Hair Dye Dilemmas : Part 2

by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

(Page 2 of 2)

Be sure to do a patch test for allergic reactions before applying the dye to your hair. Almost all hair dye products include instructions for conducting a patch test, and it's important to perform the test each time you dye your hair. (Salons should also perform the patch test before dyeing the hair of their patrons.) To test, put a dab of hair dye behind your ear, and don't wash it off for two days. If no itching, burning, redness, or other signs of allergic reaction develop at the test spot during this time, you can be relatively sure that you won't develop a reaction to the dye applied to your hair. If you do react to the patch test, do the same test with different brands or colors until you find one to which you're not allergic.

Never dye your eyebrows or eyelashes. An allergic reaction to the dye could prompt swelling, inflammation, and susceptibility to infection in the eye area. These reactions can severely harm the eye and even cause blindness. (Inadvertently spilling dye into the eye could also cause permanent damage.) FDA prohibits the use of hair dyes for eyelash and eyebrow tinting or dyeing, even in beauty salons or other establishments.

Researchers continue to study the cancer-causing potential of hair dye ingredients, and FDA continues to keep abreast of such findings. Until definitive evidence comes in, consumers may want to proceed with caution when selecting a hair dye.

Coloring Choices

Consumers considering changing their hair color have a choice of four main types of coloring agents to use. What distinguishes them is how long they last and how they color hair. Coal-tar ingredients are found in some products in all categories except gradual dyes.

Temporary hair colors are applied in the form of rinses, gels, mousses, and sprays. These products merely sit on the surface of the hair and are usually washed out with the next shampoo, although some may last two to three washings. If the hair gets wet during a rainstorm, for example, the color can run from the hair onto clothing or the face.

Semi-permanent dyes penetrate into the hair shaft and do not rinse off with water like temporary colorings. They do wash out of the hair, however, after about five to ten shampoos. Semi-permanent dyes usually come in liquid, gel or aerosol foam forms. After applying the product to the hair, the user waits 20 to 40 minutes before working it in like a shampoo and then thoroughly rinsing with water.

Permanent dyes require a bit more work, but the pay-off is hair color that lasts until the new hair — "roots" — grows in. Because permanent dyes contain hydrogen peroxide, they cover gray hair more effectively and can be used to lighten hair color, unlike other dyes.

To apply permanent dyes, the user mixes together a hydrogen peroxide liquid with another liquid, works the mixture into the hair, and after about half an hour rinses the dye out with water. Permanent dyes not only penetrate deeply into the hair shaft, but get locked within it due to a series of chemical reactions that occur while the dye is applied. Consequently, permanent dyes can't be washed out with shampoo.

A fourth type of hair dye is known as a gradual or progressive dye. This dye, in the form of a rinse, slightly darkens hair by binding to compounds on the hair's surface. Gradual dyes are usually applied daily until a dark enough shade is achieved, after which it may be used less often to maintain the color. Unlike temporary dyes, gradual dyes don't wash off readily or run when the hair gets wet.

Compounds suspected of causing cancer are found in temporary, semi-permanent and permanent dyes.

The attempt to achieve a socially determined level of cosmetic perfection is not limited to changing hair color. Women who want their eyes to be enhanced by eyeliner, but don't have the time to put it on every day or are allergic to make-up, are having permanent eyeliner tattooed onto their eyelids.

Introduced to this country from the Orient more than 10 years ago, permanent eyelining is now offered in many beauty salons. Using disposable needles, pigment is implanted into the skin at the base of the upper or lower eyelashes. The pigments used are derived from vegetable products. A local anesthetic is often given to relieve pain during the tattooing, which takes from 20 minutes to an hour. Some swelling may follow the procedure. Scabs that form in the treated area fall off within a week.

But "we can't vouch for the safety of permanent eyelining," points out chemist John Bailey, Ph.D., director of FDA's colors and cosmetics program, because the procedure hasn't undergone any formal safety testing. FDA is currently considering requiring safety testing for tattooed eyeliner. If such testing finds permanent eyelining unsafe, FDA could ban the procedure because it uses colors that are under the agency's jurisdiction.

Although FDA has received no reports that this permanent make-up causes harm, there's concern that tattooed eyelining could induce an allergic reaction that might permanently damage the eyes and eyelids. If such a reaction did occur, it would be difficult to treat, and surgery might be required to remove the pigment in the tattoo. Such surgery might harm the eye or cause unsightly scarring.

"There's a misperception on the part of the public that tattooed eyelining is a risk-free procedure," says Bailey.

About the Author

www.fda.gov
FDA is A United States government body that oversees medical devices, including contact lenses, intraocular lenses, excimer lasers and eyedrops. In the US, these products must be approved by the FDA before they can be marketed.