Marcy’s Concerned:I’ve been dying my hair at home for years, and have never done an allergy patch test. I’m starting to wonder now if one of these days it’ll catch up to me. Unfortunately, I’m usually pretty impatient with my hair dye and don’t budget in time for a 48-hour-long test before wanting to color my hair. How common are such allergies, anyway?
Also, The instructions say not to cover the test patch on your arm for 48 hours. What if I need to wear a long-sleeved shirt or sweater? Will that alter the allergy test results somehow?
Ok, last question, I promise… I’ve noticed a new warning that those with tattoos may be more suceptible to experiencing an allergy from using hair dye. Is that true for a tattoo anywhere on the body, even though you’re only using the hair dye on your head?
The Left Brain’s Soothing Response:
This is a great question! Allergies to hair dyes are not very common although they do happen. Exact figures are hard to obtain because most times people who have an allergy don’t report it (or don’t even notice). It’s most important to use the patch test the first time you try a hair dye. Otherwise, your scalp could become VERY swollen, sore, and red. However, if you’ve been coloring your hair for years you probably won’t have any problems. And if you do decide to try the patch test, covering with a long sleeve shirt probably won’t affect the results. Just make sure it is loose fitting.
We never seen a case where a tattoo has caused a person to become more sensitive to hair dye. But if it DID happen, it wouldn’t matter where the tattoo is on your body. What happens is that your body becomes sensitized to the dye in the tattoo (if you are allergic). If the hair dye is chemically similar to the tattoo dyes (and usually it’s not) then it could cause some problems. However, if you’ve been coloring for years and you haven’t experienced any problems it’s unlikely that you’ll start now. Hope that helps!
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I don’t understand how the photo goes along with this.
I wondered the same thing. The Right Brain is responsible for picture selection and I for one just don’t understand that half sometimes.
The meaning of the picture is really quite obvious:
1) Allergic reactions can cause your skin to swell up.
2) Besides hair dye, latex is a very common cause of skin allergies.
3) The picture is of a man in a swollen latex suit.
Ok, maybe it’s not that obvious but it was weird enough to catch your attention!
DO THE ALLERGY TEST! i attempted to dye my hair from a box last spring; ive always dyed it blonde, so i decided to go brown. i had never done an allergy test before, so it didn’t even cross my mind. the next day my face was exploded with puffiness! i had to go to the emergency room and take steroids for three days! i learned my lesson
One lesson I learned about the importance of patch tests are hormone changes. In my sixth month of pregnancy my doctor said I could color my roots. I used my same color that I have used for the past five years with my same 30 lift developer and burned my scalp. Apparently my condition made me more sensitive and my son is now two and half months old and the blisters just healed. There really is not a whole lot you can do to heal them faster either as if being pregnant isn’t uncomfortable enough. Hindsight is 20/20 and if I knew then what I know now, I’d have put my vanity in the back seat and dealt with the roots. Even my super oily skin became somewhat dry and I also became sensitive to my regular shampoo and conditioner not to mention I have become very sensitive to fragrance. It really is amazing how much your hormones can influence your agreeability to cosmetic products. So the lesson here is beware the hormones and hair dye!
this is a reply to thebeutybrians comment which said 3) The picture is of a man in a swollen latex suit. thats true cos i was just researching for work and this got my attention and now i see myself writing a comment lol
I died my hair for 14 years, had changed colors about the 12th year. I was touching up my roots, and the 14th year, developed a sensitivity. I went and had all of my hair cut off. Did not help, a week after the touch up, I was at the emergency room. I felt like I had fiberglass all over my body. A steriod shot at the ER and antihistamines, back to the family dr. Another shot. Its been so long ago, but I might have even been on a step down dose pack too. Just do the test. It is very IMPORTANT. Now as each year passes, I become sensitive to something new. Fabrics, cleaners…. It just doesnt seem to stop. Oh I have asthma now too.
I have recently started to dye my hair black (from blonde)- at home – and so far have had no problems. I have never done a test but often think I should. May sound thick, but does this mean I have to buy two packs each time as the instruction say you cannot store the mixed product. If this is the case it can work out quite expensive. What does everyone else do?
That picture is messed up! why is it in this article?
LMAO at the man in the gimp suit!
When I was a teenager, I dyed my hair every colour possible and in every way possible. Red, Blonde, Black, Brown – Highlights, lowlights, full colour, root touchup – Salon or from the box.
I never had a problem -UNTIL- I got a tattoo. I then started to have allergic reactions to hair dye. The more tattoos I got, the more allergic I became, until one day I actually ended up in the hospital with my scalp covered in an itchy, sore rash, my scalp was swollen and I was placed on a medication to keep my throat from closing up.
Obviously this doesn’t happen to everyone, but it does happen, because it’s happened to me.
I am a salon owner/operator…I have never been allergic to color until I became pregnant with my daughter (now almost 8). I am afraid that the underlying problem is lupus but the color is a trigger which over activates my immune system. It has become systemic and the rash shows up at different parts of my body. I am suffering at this moment with swollen nuckles and huge blisters on my body. I wonder if I even want to continue.
I just had a reaction to my hair dye. I’ve used dyes for the past two years and never had a problem. My husband and I just got married and decided to get tattoos together. When we got back from our honeymoon I decided to dye my hair. My tattoo was still new and the second I got out of the shower, my tattoo started to swell and break out in hives. I didn’t get any of the dye mixture or the water run off from my hair in the shower onto the tattoo but it still started to react. Its been a few days and now I have hives on my arm too and I can’t sleep at night because my leg hurts so bad. ALWAYS DO THE TEST!!!
I started dying my hair black at the age of 13. I’m 25 now and I’ve dyed my hair on and off for 12 years and suddenly developed an allergic reaction to it just last year. I never did the allergy tests because I was in complete denial that being allergic to hairdye was even possible but I nearly went into anaphylactic shock. I would suggest you take your allergy test and do it behind the ear, not the arm. I am proof that it is possible to develop an allergic reaction to hair dye at any time even though you’ve been dying your hair most of your life.
Something finally makes a little sense..
I have been dying my hair black since I was 14, at that time I had one tattoo. The past few years I have been switching between black, bleaching, red..etc and I now have a lot more tattoos(almost 20)..and I have been having reactions to my hair dye that I’ve never had before. I dyed my hair black in the late spring of this year with the same dye I had always used, and I had a horrible allergic reaction. I went to the ER twice…my head and face was so swollen I couldn’t see, and scabs were forming all over my head, oozing down my face. It was simply terrible.
I waited a while..and dyed my hair last night with natural hair dye, no ammonia or any other harsh chemicals; and though it was nowhere near as bad as before, my head has been super itchy and I have a rash/bumps on my arm where dye was splashed and on the back of my neck as well..
mysterious, but glad I’m not the only one!
i’ve never had an allergic reaction to hair dye until i got my whole right arm tattooed. i had 6 tats before i decided to do my sleeve and i still had no problems with dying my hair. well things have changed and now i dread even thinking about dying my hair!!! i’m 31 and i’ve dyed my hair a numerous of colors since i was a teenager but the past 4yrs hasnt been so great ;(
i used black hair dye at least once a month but then i started getting rashes on my ears,neck,and hairline everytime i’d dye my hair! i tried using ammonia free and organic but still the same outcome,along with an itchy scalp and dandruff!!! i quit using black dye thinking that was the problem,so i used other colors and unfortunately it’s the same thing!!! ughhh,i just give up!!!
That is not true ! I have been coloring my hair for years with no reaction UNTIL I got tattoos. Hair color boxes now even state that if you have tattoos you have a higher chance of an adverse reaction.