Hair & Perfume

**LissaJane** · December 12th, 2010, 08:01 AM

So I was walking through a department store, looking for Christmas gift inspiration, when I was pounced on by a lady, with the scariest and most colorful make up I've ever seen, armed with two bottles of perfume asking if I wanted to try them, before even getting a chance to respond, she spritzed my one arm... I kinda smiled and rubbed it in with my other one and she was quite upset that I'd wasted perfectly good space for the other perfume. In typical 'crazy makeup perfume lady' (as I have affectionately dubbed her) fashion, before I got a say in things she spritzed the ends of my hair! On both sides!

Not have I had to walk around with this nauseating perfume wafting into my face all day, but my ends look significantly less happy than they were before I went shopping.

My dilemma is that I've pretty much just washed my hair and I'm trying to stretch my washes. Could I just rinse it, or will shampoo be needed to remove the perfume?
I'm not sure exactly how damaging something like perfume would be, but I know that it has alcohol in it, which dries things out, non? could I just oil them, or would that be like simply coating the problem?

Any advice?

**lapushka** · December 12th, 2010, 08:06 AM

Maybe rinse (even wash) the ends and put some leave-in on if you're that worried about it. Me? I'd just leave it until the next wash.

But that lady? Talk about rude!

**Sooze** · December 12th, 2010, 08:07 AM

Doh! Dontcha just hate that?

The alcohol/perfume itself will evaporate fairly quickly, but I'd use maybe jojoba oil, or coconut or whatever your hair likes on the ends to combat any drying effects.

TrudieCat · December 12th, 2010, 08:09 AM

I think perfume would only be damaging to hair in larger amounts than just a spritz or two. I use one half to one full spritz of perfume on my hair almost every day, and it doesn't seem to have caused any damage.

But I can't stand smelling too strong and would never use an eau de parfum on my hair - always use eau de toilette. If I was sprayed down in a random perfume attack, I'd probably just wash it out. You won't ruin your hair by washing it two days in a row as long as you take care of it and are gentle, etc.

**LissaJane** · December 12th, 2010, 08:21 AM

Oh haha, so it's not actually that bad. (Can you tell I'm pretty new to the whole caring for my hair thing?)
I reckon I'll just rinse 'em and oil them up a little. The smell is not nice :/

Yeah, she was pretty rude and people like that are the exact reason I avoid malls and the likes as much as possible. I mean, I know they're just doing their job, but I wish they'd realized that I'm definitely not their target market and leave me alone.

Thanks for the advice, I musta come off kinda drama queen-esque (Onoes, mine endz!), heh

**Delila** · December 12th, 2010, 08:28 AM

Ugh! Honestly, I'd have complained to the store management, but I'm super sensitive to some fragrances, and some of them give me one of those 'spike through the eye' headaches pretty much instantly.

**luxepiggy** · December 12th, 2010, 09:45 AM

OMG. I advise you to curtail further visits to said department store post haste! Do you mind if I ask which one it was, so I can avoid it as well? ( ' (oo) ' )

The woman who sprayed you was extremely rude indeed!! I've never, ever been directly sprayed with fragrance at a department store! Even when I ask to smell a certain fragrance, they always spray it on a card. Once when they were out of cards I think they sprayed it on a piece of blank receipt paper from cash register. I would definitely have complained to management.

**boomtownrat** · December 12th, 2010, 09:51 AM

I'd file a complaint with the management of that store and/or mall, being as specific as possible about the employee (her name if you can remember it, but if not, hopefully you can remember which line of frangrance/cosmetics she worked for). People who do things like that need to be told in no uncertain terms that what they're doing is practically a form of assault for some of us. People prone to migraines and allergic reactions would thank you.

**lapushka** · December 12th, 2010, 09:54 AM

Originally Posted by luxepiggy

The woman who sprayed you was extremely rude indeed!! I've never, ever been directly sprayed with fragrance at a department store! Even when I ask to smell a certain fragrance, they always spray it on a card. Once when they were out of cards I think they sprayed it on a piece of blank receipt paper from cash register. I would definitely have complained to management.

^^This. Talk about respecting someone's boundaries.

**princessp** · December 12th, 2010, 10:05 AM

I'm going to agree with others here. I worked with a girl who had a similar experience but in her case the perfume ruined her jacket (I think it was suede). This is so rude, people have allergies and all kinds of issues. I'd give a quick call to the store and ask them kindly to stop doing this.

As for your hair, hopefully it won't damage it. Perhaps the scent will subside and you won't have to wash again. Ugh malls during the holidays....I'm staying far, far away.