I have been so busy with research for my literature review about hair dyes for these two weeks. However, my time was not useless since I found out so much interesting information about hair dyes which I would like to share with you.
As you may know that there are many chemicals in hair dyes with complex composition. Any thing with chemicals always triggers our concern as they could affect our health. For hair dyes, the affections could be more than allergies or irritations. According to Ayed H. Ziadat, pregnant women in the first trimester are so sensitive with hair dyes. The results of his study in Jordan claimed that the risk of their giving birth to disable children is proportional to the times of using hair dyes since hair dyes contains lead (from lead acetate, especially in dark colors), mercury and paraphenylene. As a result all hair dyes are prohibited during pregnancy.
In addition, there are many debates on the carcinogenic risks from oxidative (permanent) hair dyes (Hermann M. Bolt and Klaus Golka, 2007). That's why semi-permanent hair dyes are favored nowadays since they color our hair without undergoing chemical reactions (Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel, 2008). Some recent studies suggested that hair dyes are highly associated with bladder cancer among hairdressers and hair dye consumers (Hermann M. Bolt and Klaus Golka, 2007). Each colorant has various chemical composition and impurities whose concentration could affect human health. My suggestion is that you should take path test before applying the hair dye to make sure you are not allergic to that colorant (D.I. Orton, 2007), and thoroughly follow the manufacturer's instruction if you have hair died at home.
In addition, there are many debates on the carcinogenic risks from oxidative (permanent) hair dyes (Hermann M. Bolt and Klaus Golka, 2007). That's why semi-permanent hair dyes are favored nowadays since they color our hair without undergoing chemical reactions (Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel, 2008). Some recent studies suggested that hair dyes are highly associated with bladder cancer among hairdressers and hair dye consumers (Hermann M. Bolt and Klaus Golka, 2007). Each colorant has various chemical composition and impurities whose concentration could affect human health. My suggestion is that you should take path test before applying the hair dye to make sure you are not allergic to that colorant (D.I. Orton, 2007), and thoroughly follow the manufacturer's instruction if you have hair died at home.
Reference
- Hermann M. Bolt and Klaus Golka, "The Debate on Carcinogenicity of Permanent Hair Dyes:
New Insights", Critical Reviews in Toxicology, 37:521–536, 2007. - Ayed H. Ziadat, “Disability of children in correlation to the usage of hair dyes among pregnant women”, International Journals of Pharmacology 6(4): 477-483, 2010
- Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel, Christina L. Burnett, Cosmetic Ingredient Review Scientific Writer/Analyst, Cosmetic Ingredient Review, 1101 17th
Street, NW, Suite 412, Washington, DC 20036, USA., "Final Report on the Safety Assessment of HC Red No. 71", International Journal of Toxicology, 27(Suppl. 1):45–54, 2008 - D.I. Orton, "A clinical assessment of a patch test kit marketed to U.K.
hairdressers for detecting hair dye allergy", British Journal of Dermatology 2007 157
