Dying your hair is one of the quickest and least expensive ways to change up your look. You can go from brunette to blond with one bottle and 30 minutes of your time (if you do it yourself at home). But, there are many people out there with hair dye allergies. This is due to many side effects of hair dye and allergic reactions to compounds within the dyes. But, there are ways to get around this allergy! This article will teach you how to treat allergic reactions to hair dye and how to dye your hair without breaking out with hair dye allergies. However, you may still have an allergic reaction to hair dyes, but this can teach you the ways to hopefully avoid them if possible.
How to Dye Your Hair
When using dye in your hair it is best to try and avoid the outbreak of hair dye allergies. By following the below steps you can take the proper precautions when dying your hair:
1. After dying hair, wash out all remaining residues. This can be done with a clarifying shampoo. If you do not have clarifying shampoo handy, use the next strongest shampoo in your home.
2. Take an antihistamine. Benadryl is a great over the counter allergy medicine that can help to block out an allergic reaction.
3. If you begin to have some itchy skin around the scalp – use a cortisone cream to help soothe it. This can calm the itch of a mild reaction to the hair dye.
4. If these items do not help and reactions continue- see a doctor. You do not want the allergic reactions to cause problems with skin on the face or neck. It is possible for it can impede breathing or lead to allergy induced asthma, so be cautious.
If you do not want to risk dying your hair, do a skin patch test first. You can do this by mixing a small amount of hair dye and applying it to the skin of your inner arm. Leave this on for five minutes, and then rinse it off. If you do not have a reaction within twenty four hours, you should be safe to dye away! Remember to rather always err on the side of caution and consult a doctor if in doubt.
Not everyone will suffer a hair dye allergy. A small fraction of the population are afflicted. Rashes and inflammatory skin conditions associated with hair dye allergy have been around for as long as people have been colouring their hair. There are people who discovered their allergy when trying to dye their hair and developed a systemic sensitivity to many colorant chemicals they never previously reacted too. This can be difficult to handle and usually requires dietary control.
Symptoms of Hair Dye Allergy
A hair dye allergy is one of those conditions that sound a great deal less unpleasant than they really are. The symptoms of a hair dye allergy can be and often are slight but paying attention to the safety advice on almost any bottle of hair dye is wise, given the severe reactions that are possible.
Hair Dye Allergic Reactions:
Light Reaction: Includes itchiness and redness of the scalp.
Mild Reaction: Rashes and inflammatory skin conditions.
Severe Reaction: Hair loss and very painful inflammation of the derma around scalp and similarly sensitive areas of the skin that may have been exposed to the dye. These symptoms are obviously extremely unpleasant and there have even been cases of anaphylactic shock as a result of severe allergy to some of the chemicals used in the manufacture of hair dye.
Paraphenylenediamine is a chemical used to create the deeper toned hair dyes, it becomes dangerous to certain individuals when activated by the oxidising compound (most often hydrogen peroxide) usually supplied in a second bottle with a commercial hair dye system.
Many sufferers don’t stop dying because once the chemicals have settled they are inert again, so the less severe sufferer regards the rash as simply being a part of what happens when they dye their hair.
How to find out if you have a hair dye allergy
- You can test the dye you are thinking of using by dabbing a small amount of the mixture onto a small but sensitive patch of skin (behind the ear for example) and in the case of a hair dye allergy you will experience the slight discomfort of a small red patch of skin. This will only test that particular dye and its ingredients.
- A medical laboratory will do comprehensive patch testing in clinical conditions from which data they will be able to give you a detailed report of what allergies you have and how severely you have them.
- Failing the above, your hair falls out or you experience other symptoms of dermal sensitivity to your dye. There is little chance of a coincidence in this instance, and you are almost certainly suffering a severe hair dye allergy.
Efforts have been made to create totally hypoallergenic dyes and the chemicals used for the redder end of the spectrum are generally acknowledged to be less potentially harmful, however the consensus appears to be that for the best quality colour result in a non-allergic person the older dyes are still the best in terms of permanence and depth of tone. A hair dye allergy is not a very common problem, more often than not bad reactions are seen in individuals who have used the product incorrectly or in conjunction with each other to create something of a chemical cocktail for the skin. It is possible to give yourself a hair dye allergy doing that.
How to Treat Allergic Reactions to Hair Dye
There are many people that wonder how to do this. If you begin to feel itchiness or redness occurs and it feels like you are in the middle of the allergy season you can take an antihistamine or use cortisone cream (as listed above).
Reactions can vary due to skin and allergy types. For some, allergies are more severe, changing how they should treat allergic reactions to hair dye. Some reactions are mild, and not requiring much attention.
Henna Hair Dye
Henna can help skip the allergic reaction process altogether. Many people have hair dye allergies due to the harsh ingredients in the dyes. Henna is a more natural approach and a good black hair dye allergy replacement. Henna may still cause an allergic reaction and a skin test is still recommended.
