French Girl named Estelle, 19 got an unpleasant near-fatal result from using common hair dye. This young woman faced drastic changes on her face right after using the hair dye, in her words ‘My face has turned into a light bulb shaped Gargantuan head which is quite drastic to encounter’.

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According to the reports, The woman has suffered due to a rare allergic reaction caused by a harmful chemical substance present in hair dye called Paraphenylenediamine aka PPD. The girl also added that she had a terrible near-death experience while her head grew double the normal size.

What is Paraphenylenediamine aka PPD?

PPD or Paraphenylenediamine is a chemical which is known for its blackening property but sadly this chemical blackens more things than just your hair as due to its harmful nature. Scientifically, Paraphenylenediamine is an important constituent of hair dye toxicity of which one could herald fatal complications such as rhabdomyolysis, renal failure, angioneurotic edema, and respiratory failure.

It has been seen that hair dye substance has high poisonous levels which can harm a person to a core level and even death. Below is another case of Indian Women who suffered from Hair Dye Poisoning in 2010.

“A 23-year-old female, a school teacher by occupation, was brought to the emergency department, Medwin Hospital, Hyderabad, India in June 2010 with an alleged history of consumption of hair dye (200 ml of 4% PPD-based emulsion-type hair dye) owing to suicidal ideation a day prior to presentation. She had been taken to a local hospital where an emergency tracheostomy was done to save her anyhow. Although she faced multiple consequences for a quite long like cramps, difficulty to eat and eat, and peeing in cola color”.

The case of Estelle, the girl with “light bulb” face:

The French acclaimed that she used a very little amount of hair dye to color her hair into a brunette style from a blonde style. But soon after applying the colored hair dye DIY kit, she began to feel trouble near her head and she had a ‘near-death’ experience. Her head started to increase into size until reached a drastic size.

Estelle had an aggressive reaction to just a small patch test of the hair dye home kit, which she later discovered included the chemical paraphenylenediamine or PPD. Primarily, she began to feel a little tingling sensation near her head and sooner the head started to swell chronically.

Immediately, Estelle took a medication which didn’t help and till the next morning, her head had grown to 24.8 inches compared to an average size of 22 inches and her tongue swelled up too. According to the reports, she started to face breathing troubles and problem in speaking so she was taken to a local hospital where she was kept under observation after giving shots of adrenaline to extract her out of the side effects of hair dye.

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What are the Side Effects of Hair Dye?

Further studies on Hair Dye side effects indicates towards much more horrible cases and statistics. A large number of sufferers and epidemic has been reported in areas of East Africa, Middle East countries and the Indian subcontinent. According to a google scholar study, northern India reported 323 cases over a span of about 5 years (July 2004-March 2009) and another study in Morocco reported 374 cases over an 11 yr study period (1992-2002).

Below are the 6 Side Effects of Hair Dye:

1. Allergic Reactions:

It is quite common that beauty products come with a risk and warning label as they do have chemical substances present in them. Hair dye comprises Paraphenylenediamine aka PPD which is a highly harmful and chronic substance. Many people are prone to PPD and they often times don’t bother to check the product content before using it.

A little carelessness leads to drastic result as we can observe from the aforementioned case of French girl Estelle. Moreover, People with skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis should refrain from using hair dyes to color their hair. In majority cases, permanent dyes can cause itching, skin irritation, redness, or swelling on your scalp or other sensitive areas like your face and neck.

2. Fertility Problem:

It has been observed that Hair Dye has a prominent amount of Lead acetate. Lead acetate is known for its unfavorable quality of harming fertility hormones in men as well as women. Hence it should be learned that pregnant women must not use hair dye as it is proven to be fatal for the unborn infant of pregnant women as it may cause malignancy.

3. Cancer:

It has been observed in recent years that there is a link between cancer and hair dye. As hair dye is considered to have substances that lead to cancers which are called carcinogenic. Although, there are very few pieces of evidence to prove the link between cancer and hair dye it is better to stay safe and secure from the risks.

4. Conjunctivitis:

It is quite often that hair dye is not applied with caution and safety which leads it to spread. Sometimes the dye reaches to the sensitive parts of the body like eyes which results in pink eyes or conjunctivitis. This troublesome condition is followed by various problems like severe discomfort and inflammation.

5. Asthma:

Hair dyes alleviate the risks of asthma because of the persulfates present in them. Continued inhalation of these chemicals leads to coughing, wheezing, lung inflammation, throat discomfort, and also asthma attacks. Asthma can be a prolong condition which is quite difficult to deal.

6. Over Processing:

Hair dye can’t work without ammonia and peroxide as ammonia is the substance which splits through your hair to the cortex and then peroxide bleaches the natural pigment of your hair into the desired one. This process of breaking through and healing leads to permanently damaged to your hair and ultimately hair fall or hair breakage.

What are the Alternatives of Hair Dye?

It is understandable that white hair is annoying and unpleasant to some people, moreover, some people love coloring their hair into different and unique colors. But hair dye is not the option, there are many other alternative substances which can fulfill your desire to color the hair.

1. Henna: Henna adds a reddish, burgundy highlight to hair. It also naturally conditions your hair and makes it softer.

2. Coffee: Coffee can help you make your hair appear darker. Pour the brewed coffee through your hair as a final rinse and let it air-dry.

3. Carrot and Beet Juice: A beet and carrot juice treatment adds red undertone to your hair. Mix 3 parts of beet juice to 1 part of carrot juice and saturate your hair with the mixture.

4. Honey and Lemon: Honey and Lemon are the best options if you want to lower down the color tone of your hair. Take equal proportions of Lemon and Honey, and apply to your hair to get hair dye like results.

Conclusion:

It has been proven that hair dye has drastic consequences on your body hence, try avoiding it. From the case of Estelle who got a light bulb head and near death experience after using a small portion of the hair dye, people must start being cautious. Beauty products are not always safe and secure so be alert.

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