Allergic to Katam?

[Freija]

Argh!

I decided to get rid of my henna red this week. I used diluted 20vol peroxide and coconut oil to lighten to a mid red-copper, rather than the auburn I had been, on Tuesday. This (yet again!) worked brilliantly, with no change to the health of my hair. On Wednesday I tried my first cassia treatment, also great. It softened the henna orange to a sort of golden-copper sheen with a brown (i.e. my natural colour) base. So far, no noticeable shedding, itchiness... it was all fine.

Yesterday, my order of katam from Henna-Boy came through. I mixed up just under 100g of it with a good shake of cassia, demineralised (basically, pure) water (I use this in my henna mixes and have never reacted, so I'm quite sure there aren't any lingering chemicals there) and a hefty dollop of Aussie conditioner. Mixed it up, slapped it on, left it for just under half an hour. It itched a bit while on, but it wasn't unbearable. Rinsed it off to find the perfect shade of golden mid-brown.

A few hours later, I developed a nasty headache and fell asleep for most of the evening. Just before I went to bed, I noticed my scalp was slightly itchy. This morning, I woke up to find the backs of my ears red. My scalp, particularly to the sides and behind my ears, feels like I've rolled in a gorse bush; it really is that prickly. It's also hot, and a bit shivery. I washed my hair out in cold water this evening, but it hasn't really helped and the backs of my ears are a little scaly. There's no noticeable shedding, and I can touch my scalp with spread pressure - the pads of my fingers, for instance - but the second something narrow, like a fingernail or the teeth of my bamboo comb touch it even gently, it tingles painfully. Almost burning.

Please, is there anything I can do? I'm mostly certain that it was the katam. I've put up with this for nearly twenty-four hours now, and it doesn't seem to be going away! I've never reacted like this, with henna, indigo, cassia, cinnamon (which irritated a little bit)... even in my days of chemical dyeing!

Help me?

[Canarygirl]

sounds very unpleasant, and something like what I experienced with my henna/katam blend. (I don't use them anymore.) What helped for me was pouring over my scalp some chilled chamomile/catnip tea. I had this mixed up already in a plastic squeeze bottle and in the refrigerator, so that made it easy to grab and coat my scalp with the cold tea. It was such a huge relief....aaaaahhhhhh!

Also, if you haven't done so already, by all means take an anti-histamine! Good luck

Argh!

I decided to get rid of my henna red this week. I used diluted 20vol peroxide and coconut oil to lighten to a mid red-copper, rather than the auburn I had been, on Tuesday. This (yet again!) worked brilliantly, with no change to the health of my hair. On Wednesday I tried my first cassia treatment, also great. It softened the henna orange to a sort of golden-copper sheen with a brown (i.e. my natural colour) base. So far, no noticeable shedding, itchiness... it was all fine.

Yesterday, my order of katam from Henna-Boy came through. I mixed up just under 100g of it with a good shake of cassia, demineralised (basically, pure) water (I use this in my henna mixes and have never reacted, so I'm quite sure there aren't any lingering chemicals there) and a hefty dollop of Aussie conditioner. Mixed it up, slapped it on, left it for just under half an hour. It itched a bit while on, but it wasn't unbearable. Rinsed it off to find the perfect shade of golden mid-brown.

A few hours later, I developed a nasty headache and fell asleep for most of the evening. Just before I went to bed, I noticed my scalp was slightly itchy. This morning, I woke up to find the backs of my ears red. My scalp, particularly to the sides and behind my ears, feels like I've rolled in a gorse bush; it really is that prickly. It's also hot, and a bit shivery. I washed my hair out in cold water this evening, but it hasn't really helped and the backs of my ears are a little scaly. There's no noticeable shedding, and I can touch my scalp with spread pressure - the pads of my fingers, for instance - but the second something narrow, like a fingernail or the teeth of my bamboo comb touch it even gently, it tingles painfully. Almost burning.

Please, is there anything I can do? I'm mostly certain that it was the katam. I've put up with this for nearly twenty-four hours now, and it doesn't seem to be going away! I've never reacted like this, with henna, indigo, cassia, cinnamon (which irritated a little bit)... even in my days of chemical dyeing!

Help me?

[Freija]

Thank you! I think I'll try a cold chamomile rinse this evening - but my scalp is feeling much better today. It's more of an unpleasant tingling sensation than outright burning - I don't think I'll use that again, though!

You say you've stopped using katam yourself - I'm just wondering if you've found anything that gives a similar colour? Indigo tends to go too dark for me, and there are always faint blue-green tones which don't suit my skin.

Again - thank you!

[ktani]

I second taking the antihistamine, along with any herb rinse you apply to the area. The antihistamine hopefully will calm the pain but if not, please see your doctor or a dermatologist if you can get in to see one fast. I do not think that what happened is necessarily serious but if it does not subside relatively quickly from here on out, get some medical attention.

ETA: When I had a similar reaction, (no 2 are ever the same) I went to the pharmacy and I think I bought Benadryl, not sure but the pharmacist said it was the only antihistamine that would work, when I told him that it was a topical reaction. You can phone and speak to a pharmacist, before you go to the drugstore. Most, from my experience, are very helpful, until you can see your doctor.

[Canarygirl]

You say you've stopped using katam yourself - I'm just wondering if you've found anything that gives a similar colour? Indigo tends to go too dark for me, and there are always faint blue-green tones which don't suit my skin.

I'm glad you're feeling better.

For a while I was thinking about using a non-PPD semi-permanent chemical hair color called Elumen but it has a fair amount of alcohol in it so it would be drying, plus it stains the scalp quite easilly. Anyway, I changed my mind and decided to let my hair turn grey naturally.