, 85 percent, and 33 percent, respectively,” and it’s a trend that’s not slowing down.
The concern isn’t just in these countries. It’s an issue in most industrialized countries. Salynn Boyles, a contributing writer for WebMD Health News, said, “As more and more young people color their hair, the incidence of hair dye allergies is also increasing. The culprit is a common chemical ingredient in permanent hair dyes, called paraphenylenediamine or PPD.
“PPD is found in more than two-thirds of commercial (hair) dyes. Patients with severe PPD reactions commonly develop painful rashes around the hair line or on the face which often require treatment and can occasionally lead to hospitalization. Facial swelling is also common.”