Hair Dyes-Color Products

What is natural hair care? That definition can vary depending upon the individual. For us natural hair care is making products that do not contain sulphates, PEG's, TEA or other such ingredients. For some it means having hair that is unaltered by chemical processes and using natural hair care products to cleanse, style and maintain the hair in it's natural state. Those who are committed to totally natural hair and care also use henna or some other natural hair coloring due to sensitivity to chemicals and dyes found in mostly all off the shelf hair coloring products sold today.

The difficulty with identifying chemicals used in hair dyes/coloring products is manufacturers can use different names to identify chemicals known to cause allergic reactions. Before you buy that bottle of hair dye/color, save yourself a lot of grief, research the names of the chemicals listed, there is more than peroxide to be concerned about in that bottle.

P-Phenylenadiamine (PPD) can be listed by any number of names on a bottle of hair dye/color, some include phenylenediame, phenylenediame dihydrochloride, nitro-p-phenylenediamine, or benzenediamine dihydrochloride. It is also known by the name aminoaniline dihydrochloride. The other problem is PPD has derivatives known by other names that can, and do for chemically sensitive individuals, cause the same reaction which is why you have to do your home work before using any hair color/dye in particular if it is semi-permanent, permanent, or of a dark color (brown, red, black). The darker the color of the dye/coloring product, the higher amount of these chemicals the dye/coloring product contains.

The FDA states that the following hair color/dye ingredients have been reported to cause cancer in at least one animal species in lifetime feeding studies: 4-chloro-m-phenylenediamine, 2,4-toluenediamine, 2-nitro-p-phenylenediamine and 4-amino-2-nitrophenol. They were also found to penetrate human and animal skin.

Other chemicals to look out for on bottles of hair dye/coloring products as these are derivatives or variants of the chemicals listed above are: 6-Diamino 3, 2-Nitro-P-Toulid NE, 2-Amino-6-Chlorg-4-Nitrophenol.

What problems can hair dyes/color products cause?

Some of the problems individuals have had from using hair dyes/coloring are:

* hair loss

* burning

*redness

* itchy or raw skin

* swelling in the face/ears/neck and anywhere the hair color has touched the skin

* trouble breathing

* sores (with pus/weeping on scalp)

Always use caution when selecting a hair dye or color product. Many women and men have colored their hair for years and suddenly have the first reaction which may be mild however with repeated application of hair dyes or color products over a period of time the reaction becomes severe and almost immediate. Often the first reaction is ignored usually because there may be a time lapse between the reaction and the application so the individual may not associate the two. It is also difficult to give up coloring the hair once it begins as it must be reapplied or the roots will show, the question becomes, is it worth it?

Living naturally including what products we use on our hair, skin and body is a choice and it's a personal one. This is not a decision for the manufacturers, it is about whether or not we can get in touch with ourselves enough to love the gray or take the extra time to apply henna. Perhaps exploring herbal hair dye/coloring products that do not contain chemicals of any kind or using an organic apple cider vinegar rinse to soften and highlight our natural hair. Some of those quick fixes we purchase and consume everyday come with a hidden price tag that is not immediately visible.