Advice needed following allergic reaction

[MamaG]

Hi hair geeks. I'm posting on my sisters behalf - she's been having salon colours and sometimes doing her own colour over the last 20 years but all of a sudden she has had a bad reaction to a hair colour and a spray tan in the last 12 months. Rushed to hospital last week and a nasty course of steroids later, she is now terrified to use anything on her skin.
My question is, are there any professional hairdressers out there who use completely natural products? Are there any pro brands she will be able to use (shampoo, conditioner, etc)?
Any help will be gratefully received. Thanks x

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[AcidPerm]

I developed a severe allergy to acrylic & gel nail products and was referred to a consultant dermatologist for skin testing. (I was working as a nail technician alongside hairdressing so the referral was because it was work related).

They tape a sticky grid on your back and paint tiny blobs of various likely allergenic substances in each small box. Just enough to show a mild reaction, (redness, itchiness). It's left on for up to 5 days and then they give you a list of the chemicals used and whether you had any reaction, mild or severe. It's very handy to keep as you can compare the chemical names against the ingredients listed on cosmetic tubes.

Might be worth your sister asking for a referral if they don't automatically offer it?

Otherwise, she will need to DIY skin test everything new by putting very tiny droplets on her skin (inside elbow is a good place) and leaving for at least 48 hours to see if there's a reaction. Even slight redness means it's a no.

Everything's a chemical whether natural or not. Think water H2O or peroxide H2O2. So tell her to be cautious wth everything.

 

[MamaG]

Thanks. No they didn't offer to follow up with allergy testing so i'll tell her to ask her GP for that
She would love to find a hairdresser who could do her colour going forward. If she can identify exactly which ingredients she is allergic to I guess that is her first step?
Thanks for your help

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[ColourGirly]

Goldwell elumen can be used on clients who are allergic, I would still skin text her - it's permanent and no ammonia no ppd no peroxide. I use it on a few of my colour clients

 

[HairbyAsya]

She could try going to different salons asking what brand they use and having a skin test then she will no which brands she does and doesn't react to?

 

[ColourGirly]

Please make sure she makes it clear to a salon that she had previously reacted... Nothing worst skin testing a client then half way through the service the client tells you they have reacted before.

A skin test isn't a guarantee you won't react during a service anyway. Getting tested properly is best - not play Russian roulette with colour brands.

 

[MamaG]

Thanks for your replies. She is going to arrange allergy testing rather than risk skin tests. X

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[hair_321]

I have a lady who is allergic to colour (she used a home die and didn't test) she had a severe reaction and was in hospital for 3 weeks and awfully nearly lost her life thankfully she's fine now and has found using a colour from holland and barret and is fine, I think it's called natura tint x

 

[MamaG]

Hello again hair geeks.
So....my sister has now found a salon who use Innosense, which apparently will be ok for her. First appt to strip her hair of old colour etc will be £130. Fair enough. However they said she would then need an appt every 8 weeks and it would cost £110 each time. This is not do-able for her financially. She asked if they have any student evenings where a trainee could be supervised to bring her costs down but no.
Does anyone have any suggestions? She is really stuck at this point, simply unable to find that amount on a bi-monthly basis due to personal circumstances.
Any advice gratefully received. She is not looking for any advice on doing it herself (she's not that silly) just on where she can go that will treat someone with a PPD allergy.
X

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[adamlea87]

Has she has an allergy alert test/ skin test with innocense? From what I understand the colour uses a derivative of PPD which is less likely to cause an allergy to develop but is not recommended for use on those that have already developed an allergy to PPD or PTD, as there is still a good chance they could have a reaction.

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[MamaG]

Thanks for your reply. Yes they have skin tested her and taken some strands to colour test. She feels like she's banging her head against a wall with it all.
She has long hair so using a cap isn't an option. She has been told foils would ve ok as they don't touch the scalp but she's not too sure. ...
Appreciate the advice. Thank you.


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[ro23]

hiya very interested in this thread ! skin tested my daughter today with matrix and got a severe reaction and it burnt a little hole - we were in Sallys later and the assistant suggested trying wella - she wanted to be blonder - is this valid advice? are they that different in chemical formula? or should we just forget about colour ?

 

[ColourGirly]

If she's had a reaction to a skin test do not colour.

Unless the wholesale person is a pro hairdresser don't accept their advice, are you a hairdresser?

 

[AcidPerm]

Thanks for your reply. Yes they have skin tested her and taken some strands to colour test. She feels like she's banging her head against a wall with it all.
She has long hair so using a cap isn't an option. She has been told foils would ve ok as they don't touch the scalp but she's not too sure. ...
Appreciate the advice. Thank you.


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How was the skin test? Any redness or hint of a reaction?

Foiling is no guarantee of safety as the tint can come into contact with the skin when rinsing. It's just not worth the risk.

A semi-permanent might be better and she can get this done at a training college at a fraction of the cost, assuming there's one nearby. However, I would also caution to check she knows what the semi containers look like before the students apply the tint as they aren't always on the ball...I did see someone almost apply a Demi tint to a client who had a PPD allergy by mistake on my level 3 course. The tutor was distracted as she was trying to look after 2 groups in the salon simultaneously as the other tutor was off sick. Luckily, the tutor spotted her just in time. (!)

 

[MamaG]

Skin test was fine. She has to return 48 hours before her appt to have one done again. As long as that is ok she will go ahead with the first appt to do the colour correction etc.
I really appreciate every reply I've received. I feel so sorry for her and I promise she is taking on board everything I'm feeding back to her.
I'll get her to look into local colleges etc to see if they can possibly do her maintenance. Thanks again

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[ro23]

If she's had a reaction to a skin test do not colour.

Unless the wholesale person is a pro hairdresser don't accept their advice, are you a hairdresser?

hiya thankyou that is what i thought ! not seen a reaction before ! and yes i am a hairdresser but only qualified since christmas and the girl at Sallys does do hair too, thankyou

 

[vividamnesia]

There are people whom react to ammonia based chemicals aka most hair color,but there are color lines non-ammonia like:Farouks'-CHI & Bioglitz,L'Oreal INOA, & I think Aveda & L'Anza may have a non-ammonia line too. Any salon whom offers non-ammonia color by rule, should provide you with a color test. They apply a small dab of color to the inside crook of the elbow then allow 24 hours to pass to see if you had reaction to the color. This is a free test to anyone with allergy history to salon chemicals.

She could try a henna color but again, I would do a test even if doing henna yourself by applying it to the elbow crook just like above before proceeding.
Good-Luck!