Your hair dye can even cause cancer

[Guest guest]

Dear All

I used to face severe rashes on skin when I used hair dyes, despite the fact that the hair dyes I was using were of good brands. Some body told me to use Herbal Mehdi, but the problem persisted. Recently I got to read a special article in LIFE WATCH (April 1, 2010 issue) on chemicals that adversely affect our life. LIFE WATCH is running a campaign on the subject. I was amazed to find that these chemicals are even carcinogic and other than VEGETAL, nearly all the hair dyes contain pPD, which is very harmful for skin and hair.

I am sending the article for all our readers to read. It will be of great help to those who are using hair dyes or who are contemplating use of any such hair dye.

Best wishes and a healthy, happy fun-filled life.

Bye!

Public Interest

CAMPAIGN AGAINST HARMFUL CHEMICALS IN DAY TO DAY LIFE

Special Focus: Hair Dyes

Rich, Gorgeous, lustrous, silky hair ...….

Alluring hearts, turning heads, turning people green….

Hey! This isn't some girl in a shampoo ad. This could be YOU.

Be it a burgundy glow, a deep blue glint or a multicolor streaks. Undoubtedly all kinds of hair colouring agents are available in market with huge publicity and great adds appearing at every shop and corner of the city.

Hair dyeing has become everybody’s way of life, its no longer a luxury but a well accepted cosmetic.

As per a survey in Japan by Soap and Detergent association in 1992, 13% of female in their high school, 6% of woman in there 20s and 2% of men in the 20s used hair dye. When the same was studied in 2001, the proportion in the same group has gone to 41%, 85% and 33% respectively.

In India, about 60% people above 20 years of age uses some hair colouring product. The purpose of colouring may be to hide grayling as a part of aging or a fashion demand.

But do these People know how risky it can be to use hair dye without knowing them properly?

As per a study conducted by Dr.Nelee Bisen & Dr.S.D.Shenoi of Department of Skin and Veneral diseases, Kasturba Hospital, Manipal. 5% of the hair dye users develop allergies and Para-Phenylenediamine is the most important ingredients responsible for allergies in hair dye.

Hair Dye is just an example, it may be other day to day use products like cosmetic, food, textile, genetically modified food, beauty and health care products. The percentage of use of harmful chemicals is increasing day by day and so are the numbers of people suffering from them. Indian consumer is becoming health conscious but for them it is not possible to understand that beautifully packed, well advertised product from a big brand can be harmful to them. They donot know even if a product contain one harmful chemical, the product can be a big health hazardous to them in long run.

In search of faster action and convenience, people increasingly gets carried away with the pace of life without bothering for the after effects of harmful ingredients used in product that can impart health and the health of their family in longer run. we are bound to face health hazards.

Life Watch has initiated a Public Interest “Campaign against Harmful Chemicalsâ€. Life watch is going to give special focused issues on day to day use products that are associated with common men of India and contain harmful chemical. By this initiative, Life Watch wish to discuss and bring to light the hidden evils of beautifully advertised products that can fill your life with health hazards in short or long run. We thank AMA Herbal Laboratories Pvt. Ltd. for collaborating in this campaign.

In this issue we focus on Hair dye.

HISTORY OF HAIR AND DYES

hair coloring is an ancient tradition that was common among the ancient Persians hebrews,Greeks and Romans. The use of henna, a naturally occurring plant dye dates to the third dynasty of Egypt 4000 years ago. The Egyptians mixed the Lawsonia inermis plant (heena ) with hot water and placed the material on the hair to produce an orange red

hair colour for darker colour, henna was mixed with leaves of lvatis tinctoria (basma or woad) plant in Persion and Arabia.

Dates to 1883 when Monnet patented a process for coloring for using p-phenyle dianmine and hydrogen peroxide. Feathers and hair were later dyed in 1883 with the first human application occurring in paris in 1890 and in st. louis, missouri in 1892.

All these products form the basis for modern hair colour. The dyes may be used to blend gray tones, cover gray hair, add coloured highlights, produce unnatural temporary colors and lighten or darker the original hair color depending on the interaction between the dye and the hair fiber.

As these products were easy to apply and fast in application, people started preferring these over the traditional natural hair colorants. As the demand went on several other reaches came up and many big brands established in hair dye Industry. Now as per books of Dermatology. Hair dye is broadly divided in four different catagories as Gradual, Temporary, Semi Permanent and Permanent. The theory of dermatology define these hair dyes as per there usage , advantages and disadvantages as below:

Comparison of hair dye of different categories

Type

Main Ingredient

Duration of effect

Effect on Hair

Advantages/Disadvantage

Gradual

Aqueous solution of lead or silver oxides, suboxides, and sulfides

Colour persists with continued use

Darkens gradually by Planting hair shaft

Can not be combined with permanent dye or permanent wave

Temporary

High-molecular-weight textile dyes

Removal with one shampooing

Large colour molecules are deposited on hair shaft

Can blend or tone undesirable hair colour

Semi Permanent

Low- moleculer-weight natural or synthetic textile- type dye

Removal with four to six shampooing

Small color molecules penetrate hair cortex

Provides tone-on-tone colouring; will cover less than 30% gray, Safe to use

Permanent

Oxidation colouring employing primary intermediates, couplers and an oxidation

Permanent

New colour molecules are formed within hair shaft

Can lighten (two-step Processing) or darken (One-step Processing) hair; will cover gray 100% ;need to cover new growth with monthly dyeing; may cause serious allergenic

Going as per above theory of dermatology, most of popular hair dyes that we have in market today are of Permanent hair dye category. Almost all of them contain three basic ingredients:

S. No.

Ingredient

Function of ingredient / advantage / disadvantag

1.

Para phnylenedi amine also know as PPD or 1,2 di amino phnole

Main colouring component that is originally white in colours and developed with oxygen to give black / dark colour. PPD is main cause of allergies that are caused to hair dye users some time. PPD is a AZO category of dye. AZO dyes were banned from their use in textile almost a decade back as they were found carcinogenic (something that can cause cancer) but PPD is still allowed for use in hair dye. European countries are talking on its possible ban soon but in India we have not even started talking about it

2.

Peroxide

Oxidising and bleaching agent used for bleaching the cuticle (outer layer of hair shaft), make way for PPD to go into the hair shaft and then oxidise PPD to give desired colour on hair shaft.

3.

Ammonia

Alkaline agent, this does not have any colour but increase the speed of cuticle damage with Peroxide and hence damage to hair is more with those dyes that contain Ammonia in comparison to those which donot contain ammonia.

By big advertisement campaigns big hair dyes making companies have been successful in letting people understand that Ammonia free colours is safe. But the fact is that you need to have PPD free hair colour if you want to be safe.

Why hair loss occurs after using permanent hair dyeing?

The permanent hair dyes penetrate the cuticle of the hair and damage it, thus exposing hair to hydrogen peroxide and ammonia, causing overlapping of cuticular scales. To lift from the hair cortex called hair shaft swelling and the reactions reach the cortex, thereby leading to rapid loss of Amino Acid. The hair dying with dyes containing chemicals weakens the hair shaft by removing the proteins – the structural strength of the hair. The damage caused to the hair shaft is unavoidable resulting in easily fractured hair shafts and eventual hair loss.

Problems associated with chemical dyes/colours

· The hair becomes dull, brittle, unmanageable, cosmetically unacceptable.

· Irreversible damage to the protein structure and fracture of the hair shaft.

· Allergic contact dermatitis or more frequently and irritant contact dermatitis.

· Most of the cases the patient develops epidermal type of MELASMA over the forehead, neck, black eye circle around the eyes due to the sensitization of the skin in presence of sunlight.

· It is reported that personal use of hair dye may play a role in the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) (American journal of Epidemiology, Published in 09/08/2008) including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and follicular lymphoma, especially among older persons.

· Even death is reported due to allergy to hair dye. (BBC News, Tuesday, 8 May, 2001)

Hair dye allergies and cancer

Some studies have linked hair-dye use to cancer. Recent research by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in New Zealand reported that occupational exposure of hairdressers and barbers to hair-dye chemicals is “probably carcinogenicâ€.

It has been seen that many people who use hair dye do so without any evident problem. Unfortunately, that won’t be the case for everyone. Even if you’ve used hair-dye many times with no adverse effects, it’s possible you could become sensitized to an ingredient and have a reaction the next time you colour your hair.

A well-known dermatologist says allergic reactions range in severity. They occur when the body thinks a chemical is harmful and produces an immune response against it. The result is usually an acute contact dermatitis affecting all areas touched by the dye especially the face, neck and scalp.

Some allergic reactions may not happen straightaway. Reactions to pPD, for example, usually occur between 6 and 36 hours after use. Symptoms may include marked reddening, swelling and blistering. The reaction tends to be less severe on the scalp than on the more sensitive skin of the face and neck.

In rare cases, allergy to a hair-dye ingredient can cause anaphylaxis. This is an extreme allergic reaction that can be life threatening if not treated quickly. Symptoms include an immediate itchy rash, wheezing, difficulty breathing, faintness and collapse.

Need to Take Steps

In the last two years, health concerns have prompted European countries to ban over 100 hair-dye ingredients. A further 42 have been given provisional approval for use while their safety is investigated. Among the 42 are several common hair-dye ingredients fingered as “strong†skin sensitisers – substances that have the potential to cause severe allergic reactions.

In India, there no effective controls. For this reason, substances banned in Europe back in 2006 can still be sold in hair-dye products here. There is a need to introduce compulsory labeling of ingredients.

Not merely this! With long lists of chemicals that have almost unpronounceable names, deciphering the ingredients in hair dyes is no easy task. So it’s vital that regulatory agencies do their job well. Naturally, this means keeping standards up to date.

A study done in New Zealand (published on www. Consumer.org.nz) selected major brands like Clairol, Garnier, L’Oreal, Schwarzkopf, Wella and a product called Just for Men, one “herbal†hair colour purchased from a health store and Sinuo hair dye from China.

While the Shinuo hair dye gave the most cause for concern, the study revealed that “all the other products we purchased contained ingredients classified by the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Products (SCCP) as “extreme†or “strong†skin sensitisers. These are the ingredients that have the potential to cause serious allergic reactions.†The study also found that certain products like Herbatints which market themselves as more gentle dyes also contained p-phynylenediamine (pPD), classified as “extreme†sensitiser and identified as a key cause of allergic reactions. It revealed that pPD is present in over two-thirds of permanent hair dyes that you can

buy off the shelf and is also common in salon dyes.

EU regulations now allow hair dyes to comprise up to six percent pPD in a product. pPD content is normally higher in darker dyes, and since there are no regulations that make it mandatory for manufacturers to reveal the percentage of pPD, you will never know how much risk you are causing to yourself by use of such dyes.

What they found?

p-Phenylenediamine

phenyl methyl pyrazolone

6-Hydroxyindole

Toluene-2.5-diamine

4-Amino-2-hydroxytoluene

m-Aminophenol

p-Phenylenediamine,

2.5-diamine m-Aminophenol

Phenyl methyl pyrazolone

Toluene-2.5-diamine sulfate m-Aminophenol

Toluene-2.5-diamine sulphate

m-Aminophenol, 4-Amino-2-hydroxytoluene

2.5-diamine sulfate m-Aminophenol

4-Amino-2-hydroxytoluene

All these are dangerous chemicals that can cause allergies on short or long term.

Use 100% Natural Hair Colour

Health-conscious customers and those allergic to chemical hair dyes are shifting in hordes to natural hair colour solutions. Says Yawer A. Shah, CEO of AMA Herbal. We have large of people from all across the Globe who were suffering from allergies to chemical hair dyes and have shifted to Vegetal Bio Colour.

Care Your Hair

Your hair are delicate protein. They represent your beauty; they need to be cared. By carefully selecting your hair care and colouring products, you will not only enhance the life and beauty of your hair but also prevent your self from several chemical hazards including chemical reactivity and other harmful effects.

Dermatologists and hair care experts, who wish to join the “Campaign against Chemicals†initiative of ours, may send their views/experiences on lifewatch@.... Interested in knowing more about 100% Natural Hair Care solutions or other related issues regarding well-being of your hair, contact vegetal@....

Living With Depigmented Skin

The colour of skin is invested with a lot of psycho-social significance in all societies. Any visible abnormality in skin colour can potentially produce significant deterioration in the quality of life. Some of the most distressed patients seen by any Asian dermatologist are those who have depigmented skin lesions (normally seen as white spots on skin). Especially in South East Asia, these patients face tremendous embarrassment and even social isolation resulting in inability to find a partner in marriage, suitable employment, etc.

There are several factors responsible for depigmented skin lesions; the commonest being viligo, which is an idiopathic, partly genetically determined disease. However, a lot many cases of depigmented skin lesions are preventable, which mainly occur because of presence of several chemicals in products of common use and sensitivity of our skin to those chemicals.

Says Dr. VK Sharma, Professor and Head of Dermatology Department at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and past president of Indian Association of Dermatologists: “Chemical leucoderma occurs due to several factors. While some of the cases are due to natural factors, a lot many others are because of presence of chemicals that we largely consider as normal and safe. The most common reason is because of polythenium (generally known as congress grass). However, allergy may also occur in hands because of cement, due to chemicals in cosmetics like in the case of hair-dye and due to presence of chemicals in commonly used products

such as bindi, plastic chappals, fairness and skin-lightning creams, soaps, etc.â€

One of the senior-most dermatologists in India, Dr. AK Bajaj of Bajaj Skin Clinic, Allahabad is of opinion that if checked in time, such disorders are identifiable and therefore preventable. However, in most cases, by the time one gets to know that one is getting affected with a certain chemical, it is already too late. Therefore, it is best to take precautions and avoid use of products with chemicals as ingredients, which are known to cause allergies and skin related disorders. Dr. Bajaj cites the case of hair-dyes, which very commonly affects patients, though in differing magnitude. “Due to rampant

cases where people suffer from allergies because of use of hair-dyes, a manufacturer in Lucknow (AMA Herbal) has come up with a pPD and Ammonia free natural hair colour, but people insist on using dyes because of their darker shades, without realizing that the darker the shade, there is greater risk to damage of your hair.â€

Describing this further, Dr. Bajaj says: “Chemical leucoderma occurs due to direct skin exposure to some substances that are selectively toxic to melanocytes. This exposure can occur either in the workplace or even in day-to-day life with common objects that come in contact with the skin. However, chemical leucoderma is relatively uncommon whereas the chemicals implicated in it are widely used and commonly present in the environment. From this, it is evident that some individuals have inherently “fragile†melanocytes that are more susceptible to injury upon exposure to these chemicals. It has been shown both in vitro and in vivo that certain aliphatic and aromatic derivatives of phenols and catechols

are directly toxic to melanocytes, more so in genetically susceptible individuals. Other chemicals that have been implicated to cause chemical leucoderma are p-phenylenediamine, certain azo dyes, sulfhydryls, mercurials, arsenic and several drugs of chemically related classes.â€

Dr. Suresh Talwar, a senior dermatologist based in Lucknow gets to see innumerable cases on regular basis, a great many of them are self-inflicted and avoidable. Merely talking about reactions caused by p-phenylenediamine, he says: “Some of the common reactions include dermatitis to the upper eyelids or the rims of the ears, reddening and swelling of the scalp and face, black circles around eyes, scalp and cheek (eyelids may completely close in certain cases) and even dermatitis on hands (in cases of people with regular exposure to dyes, like hairdressers).â€

Dr. Seema Sood, who is a Dermatologist associated with Patel Hospital in Jullundher even talks of several cases of drug abuse. She says that people using Betnovate on face normally spoils their face. She also refers to rubber chappals and bindi as common reasons for dermatitis. Hair dyes is another common problem that causes great problems, she cites. “Not just hair dyes, I have seen several cases where Fair & Lovely users too have come to me with spoiled skins,†says Dr. Sood.

Another leading dermatologist based in Lucknow who sees fairness creams and hair-dyes as common villains in increasing the number of patients coming to their clinic is Dr. Pramod Agarwal. Referring to Rook’s Textbook of Dermatology, Dr. Agarwal says that lack of effective legal procedures and cumbersome or literally non-existent insurance because of ill-effects of such chemicals is enabling the companies go scout free who produce dyes with huge pPD content or who manufacture skin lightening creams knowing fully well that they will do no good.

Rues Dr. VK Sharma, “These companies have huge marketing budgets! Even the Government cannot do anything about it. They launch huge marketing campaigns and people get influenced merely because of the big number of advertisements that they give. Little do the people know that they are causing more harm to themselves than doing any good.â€

Dr. VK Sharma advices this newspaper that the entire campaign against chemicals will not bear any affect in the face of huge marketing budgets of mostly foreign companies unless likeminded people who wish to leave better living conditions for children, dermatologists and other doctors from all across the country and companies manufacturing products that are safe for use, be roped in if we wish to make this campaign show any results. On cue, we have roped in Vegetal, manufacturer of pPD free hair colour and invite other like-minded individuals to partner with us in this “Campaign against Chemicalsâ€. Life Watch also invites all dermatologists across the country to share their views/experiences/case-studies on subjects

and also want patients (who actually became patient because of some or other allergy causing chemical as ingredient in any product), to come forward and become part of the campaign.

Adds Dr. AK Bajaj: “We have known patients committing suicide due to the inability to cope with psychological burden of living with visible depigmented skin lesions.â€

Yes, it is true that such problems are identifiable and therefore preventable in a lot many cases but with the kind of rules and regulations in existence and a society where morals are fast deteriorating leading to greater tilt towards commercialization rather than well-being of citizens, we do not know how many more suicides and deaths will come to take place, due to our impotent and weak legislation.

As part of Life Watch’s Campaign against Chemicals, read in the next issue:

Green mehdi of Khadi Udyog, its chemical composition and after effects

Legalities related to issue and the present lacunas in Drug and Cosmetics Act

For details contact: lifewatch@...