Colouring your hair? Are hair dyes safe? Not sure you want the answer? Here's what you need to consider to reduce your toxic exposure to chemicals in hair colourants.
 

Why do you care?

• Dyes may come in direct contact with scalp, which is very porous and absorbs substances easily and quickly.1
• Chemicals may provoke an immediate reaction like burning and itching or may build up in your body and add to your chemical body burden over time.
  
  • Serious health problems linked to hair dyes: non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, bladder and ovarian cancer, leukemia & multiple myeloma, and rheumatoid arthritis.
  • Others include hair loss, allergies, eye injuries, skin and scalp disorders like eczema and rosacea.
  • More details in The Hairy Facts.
• The experts disagree about the impact of chemicals in hair dyes - some studies raise questions about safety and risk of cancer while others do not find "strong evidence" or a "marked increase" in definitive risks.2
• Concerns about hair dye related chemicals are mainly centered around:
  
  • The combination of ammonia and peroxide (burns skin and eyes).
  • Common petrochemical p-phenylenediamine (PPD), and its derivatives, 4-MMPD and 4-MMPD Sulphate.
  • Coal tar dyes (FD&C, D&C synthetic colours), lead acetate and resorcinol - See Avoid list.
• Over 480 out of 657 hair colorants ranked at the Skin Deep cosmetics database are considered high hazard.
• The chemicals in hair dyes also damage, stress and dry out your hair.
  

The Know How

• Know what colouring processes you are currently having applied. Check The Hairy Facts for a primer on types of hair colouring.
• If you have always coloured your hair, the thought of simply going natural one day is unthinkable - here's info to help make your choice less toxic:
  • The more permanent the colour, the more toxic - reduce exposure by:
    • Highlight/lowlight sections of hair rather than the whole head
    • Techniques where chemicals do not touch scalp - cap, paint
    • Patch test to determine if allergy to the product
      
  • Semi-permanent and temporary colours are much less toxic than permanent colours.3
• Darker colours have been shown to be more toxic and increased risk of cancer than blonde and red shades.4
• Hennas, herbal/mineral/vegetable dyes and food based ingredients are the least toxic of all and can leave your hair luscious, healthy and full of shine.5
• What about natural hair dyes? Natural hair-dye products exist, few if any of them purport to be chemical-free. Many natural products contain ammonia, peroxide or PPDs or other suspect chemicals.
• Ask you colourist to use natural products or seek out a chemical free, odor free or a herbal hair salon. Tell us if you find one … they are hard to come by!
  

Know and Tell

• Patti has had her hair professionally "touched-up" for years to cover those bits of gray. Even after breast cancer she was in denial about the risks and happily continued getting golden highlights. She looked at her options: continue to high/low light with permanent dyes (has learned too much to continue), stop colouring hair and let go of the "gray is getting old notion", (not evolved enough and too vain!), switch to other less permanent but still chemically-based dyes (typically home preparations and she not too nibble with the applicators) or find a truly natural colouring process in a professional setting. Through a bit of trial and luck - she has found a professional stylist who runs a chemical-free hair salon, Pure Joy Natural Hair Studio, who has perfected the art of colouring hair with natural minerals for over 20 years. You look marvelous … naturally!
• Tamey has coloured her hair for years (she started going gray at 18). She recently tried a natural do-it-yourself semi-permanent brand but is lined up to see Joy today - her thoughts on this will be on the Pure Blog tomorrow. See Product Reviews.
• Recap - Good cut, for your healthiest hair use least amount of chemical processing and consider mineral or plant dyes. Figure out what you are having done now and decide whether or not to stay with what you're doing or try something new.

Pure Blog

• We have likely hit a nerve (or gray hair) with the issue of hair dye and toxins. There's so much more to say! Share your thoughts and experiences on moving to less toxic hair colouring and about products and places that can do the job. Go to Pure Blog.
  

1 Natural Beauty-To Dye or not to Dye? by Nancy Nachman-Hunt. www.alternative medicine.com
2 Personal Use of Hair Dyes and Risk of Cancer. Bahi Takkouche . JAMA. 2005;293:2516-2525. Vol. 293 No. 20, May 25, 2005
3/4 Natural Beauty-To Dye or not to Dye? by Nancy Nachman-Hunt. www.alternative medicine.com
5 Safer ways to color your hair, A Much Better Way, Natural Living. Published on Web September 17, 2007.