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Kapri
October 13th, 2011, 04:43 AM
I am still dyeing my hair but moving slowly away from boxed stuff. Here is a really sad story about a teenager who died from what is thought to be a severe allergic reaction:

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/tragedy-as-teenage-girl-dies-minutes-after-applying-hair-dye.html

misspurdy06
October 13th, 2011, 04:53 AM
Strand test and skin test warning. I will definitely do that if I ever color my hair again.

MonaMayfair
October 13th, 2011, 04:59 AM
I just read this story in the paper.

Her best friend was quoted as saying "she was always dyeing her hair different colors" so it looks as of there was something in this particular dye she was allergic to, not to hair dye in general.

Alaia
October 13th, 2011, 05:08 AM
It isn't that unheard of.

It's why the skin test warnings came about, although you can still have a severe reaction after doing a skin test. It's the way the body works with chemical dyes, unfortunately. Even if you dye your hair all the time, the next time you use the dye, you might be allergic to it.

pepperminttea
October 13th, 2011, 05:39 AM
Cripes, poor girl. I've heard of people having terrible ordeals with their heads swelling up and being hospitalised from hair dye allergies, but never actually dying. Awful. :(

Mesmerise
October 13th, 2011, 06:02 AM
Wow that's a horrible story! That poor girl :( It's scary as I never used to skin test, simply because I'd dyed my hair so many times before. It never occurred to me that you could be allergic one time after being safe so many others!

bluegirl
October 13th, 2011, 06:07 AM
Oh boy. That's really scary. Her poor parents and friend. I'll absolutely be sending this off to my daughter. She doesn't dye often, but she's in college, so...

Panth
October 13th, 2011, 01:46 PM
Wow that's a horrible story! That poor girl :( It's scary as I never used to skin test, simply because I'd dyed my hair so many times before. It never occurred to me that you could be allergic one time after being safe so many others!

This is the issue with allergies - you can't get an allergic response the first time you are exposed to the allergen. It's only on the second (or more) exposure that your body then recognises the allergen from before and produces an allergic response.

Also, allergic responses can suddenly develop, despite years or even decades of being perfectly ok with the allergen. Allergic responses can also have a habit of getting worse with repeated exposure - some allergens, such as latex, are particularly prone to this, so you have to avoid all exposure after developing even a tiny allergic response or the allergy could quickly progress and worsen into life-threatening anaphylactic reactions.

princess03
October 13th, 2011, 02:01 PM
i will definitely be more cautious thank you for the link. im not sensitive or allergic to anything but I will be cautious regardless, you dont know you are allergic to something until you come accross it I guess. I will definitely let my parents know that when and if my younger sisters (some in teens already) decide to colour their hair to test first.surprisingly only 2 of 8 of us girls have dyed our hair.

Shona
October 13th, 2011, 04:35 PM
heartbreaking.

Kapri
October 14th, 2011, 01:21 AM
Panth, I tried to quote you in this reply and haven't got the hang of it yet...but that is what is particularly alarming. The teenage girl had been colouring her hair a lot according to another article ...as do many of us over the years. The fact that you could get to the point where one dyeing session could act as a hair trigger for the body to go into dangerous reaction.

It is very telling indeed!
Kapri

Rhodugune
October 14th, 2011, 05:14 AM
Poor kid, such an unnecessary death.!

Velvet Dreamer
October 14th, 2011, 03:26 PM
I don't dye my hair, but my mother does, so I'll definitely be telling her about this. So unfortunate.

lastnite
October 14th, 2011, 03:33 PM
that's terrible :( I think even if she did a patch test first she could of still had that severe reaction? :(

lets not forget even herbal products and dyes can cause allergic reactions, ...always test first.

Kapri
October 15th, 2011, 02:03 AM
Lastnite.

You do patch tests on the inner elbow and behind the ear and yes, thinking about it, if the body is building up to a massive allergic response, it may still not be triggered. I guess you have to be super aware of what the test produces. But ....

I wonder if we'll get to the point where dyes carry a government health warning...

It is a huge industry of course!