Hi,

I also just found out I was allergic to hair dye. It is so hard to except. It started 4 months ago. I ,too, had the weeping on the ears, so bad that I ended up in the emergency room for 3 I V''s. I am 53, however, everyone usually guesses my age to be around 43. I am seriously considering a wig. I would get a natural hair one, but I might. I heard about henna, which is all natural. I tried eco color didn't work, and yesterday it was Loving Care Natural Insticts, NOT. Oprah please help us. I cry, but I know it is not the worst thing,at least I have hair, I am thankful for that.I have been praying , and thanking God for his healing ways. I have had so many miracles in my life, I could write a book. I am grateful and thankful for everything. Please be that Angel we need in our life right now.

You can stay away from artifical dyes and use henna which comes from plants . It has the added benefit of making the hair follicle very strong.

I also have a SEVERE allergy to hair dye. I am leaving my hair grow really long now (it is halfway to my waist) so I can donate my last 10" of natural hair color to Locks of Love. My new hair growth is all gray. So this is my last chance. Anyway, I am 54 and still have the image of myself as a brunette. While it's not the worst thing in the world, I've seen much of that in my 30+ career as an Occupational Therapist, I would still like to be a dyed brunette:-) I've talked to my immunologist, hair color companies, etc and no one has a solution. Henna is not an option. I'm sure there are many of us. Oprah, could you explore this??? We get mixed messages from articles in O mag about the beauty of gray and hear things on the show like no one should look older due to gray since there is great color now. I would like my hair color to reflect my inner image of myself in this small regard. Help us figure it out Oprah! I'll be all "nonbrunette" by summer's end:-(

I posted earlier, but my post disappeared?

I too have a severe allergy to PPD.

gogo548

Okay, so I guess my post was deleted because I included a link to a bulletin board about allergies to PPD. Sorry. I thought I was being helpful.

gogo548

I to have an allergy to hair dye. I am fed up with having little sores after my hair is colored. I am 43 years old and I am just about completely gray. SAD!! Is there a brand of hair products that doesn't have this PPD. I really need help. thoughts?

Hi,

I am into a year of suffering due to a PPD allergy. I was recently on Prednisone and within 2 days all the itching is back. I cant sleep at night. My neck is a crusty, itchy mess. I tried contacting Revlon by their contact page on their site. I have contacted them 3 times with no reply whatsoever. I called them and the lady on the phone sounded surprised to hear of such a thing. She said that she has never heard of problems using hair color. The said she would have their Claims dept. call me back the Tuesday of the following week. That never happened. I've been to the doctor initially, did a round of Prednisone. It came right back. Two weeks ago, I was a bloody mess that I went to the emergency room. Got another Prednisone prescription and another steroid pack. The prescriptions helped tremendously. Once the treatment stopped, the rash re-appeared. I have rashes on my neck, ears, stomach, back, tops of thighs, shoulders, arms and one hand. I have scratched my upper thighs so much that they have bruises on them. I have to wear a towel around my neck under my work short to catch the seeping. The shirts I have worn this past year are ruined around the collars from my neck and the oozing rash and scabs. This is an obnoxious allergy. I can't stand it anymore. I take the hairbrush to scratch my stomach. It's ridiculous.

I've tried all over the counter medications for excema. Used cortisone creams. Nothing works. Next call now is the dermatologist. I guess the next step is a steroid injection. Then what...? It comes back again? When does it ever end.

The hair product I used was the same one that I used over the past year prior to getting this PPD allergy. The original boxes I still have do not have the hair dye allergy warnings on them. I talked to my lawyer about that to see if I had a case. I had no idea that PPD allergy was so wide spread until I got it.

I want it gone. I have had this for almost an entire year! November will be one year. I am miserable. Absolutely in pain. I have to take OTC pain relievers to deal with the pain and the shooting nerve like pains I get. It's like a pin poke here and there. Sleeping is very problematic. The skin sticks together and is moist by morning and itches upon waking. I have had to take time off work due to this. Allergy medication for the itching makes me loopy at work. The shooting pains make me quiver then get the chills. I am a mess.

I have pictures on my camera now with dates from the past year of the messy stage my neck is in. It is unbelievable to see what I have lived with this entire year. I hate this.

The ingredient, para-phenylenediamine PPD should be illegal or banned. It has already been banned in some parts of Europe.

I need help. Thank you for reading this.

If you google the words henna for hair, it should bring up websites that have information about PPD allergies and may even give some information about how to handle them. Incidentally, pure (that is, body art quality) henna can be used to color hair. Henna can also be mixed with other plants such as indigo to yield a rich brunette color or even a shade of black. There are some plant-based alternatives to coloring with chemical dyes. I hope this helps. Good luck and I am sorry you have suffered such discomfort.

Henna cant be used over any existing hair color or your in for frizz and breakage. I have read up on Henna. In addition, I have researched information about PPD allergies. Thank you for your reply.

I guess, I mainly wanted to stress here that there is indeed a bad thing in hair color and the public needs to be informed about it. It can happen the first time or the 25th time you color. It has put people in the hospital with swollen faces and air passages. Death has even occured. I'll tell you what, I am never coloring my hair again. I will have this for life and now need to avoid, "triggers' to keep the symptoms from reoccurring. Come to find that I was putting Neo-Sporin..the fix all ointment and it made with Petroleum, and Petroleum is a trigger. Well, no wonder it never goes away. I have had a torn up, cracking, itching neck for one year.

Now, they make non PPD hair dyes. Then, why have PPD in any hair dye when it can cause death and contact dermatitis?

I was hoping for more feedback from this Oprah forum, thinking it was more widely read and people would get involved. So far, only one comment. Dissapointing to say the least.

The public needs to be informed. This PPD ingrediente is BAD!!!!!! It should be banned.

Thank you.

Hi! I'm also very allergic to hair color, I NEED HELP. I have tried everything. Henna hair color, Aveda and I still react.

I get so depressed about it because I'm getting so gray. Is there any anwers out there??

Hi, Just wanted you to know that I also am very allergic to hair color. I've tried the Henna product and Aveda and I'm still allergic. So don't know if that would be your answer either. mags

One year now with PPD and still have a crusty, weeping, itching neck. My questions to you that have had this is what worked for you to get rid of the symptoms. I care not about what hair colors work. I never want to color my hair again. I was put on Prednisone for it to only return within days. The itching is tremendous. I am avoiding petroleum products such as Neo-Sporin and the like because petroleum is a trigger. Weirdly enough the doctor prescribed me a creme which had petroleum that I have been using off and on the past year. The itching and pain is like shooting needles or mosquitoes biting at any given moment. I have a hard time sleeping and wake up several times a night. It is so entirely unbearable. The night I went to the Emergency Room, I had blood running down my neck from me scratching. I have horrendous pictures. I wish I could sue for pain and suffering to this company that wont reply to my emails and phone calls. It is maddening. I just want to know how the heck I can get my neck better. I no longer can wear my hair up and people notice the redness now from the front. I work in the public place and I get comments from complete strangers. I am at my wits end.

I came here looking for answers.

Please, anyone that has had severe PPD allergic reaction to hair dye tell me what worked for you to get rid of at least the symptoms.

Thank you

I too suffer from an allergy to ppd!!! I'm so happy to have come across this board! I'm 35 years old and starting to go a little gray....

My allergy started while I was on vacation in Key West almost eight years ago. I thought it would be "cool" to get a "black henna" tatoo while on vacation. My arm swelled up and I had a rash that matched the tatoo (a sunshine). For those of you who do not know, there is no such thing as "black henna". Henna is an orangish-brown color and is 100% natural. There is also indigo which is a plant based dye that is black.

"Black henna" is nothing more than highly concentrated ppd. So, when you come in contact with such highly concentrated ppd, it makes you more sensitive to it during all subsequent exposures to the chemical.

PPD is found in all hair dyes that deposit any sort of lasting color (except henna). Also, there is a higher level of PPD in darker hair colors.

My only solution has been to get highlights with foils which do not deposit color on the scalp. And if I'm feeling brave, carmel lowlights with foils but they must shampoo my hair thoroughly to make sure that any color comes in contact with my scalp for only a very brief period of time-even that creates a rash. How I long for my rich brown hair!!! I'm not opposed to henna, but I've been told that you can not put it over existing hair color or bleach because the results can vary between BRIGHT orange-red and green! In order to go the henna route, I would have to cut my hair off and let it all grow out naturally--not an option

I hope this offers some insight or at least an alternative to gray hair!!! I keep hoping there will be a solution to this before I go completely gray.

I don't understand how a chemical that has been shown to cause cancer and has been banned from European hair colors is still permitted in the US....???

Hi,

I have the exact same problem as you do, and in the same areas. I also paint the colour onto the hair shaft trying to avoid the scalp and rinse thoroughly with luke warm water. I do my own hair and use professional colour and mixing it myself. My cousin in-law an ex-hairdresser suggested adding Equal to the hair dye mixture. Not until I had added 6 individual packets of Equal to a single batch did I get relief. I thought it sounded crazy, but I was despirate and tried it. I HAD ALMOST NO REACTION, I still can't believe it.

Try it, Rebecca

Two years dealing with PPD allergy. I have been tested by Duke Immunologist and am allergic to PPD (T.R.U.E. test). Also Neosporin (fairly common) and some over-the-counter cortisone creams. Note: there is some cross sensitivity between PPD and these products and you must tell your doc and dentist of your PPD allergy before you accept any medication or procedure in which anesthesia or "caine" family meds are used. Your allergy is life long and symptoms will worsen with each exposure. Here's what I know so far: Derma-Smooth/FS on scalp will stop the immediate reaction. It is prescription and very expensive but it works. Then treat scalp with Clobex Shampoo to return scalp to health. I did this four times over night (four nights total). Prescription and VERY expensive but works. The PPD reaction is the result of an IgE response. Zytec taken several hours prior to dyeing helped when I tried a Goldwell product that appeared to be PPD-free and after patch testing for 48 hours (no reaction). I had a mild but delayed reaction that I am now dealing with. Zytec is better than most allergy drugs because it works at the IgE level, inhibiting the antigen/antibody reaction versus other meds that block histamine only after the Ag/Ab reaction has already occured. If you are still dealing with post reaction itching, Claritin helps but it takes about a week for you to realize it. Note, before I realized what I was allergic to, I developed asthmatic bronchitis and need an Albuterol inhaler at times. I have also recently exhited some unexplained bruising which could be the result of massive histamine release. Still trying to figure this out and I read about others, though definitely not common. So don't use PPD-containing product EVER again.

PPD goes under many names. Some are benzenediamine, aminoaniline dihydrochloride, phenylinediamine. There are many more and you have got to be aware of this when reading ingredients.

Sensitivity reaction can come and go for quite some time even without using dye again so you may have to treat this problem off and on. I am still looking into hair dyes but obviously my first attempt (the Goldwell) was unsuccessful.

I really hope this helps you and if you find anything else out, please share. You have got to do your own homework. Female dermatologists are your best source. Make sure she is board certified and find out what she knows about this. Not all docs are interested enough to have read what they should have. Get one that is battling the "greys" herself.