Hair to Dye For

I was born to be a redhead, but that’s not the color I got. The first time my hair dried to the glorious shade of red on the box of dye, I was hooked. I’m not alone: more than 50 million women in America dye their hair on a regular basis, from those covering gray to those who like to highlight or frost. And in case you hadn’t noticed, men are no longer immune to this particular vanity or the potential risks associated with it.


It has been years since I banished my mousy brown hair. I hadn’t really thought about the chemicals I routinely doused my scalp with until a friend of mine cancelled our dinner plans due to a “hair emergency” that was more worrisome than a bad dye job. After her last coloring, she had developed a rash over much of her body, caused by an allergic reaction to the commercial hair color she had been using. According to my friend’s doctor, she most likely developed a reaction to one of a few known allergens in hair dyes, possibly ammonia or peroxide, or the chemicals p-Phenylenediamine (PPD) or diaminobenzene. A person can become allergic to these chemicals even after years of use, and those who are chemically sensitive usually find them too toxic to use at all.

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