Girls who dye their hair like that natural look, but it’s not going to be very natural if you have a swelled face and rashes around the back of your neck or ears.

For a small number of people, this is the deadly. Credit: Dean Wissing via wikipedia.org

Julie McCabe, a 38-year-old woman from Keighley, England, was in a coma at the end of 2011 following a suspected allergic reaction to a home hair dye kit. Doctors at Airedale General Hospital in Yorkshire, England “have given Julie McCabe, who colored her hair with L’Oreal Reference colorant three weeks ago, an 8% chance of survival,” reported the Guardian Weekend Magazine in Great Britain on November 28, 2011. In her case, the allergic reaction was to para-phenylenediamine (PPD).  

In October, 2011, 17-year-old Tabatha McCourt of Airdrie, Scotland collapsed and died 20 minutes after using a home hair dye kit. According to the October 13, 2011, Scottish Sun, her death was due to an extreme allergic reaction, called anaphylaxis, to the hair dye.

According to the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA), PPD is in 99% of all hair dye products, but it is banned in make-up products. PPD is illegal in other make-up products, which means your mascaras and eyeliners are PPD free.

It may be rare for you to die from hair dye, but there are a lot of other consequences like: hair loss, burning, redness, itchy, raw skin, swelling in the face, and even trouble breathing. To protect yourself from these disasters, take a patch test to make sure you’re not allergic to PPD in hair dye. FDA says you may not know for up to two weeks whether or not you are allergic to hair dye.         

Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction and life-threatening response involving the whole body. It is a severe, potentially fatal allergic reaction, according to PubMedHealth. Anaphylaxis can lead to difficulty breathing and shock ultimately leading to death.

PPD is contained in hair dye because it makes the hair color permanent. The color will not wash out by shampoo. Also PPD helps the dye give the hair a natural look that people love.

PPD is in hair dye because it makes the hair color permanent so that the color will not wash out with shampoo. Even though PPD helps the dye give the hair a natural look, it can also cause hair loss or cause your hair to become rough, brittle, or dry! The harsh chemicals weaken hair protein bonds, according to the FDA.

According to the FDA, hair dyes are broken up into two categories: oxidation and progressive dyes. Oxidation dye is one that consists of a solution of dye intermediates, which form hair dyes on chemical reactions and is added to intend the desired shade.

Progressives are dyes themselves and these dyes are applied overtime to gradually have a coloring effect. They also contain lead acetate and a color additive for coloring hair on the scalp.  “Progressive hair dyes change the color of hair gradually from light straw color to almost black by reacting with the sulfur of hair keratin as well as oxidizing on the hair surface,” says FDA. Interestingly, sulfur is in the structure of hair and in rubber which gives off a horrible smell when it is burned.

We surveyed 80 seventh graders. Out of those, 45 said they dye their hair, of which 4 said they felt something unusual after dying their hair. Most of the students who said that they dyed their hair, dye it every two months.

None said they had had an allergic reaction but.  Our conclusions from this survey were that even though a lot of people have dyed their hair before, none had an allergic reaction or other symptoms.

The FDA has more information on the dangers of hair dye. Alexis Stone Kaitlyn Branch

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38 COMMENTS

  1. i learned a lot from reading this article. i didn’t know that you could die just from using hair dye. i feel sorry for family who lost and almost lost there love ones. wonder if i could have a allergic reaction even if i dye my tips :yes:yes

  2. i didnt know that you could die from hair dye, i also didnt know that PDD was in it and wat the conditions were this article taught me something new about hair dye and whats in it

  3. I like how the article caught my attention with the opening sentence. I think this information should be brought to teens so they can get checked to see if they are allergic to PPD.

  4. I didnt know you could die from hair dye. I was just thinking about dying my hair but now i want to know if i can have an allergic reaction to it.

  5. I never ever knew hair dye could do such a terrible thing. It really amazes me how i dyed my hair about two times and nothing serious happened? Hair dye could be soo beautiful but once again deadly

  6. I really liked this article i found it very interesting and intelligent as well as helpful because no one would know these things if no one told them. Also i would advise you to read over your articles before you submit them because you said that PPD made the hair color permanent and it could not be washed out with shampoo twice, but overall it was a a very nice article and i enjoyed it. :good

  7. This article caught my attention as well. This a good article cause its alot of teens out here that dye their hair everyday and don’t know the consequences.

  8. I LIKE HOW THE TOPIC CAUGHT MY ATTENTION THIS IS VERY INTERESTING AND MANY TEENS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS THIS IS SERIOUS. THEY NEED TO HAVE THIS PPD OUT MORE LET EVERYBODY NO ABOUT TO PREVENT DEATHS.

  9. The title of this article really caught my eye. I didn’t know that hair dye can be have an alergic reaction. i really learned about how the dye can even be fatal.

  10. Great article. I just dyed my hair and i didn’t know any of this could happen. Now I know to be cautious. Thanks
    -Relle J:gamba:good

  11. This is a really good topic to talk about. Alot of girls should consinder this. I don’t think I will dye my hair to much any more. Great information.

  12. :smile thinks for the tips ……i dyed my hair all of the time and i didnt know this…….mane i aint dying my her neva again my dogg

  13. I have never dyed my hair but I have but a rinse in it. Is a rinse just as harmful as a dye? But after reading this article I might rethink dying my hair.

  14. i learned alot from this article . I never knew that hair dye could kill . This is a good atticle , it makes me realize the effects of dying my hair .

  15. Would an unatural hair color, like green, as opposed to a natural one, like blonde highlights, cause a bigger problem if someone had a reaction?

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