Causes of hair dye side effects, prevention methods, and recommended intervals.

People with a lot of gray hair often dye their hair.  They also dye the hair once or twice a month.  However, since dyes are also chemical ingredients, caution is required when using them.  Let’s find out the specific reasons.

Causes of hair dye side effects, prevention methods, and recommended intervals.

Reference material

• Health Chosun in Korea, November 4, 2023
• Korea's Herald Economy, October 13, 2023
• April 7, 2023 Newspaper created by Korean consumers

Recommended dyeing interval

If you must dye your hair, it is best to choose a dye that does not contain or contains low concentration of paraphenylenediamine (PPD), which is harmful to health, and uses it occasionally.  A British study found that dyeing your hair more than six times a year increases your risk of developing breast cancer.  It is recommended to leave staining intervals of at least 3 to 4 months.

Dangers of hair dye

Hair dye contains thousands of chemical ingredients, including ammonia, paraphenylenediamine (PPD), and hydrogen peroxide.  The most problematic ingredient among these ingredients is paraphenylenediamine (PPD).  This ingredient may cause the following problems:
Enters through the scalp or hands and affects internal organs

• Also affects cancer
• Causes allergies.  Hives and itching may appear on the face and scalp.
• Eye irritation as fine particles float in the air.  Patients with diabetes who have suffered from herpes keratitis or whose corneal epithelium is weakened should be especially careful when staining.  It is easy to experience cold or stinging symptoms during dyeing.  Fortunately, there is no evidence that vision will be damaged, but it is unsettling.

Even though you have this problem, do you still want to shorten the dyeing interval?

Side effects of hair dye: It also affects cancer

• The link between cancer and hair dye continues to be raised.

An association between bladder cancer and hair dye has already been confirmed through epidemiological studies.  A 2001 study found that women who used hair dye once a month for more than a year had twice the risk of developing bladder cancer.  Women who used it at the same frequency for more than 15 years had a three times greater risk of developing bladder cancer.  It is presumed that the PPD component stays in the bladder during the metabolic process, and as a result, bladder cells mutate and cause cancer.  If you need to dye your hair, it is recommended to use a dye without PPD.
Studies have also shown that there is a risk of ovarian cancer and breast cancer.  In 2020, an Austrian research team followed American women for 36 years to determine the status, duration, frequency, cancer occurrence, and death of exposure to hair dye.  According to research results, the period and frequency of using hair dye increases the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.  This is because the chemicals in hair dye can adversely affect estrogen secretion.

How to prevent hair dye side effects

• Protect your eyes with goggles or safety glasses when using medication to prevent eye irritation.
• If you change hair dye, skin test before using.  48 hours before dyeing, apply a small amount of dye to the inside of your arm and check for reaction.  If hives or rash occurs, do not use the product.

If you must use hair dye, please refer to the above.

In this post, we looked at the causes of hair dye side effects, prevention methods, and recommended intervals.  It is good for your health not to dye your hair, but if you have no choice but to do it, please refer to the above and do it as safely as possible.