Hairdressers Journal
Article date: 28/01/2008
Toxicological opinion
Dear Editor,
I read the letter from a distressed parent (HJ International 14-20 December 2007) who was urging improvements to testing prior to colour application. Although only a minority of consumers who have their hair dyed develop an allergy, those that do don’t always react in the same way. Some only have a mild sensitivity and often continue to dye their hair, experiencing only a little skin redness and itching.
However, at the other end of the spectrum are highly sensitive individuals (who might have started out with only a mild sensitivity which became enhanced via repeated exposure to hair dye), where a hair dyeing treatment could result in severe eczema, swelling of the eyelids, even of the whole head, perhaps culminating in a visit to the local hospital. So, it seems to me that there is real merit in the hairdresser having access to a simple standardised system which, prior to each hair dyeing activity, will indicate to the hairdresser and the customer whether they are in that small subset of individuals who are particularly sensitive. Perhaps the best option is the routine use of a standardised low dose patch system, where the aim is not to diagnose individuals with a medical allergy, but simply to identify customers who have developed a hair dye sensitivity to the main hair dye allergen (PPD) to an extent which puts them at real risk of a bad reaction.
Dr David Basketter, Consultant Toxicologist, BSc, DSc, FRCPath, CBiol, FIBiol